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Now that we have come to the end of the year, I have decided to spill the beans on why we regress as the rest of the world is marching forward. Progress must be what nations who acknowledge their heroes enjoy.
We are so good at sweeping homegrown talent under the carpet. Maybe that is why we are never associated with terms like inventive, innovative and dynamic.
Policy makers that we put in power through the ballot are happy that we, as a republic, will be chasing our own tails till kingdom come. That is why no matter how loud we scream ‘Eurobond’, the Sh140 billion remains a mirage.
Otherwise, heroes never die no matter the circumstances. Matatus will be emblazoned with their names and titles for all to see as a tribute to their contribution in our development as a country. It is our ingenious way of telling them that we recognise their courage although we do not have medals to offer.
Take this gentleman called Mollis for instance. He captured the country’s imagination for an entire week. He of the ‘nimesaleda’ fame made headlines in the alternative media and even got a few notable mentions in mainstream media.
Kenyans spent hours circulating his voice clip which was played back countless times. Had the thing been in the old format where voice had to be relayed from tape, the cassette would have melted from the high demand it attracted. Now, a man like that who captured the imagination of the entire nation should not be forgotten just like that.
Some unscrupulous corporates tried to cash in on the man’s infamy but because they were too lazy to make our hero their brand ambassador, we paid them back by ignoring their ads.
Mollis restored our faith in insistent persistence, whereas his partner will forever remain a symbol of feminine endurance. For all we know, the man is pursuing his hobby in a quiet corner of the country away from cameras and the ingratitude we accorded this unlikely hero.
And before we forgot Mollis, along came Brother Ocholla, promising the object of his desire a trip to the cosmos. According to the amorous Kenyan, the first conversation would be initiated after they got to cloud 9. Pure genius. If the client wished to drift higher, they could always request additional distance while already at mile high.
The ingenuity of this marketing stratagem was not lost on media houses, franchises, and service providers.
They tried to ride on the man’s disgrace once again to push their products and services.
And we allowed them because Ocholla chose the wrong forum to make his services public. A prayer group might not have been the best platform but in this case, the means justified the ends.
Not to be left behind, a certain deejay creamed his way to the top. His contribution to the country was his spinning skills. A tape leaked on the Internet of him at the decks in what he later termed as one of his numerous exercise sessions before he finally tied the knot with his childhood sweetheart.
A certain quack sedated his patients before soiling their medical history.....the list is endless.
No wonder we had so many summer bunnies visit the hotbed of alternative talent this year.
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