A first time try at democratic transfer of power may seem quite challenging. Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa is in the verge of doing just that. But with the recent turn of events, from intimidation of the opposition to chaos in the street my only fear is- it could get worse!. I get most of my information from the media and I agree that they might be biased but only a little.

Any Pan-Africanist ( just made it up ) will be concerned with the unfolding situation because any instability in Nigeria may spell doom for the whole region which, if we have to believe the media,is already volatile. So Nigerians have a responsibility to make thier country a symbol of democracy in the region. It not only owes this responsibility to itself but its neighbours as well since it has become a safe heaven for many refugees fleeing conflicts in their countries.

The whole Africa is watching and as the vote counting progresses we wait, though with bated breaths, and hopes that it will be a result the Nigerians and by extension Africa will be proud. Otherwise with people already killing each other in the name of politicians we don't want it to get any worse now, do we?

A story is told of an old man and his son who set out on a journey with their donkey. None of them was riding on the donkey untill they met another man who pointed out to them why it would be such a waste of available resources to let the donkey walk on free like that. So the son climbed on the donkey while the ol man walked.
It was after a while that they met a group of old men who on seeing the son riding while the old man walked, wondered what this world had come to that the young no longer respected the old. So the young man climbed down his father climbed aboard the donkey. The journeyed for a while when they met a group of women who on seeing the old man aboard were not amused and wondered what kind of a father would let his son walk while he rode on a donkey. On hearing this , the old man helped his son aboard the donkey where together they rode untill they met an animal rights activist who was not happy with the kind of tretment the animal was getting. He wonderd how two grown ups would treat an animal that way.
So the duo did the next best thing, they carried the donkey for a sizeable distance with sweat dripping from their tired dehydrated bodies as carrying the animal was no mean task. Eventually they met a psychiatrist who recomended that they be checked into a mental institution because as he put it, no right thinking human being would carry a healthy donkey on a journey.
This is a very familiar analogy that might be a lesson for our politicians who change parties at their own convenience just because it suits them for that moment. They usually take opinions based in what is in it for them rather than the interest of the people they represent.Yes opinions may vary but not every one of them is good. You cannot please everybody and if you try you might end up looking like a mental case.

This is probably the first time I have said something positive of a politician. A few days ago our president H.E Mwai Kibaki,president of Kenya turned down a hefty pay increase from his cronies which would have made him earn more than Geoge Bush and Tony Blair. The president would have earned a total of 3.2 million Kenya shillings(about $43,000) per month. Whether or not this was a politcal move it must have taken a lot of gut to turn it down and for this I congratulate him.

I am wondering if there is anybody using Gmail to refer. I would really appreciate it. My email address is nevki21@yahoo.com

What does politicians and the weather have in common? well they change quite often. Kenyans have been victim to this unpridictability of their politicians. Just in 2002 Kenyans were the most optimistic lot when they voted in a new government and how they wished change would happen and fast!. Three years down the line Kenyans are anything but impressed by the way things are going. Though some changes have happened like the free primary education program,economy is rapidly picking up, infrustructural improvement e.t.c. the bottomline is they have fallen short of what they bargained for. Alot can be said about the politics but simply put, it is plain bad. Kenyans are confused, they don't trust their government and the opposition are not saints either. The ordinary Kenyan is between a rock and a hard place with no idea on which parameter to vote come the 2007 general elections whose campaigns began in 2003 right after the swearing in of Kibaki as the new president. So how do we get out of this quagmire? yee you are right, we won't !. Unless we ourselves can take the matter into our own hand, be brave and not fall into snares of our politicians again that can only remain a distant dream. We can't chage a whole nation once but we can do it one kenyan at a time-starting with you

I want to thank the entire TIG team for sending me a very nice birthday message. I woke up this morning to go to class without even the faintest idea that it was my birthday. I don't know whether this happens quite often to many people as it does to me , that they entirely forget their birthday.
But that said, well i am having a very good day save for the bad weather here in Nairobi with a cold that is biting the life out of me. Actually the Climate change conference is happening here in Nairobi which is quite convenient location since the weather here is never predictable.
To the rest of the TIG community, your birthday will be coming soon. Reserch shows that birthdays are good for you,those who celebrate more of them live the longest. As if that was not obvious

When do we say justice has been served?. The recent turn of events in my country has buffled me am confused what justice really means and whether the law is adequate to serve it. Recently, a building collapsed in Nairobi killing over a dozen people and injuring close to a hundred. With part of it still standing,the government promised to demolish it but believe it or not the building's owner obtained a court injunction barring this move. Weeks later the same building collapsed again injuring five people. And guess what the government has done: given a TWO WEEKS deadline for the building's owner to remove the debris. Both you and I can guess the next step the owner is gonna take yes move to court : again.Meanwhile the ordinary citizen keeps dying. So really can the justice system be relied upon to provide that justice?.Law is sometimes cruel and I think Judges should be aware of this and appply the good old common sence.

Hey guys do you have ministers and mayors who can't read?. Well in kenya we seem to have them in excess starting from a minister who reads "scarce" as "scare" (pretty scary uh?) to a city mayor who reads "gentlemen" as "gentedmen". I love my country but some basic education is not too much to ask,or is it?. Such is the comedy in kenyan politics.

Well democracy is a good thing a really nice thing indeed. Kenyans demonstrated their democratic maturity during their 2002 general elections when they voted in a new goverment that promised reforms in all sectors of the economy the most famous being the creation of 500,000 jobs annually!and a new constitution within 100 days of being in power. Well some of the promises have been fulfilled one of which is the free primary education program. But sadly, the others are yet to be fulfilled.
The stumbling block here is the constitution its creation has generated so much heat that it has compromised the fulfilment of other pledges and economic development.And who suffers? its not the MPs, the President or the ministers Its the kenyan the so called "Wanjiku" who is the victim here. As a kenyan I feel cheated, this political bickering worries me like any other kenyan who loves his country.Its has to stop ,how ? I dont know all I can do is watch and wait while our country goes down the drain which is not a good thing but I will give an excuse every kenyan would give "I dont have the power, the drive and the resources its upon the politicians to decide what future the country holds but wait! I have something they will need in 3 years time - my VOTE.It is then that I will put them to judgement because I will have the power ,I will summon them to account for their bad deeds before I vote in someone else to cheat me again!.So you see? I keep on suffering somebody HELP!".