Golden Eras,

 

One of you might wonder why I am always stuck on tradition. It is just because it is a pleasant imagination. There was a day in time in the villages we grew up in when cows used to pull carts full of either firewood or even manure headed for the farm. It was during these days when cell phones were a thing of the West. The America that bit the lip of most of the villagers as a dream they worked towards achieving year in and year out. When one's family member went to the States or Amerika, then their doors were opened. These were the golden eras. Eras where a suitor had to wait for a letter from his lover for a month or two. Unlike today, where blue ticking is a common phenom in modern relationships. Eras where there was a social order and everything went on smoothly and clearly. In our modern society, corruption has eaten into our morals to the extent that we lost the core values of humanity, love, peace, and even patience. This is a reason I speculate on traditional Africa. 

Regardless of the speculation of this Golden Era, we have to emulate the greats of our African heritage. To be particular Emperor Mansa Musa. The richest man in the whole of Africa for some time. He was the Elon Musk of the time, the Zuckerberg, the Steve Jobs. Here, I flicker your speculation by insinuating colonization was a fraud. Yes, they say they taught us English, and how to write and read. But, why is Africa still a third world? I'll let you out on a secret, they left it that way many years ago. In the eras of Mansa Musa. I read that he wore real gold. Gold from Africa. Talking of gold, Mugabe's Zimbabwe,  a haven for gold riches. But why is the country poor? One would wonder. African heritage is to be reflected in this modern era. Where again the West has shown its craft with tech and we have adopted IoT into our societal routines. It is so easy to live in this modern era, an era where suitors get instant messaging, a plus for relationships. Again, we live in another Golden Era. Viva!

Pan Africanism in 2024

 

The year is 2024 the month of May to be precise. Floods have been the main story on air for the past couple of weeks. Kenya has a first-term President, His Excellency Dr. William Samoei Ruto, as the fifth president of the Republic. In the artistic arena, almost everyone is recovering from the Covid-19 stalemate. It was as if everything was switched off by a remote control. Could be the Lord Almighty's doing. But I feel fresh and ready to create literary art like never before. Since I started this journey of pen and paper, I had a dream of an Africa that was unified in matters concerning literary art. More like the times when the Greats Ngugi Wa Thiongo and Chinua Achebe, Barbara Kimenye, Margaret  Ogola, and the likes were young people in society. See, then, they wrote what they could see and understand in their surrounding environments, and all one could do was relish and fantasize about the good old seventies and eighties in Kenya and East Africa. Then, they did not have technology or even the internet, unlike today where literary creatives can network and exchange their craft online through media platforms. In 2024, it is easy to share one's opinion on the internet, especially if they have a large following. Easy as ABC. 

Now, then, in the heydays of the Ngugi's and the Achebe's, their art was inspired naturally, through the massive awareness they received from reading books. As they always say, a good writer is a good reader. These Literary Pan-Africanists took their time to investigate society and perceive the results in easy-to-tell fiction narratives. These are the giants that I admire in my literary journey with the hope of one day inspiring a generation of literary enthusiasts with my craft. A literary Pan-Africanist in my own stature and liking. It would be quite an experience and an honor to represent my continent in neighboring global regions. In 2024, self-publishing is becoming the norm. Kenyan writers are taking the bull by the horns and recreating their immediate environments with the knowledge and awareness they possess. Pan-Africanism actually starts on an individual level, more like the greats of the United States. The fathers of the Black Revolution, were Malcolm X, Dr. Martin Luther King, Barack Obama, and the rest. Forever engraved in history, as the individuals who dared to dream. 

Pan-Africanism this year with the integration of technology and the internet could have a larger and more significant impact unlike in the eras of our literary pioneers. Today, there are apps like Amazon KDP and KOBO Writing Life where literary artist can start their literary journey. Locally, we have wonderful patterns in which young writers could collaborate and contribute to the cause of a literary enthusiastic Africa. UBUNTU! 

What If...

 

What if I did not rewind high school? Would I be better off or was my decision 14 years ago worth my successes, challenges, my rock bottom, or even my achievements, and wisdom? I actually wanted to pursue an LLB at Nairobi Uni, but my love for mathematics and laziness for note writing fated me to return back to wearing school uniform. I persevered for two terms and I was done with it. I went to the prestigious Kenyatta Uni or the famed KU. Here, I studied Economics and Finance coupled with CPA. Did I make a mistake wearing uniform? For regardless of the prestigious course, I did not finish. What if I went to UoN and pursued my LLB, Maybe I could have won a case against some lethal entity earning me millions if not several thousands. What if I finished KU, I'd be a boring father to somebody. Now, am single and clean as a whistle. No kid, nothing, Just a book and a few shillings in my bank account. "What if"  is a statement that could go on and on like a loop in coding. I had my rock bottom, and my challenges and my sweats have brought me to where I am today. Speaking the truth, none of my successes yielded more success than my challenges and trials. My struggles have brought other struggles which have brought more complex struggles, which in turn have yielded extraordinary results. As compared to what my successes, the outright ones, like education and such, none has brought me to where I stand today. 

Why "What if"? The universe is created to accommodate each and every one of us, born and to be born. Turing to relationships, what if, what if they never left. What if you never left? All these are questions we should ask ourselves in our moments of self-discovery. Not every time, and it is bad to dwell in the past. So, what is my point? Today, am a proud author of a book and I won this blog. Over the years, I have seen and feared to talk to many young and recognized writers and authors like me. Visited Sarit Centre for the 2019 Writers Space Africa Conference hosted by one Antony Onugba. Got chances to volunteer my writing services to noble causes over the years. It has been fantastic. So, I do not regret going back and wearing uniform, let alone not finish Campo on the first try. I mean, I am on the marathon of letting my struggles shape my future. Juu wueh! Writing and convincing people to read your work is an uphill task. Regardless, I work hard to publish educative and entertaining content once a week. I would put it that decisions that were made at early points of development would seem like mistakes today. But that is not the case, those decisions brought about challenges that brought results. In turn, they are the decisions that bring the best out of us at that point in time. Future ambitions may seem like the horizon of our livelihoods until they are achieved. And with such a situation, living after the achievements one would lessen the value of things one values the most today. 

What if I did not write and pass on this wisdom to the very Kenyans needing the life hacks I push through the web. It is with these I find the passion to keep writing and sharing my experiences, walking on the thin ropes of ethical writing to create tantalizing articles. We should appreciate the struggles more than our successes for the primal aim of living

a satisfactory life. "What if"