A TRIBUTE TO RAILA AMOLO ODINGA

 A TRIBUTE TO RAILA AMOLO ODINGA 

Raila Amolo Odinga, the Man, the Myth, the legend. It is difficult to pick my pen to write this because it feels heavy under the dark crowd of RAOs passing. The thought of you and what you stood for forces us back to the drawing board, to assess how well we lead our lives. It is difficult to write about a person of your societal standing because there would be so much to say and not enough words to say the much. The best way would be to highlight a few lessons we can pick from your exemplary bigger than life life. Before the lessons though, it is important to say that as per our constitution on presidency, a President is a symbol of National unity. In all your life, Raila, you worked towards a united Kenya. For that reason, you will remain the best President that Kenya had, yes, the People's President. You were the King maker per excellence and apart from the first President, Jomo Kenyatta, all the other four could not make it in their presidency without you. You either made them or could break them to take over if you wished to. But you chose peace over your personal gain. You chose harmony over a discordant Nation. You chose Kenya over yourself. For that reason, none of the presidents could reach the level of influence you commanded or the power that you wielded. Most times, the presidents or their cronies called you names, talked ill of you but you were above the insults, they meant nothing to you and could not deter your mission to realize a better, united Kenya. Above all, you extended an olive branch to them, reconciled with them because to you, Kenya was greater. That is why you remain greater than Jomo, Moi, Kibaki, Uhuru or Ruto; maybe greater than all of them combined. You are therefore the greatest President that Kenya will ever have, yes, the People's President. 

There are many lessons to learn from you, Raila, but I pick just a few below;

Lesson 1: It doesn't profit to hate. Life is too short for that luxury. We need to reach out to our enemies or competitors to make peace. If they are not willing, then we forgive them and do not harbour hatred. In line with biblical command, we need to love and pray for those who hate us.

Lesson 2: All humans are children of the same God. No one is better than the other regardless of tribe. Raila worked with people from all regions, treating them with respect and dignity. His family was made up of mixed tribes marriages which he had no problem with. Raila taught us that thinking tribe is a backward way of thinking. 

Lesson 3: Family is key. Raila honoured his wife all his days and supported his children in all difficulties of life. Hoping it does not happen now, we never heard stories of the other women. Ida the wife was the woman in his life.

Lesson 4: Life is short, so live fully everyday. Raila never seemed to stop. He was active to his last day. The day he died for instance, he got up from the hospital bed for a walk. He was not the kind to sit sad mourning of missed goals or crying over spilt milk. He always put his best effort and when it failed to work, he came up with new plans. How good if we would learn to live full lives everyday. 

I wish not to say more because Raila can never die. He is a thousand winds that blow to inspire us to live better full lives. And full lives we ought to live. Won't we?

@Stephen Mungai