Andre Villas-Boas and the Philosophy

I honestly admire this man, Andre Villas-Boas, for so many reasons. He has achieved so much at such an age. If Pep Gurdiola is the man, Andre is the king.

The striking thing about Andre is his philosophy. A keen student of Mourinho, he has risen better than the mentor. Faced with questions of whether he was another 'Special One', the dude wizened a now-to-be-popular response. "I am the 'Group One'." This was an underline to his intentions, to work as a team. I believe this is the philosophy that needs to be pumped into the Chelsea club.

I am an ardent fan of Chelsea and i can wait to see the start of the new season. To all Manchester United moles, and Arsenal rats, there is a new cat in the room. Just watch out.

WHAT EXACTLY AILS KENYA

Much has been said about Kenya, and rightly so. From the comparison of Kenya with rising economic giants vis-a-vis Malaysia, Hong Kong and Singapore, to the political instability that surrounds her, it becomes an interesting read. In deed, Kenya has gone on and on and on, sending mixed signals, of a nation on the right path, and a nation on the wrong track.

It is enviable that since independence, Kenya has been a beacon of peace in Africa - that is, if the short-lived 2008 tribal clashes need be ignored. The irony is, 48 years since independence, there is almost nothing for everyone to be proud. Get it right, everyone. It is open secret that some few Kenyans have everything to be proud about with regard to Kenya. They took over after the whites and became the new whites in black skins. They go to the best schools, eat the best foods, their wives give births in the best hospitals, they bank their money in the best banks, they drive the finest vehicles, the dress the smartest, they live the best life. These, as the majority of Kenyans eke out a living struggling and juggling life between poverty and below poverty lines. And what is more painful than this: the economy of a whole counntry is controlled by less than 20% of its population.

The dragging problem that continues to ail Kenya is the tribalism. Time and again, the lords of the country have pulled the tribal card if anything to keep their positions intact. This is the reason that much as everyone talks ill of tribalism, much as everyone hates tribalism, it is here to say. Tribalism is us, it defines us, our position, our all. Time and again, the only things that the poor bequeath their poor sons and daughters is coated with a tribal Midas touch. It can only be because it is found in the tribal holdings. We pretend we don't want tribalism but we identify with our own. We clap loudest for those from our tribes, from the sports arena, to the political stage, to the social and economic circles. We cheer our Kenyan athletes, but we scream in support of those from our tribes. We criticize with utter contempt the corrupt leaders, but we sympathize with those from our fold. We wish they were not caught. We even defend them if they are faced with extinction. We buy from the shops, but we become loyal customers to the enterprises run by our own. Whether by design or default, we have become tribal apologists.

Tribalism becomes the real and the most potent danger that faces Kenya. Which is why the idea of devolved governance is God-send. We can only be in our own cocoons and that's when we will realize we need the others in our lives. Until then, we can only walk the path, of tribal clowns!

Wanjiru's Death: A Lesson to All

Whereas i never had the remotest chance of meeting the late Samuel Wanjiru, i happen to have been a great admirer of the young man. One, because he was a Kenyan athletics hero, two, because he was an athletics champion away from the usual Kalenjin norm and three, because he made our country proud in the 2008 Olympics by the first ever Kenyan Olympics Marathon Gold. Maybe not the gold per se, but the style he put in winning it.....................and the smile.

If death was anything that one can challenge legally, i would have dedicated all my life for studying any law just to see death defeated. But wishes.............they were never horses. And just at his start, at his beginning, Samuel Wanjiru is no more. Dead earlier than he should. JThe question lingers, just why? Death, where is your sting?

The country is crying the death of a hero, yet not only that but even the way he died. That Samuel Wanjiru fell from the balcony of his house to his death is simply too sad. That he was found by his wife in the company of a mistress is equally sad. Anyway, I would not blame him for that, not because i advocate for extra-marital affairs, but because the same way a lion is carnivorous is the same way man is out-eyed. We do not blame the lion, we should not blame the man. The fact that Samuel Wanjiru was drunk on his demise is demoralizing.

The saddest part of all is the fact that his young family was ever in an opposite mood. Endless squabbles between him and his wife may not have done it any justice to him as a human being. Maybe it plunged him into the state of drunkenness. Which begs the first lesson; do not underestimate the potential that your wife has on you. They teach us that behind every success man is a woman. They never teach us that behind every ruin of a man is a woman. Thank God for history has taught us this.

Things have turned for worse for the young man's soul. Court battles, claims and counter-claims, and three should-have-been fathers! It is alright for Wanjiru's mother to demand to know the cause of her son's death. If she suspects foul play, she has every right to express the same. She is the mother and no one can take that from her. I pity the wife. But she should only hope to pay the final respect to the father of her children by letting the world know that their hero died a 'clean' death. That's the least she should accord our hero. The fear of losing her right to share Wanjiru's property should not count. What's more important than a peaceful conscience? The lesson here is, your mother gave birth to you, she gave you life. Your only can only add to that life, she cannot give you life. Your mother is more important to you than your wife.

For the three men claiming to be the father of the gone hero, you are so welcome. The only question is, where were you for the last 24 years? You may share the sorrow of the loss now, but is it genuine? Just how genuine is it? Aren't you after some mileage in your empty lives? Aren't you after attention, which even if one of you is entitled to, deserves less? The lesson here is, men at one point of their lives are stupid. And because they are, if you have grown without knowing your father, and who happens to be alive, just when you grow up, wish it away.

For Samuel Wanjiru, when gods deem it right, REST IN PEACE, Bro.