The President

By Anthony Gathambiri

This is Lufrika, a place of gold! Here we walk on silver dust and our streets are paved with adorable precious ornaments, a place so endowed with unparalleled stunning weather, and numerous beguiling touristic scenes. The people are very friendly and wonderful. She is a citadel of beauty and riches. But guess what? The children of Lufrika have been subjected to abject poverty, perpetual ugliness and untold slovenliness. The people wallow and grope in the darkness of hopelessness and pain, the pang of corruption, the adversity of illiteracy, and all manner of endemic afflictions. For so long, Lufrika has suffered alarming political instability, all the while craving for a messiah, who will break away the claws of this evil but to no avail. Then a mother arises in Lufrika, a leader par excellence, a woman of courage, character and power, blended in the right proportions with passion. She altruistically administers relief throughout the entire land, and brings hope to many. She brings beauty and laughter . . . she is a lioness.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Partridge Publishing Africa
• Release date: Jun 30, 2016
• ISBN: 9781482861617

Anthony Gathambiri

Anthony Gathambiri Waiganjo was born in Kihuri village in the Nyeri County, Kenya. He wrote this book while pursuing his PhD degree in Gender Studies at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (South Africa), and lecturing at the same university. He is a teacher by profession, a writer, an academic, a reformer, and a social activist. He has written several articles on social justice, the integrity of the environment, and gender empowerment. His hobbies include writing, community engagement, and social development research.

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Copyright © 2016 by Anthony Gathambĩri.

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CONTENTS

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

PREFACE

‘The President’ is a story about a leader who altruistically rules a nation called Lufrika. When she comes into power, she brings relief to many hopeless people that are wallowing in poverty, illiteracy, disease and ‘backwardness.’ Lufrika is endowed with black gold and precious gems, stunning weather, beguiling touristic scenes, warm friendly people - you name it. Lufrika is a Canaan, flowing with immense beauty, but despite this boon, her sons and daughters wallow in poverty, illiteracy, sycophancy and disease. Their leaders leave them worse off than before. They leave them more sick, more racially/religiously/ethnically divided and more backward, because they consider their office as an entitlement and as an opportunity to enrich themselves, before their tenure ends. Stealing, for them, is the right thing to do, as long as one is not caught. As if this is not enough, they fund the interminable inter-ethnic/inter-border/inter-religious violence with their blood money, while people continue to live in poverty.

After a long period of bad leadership, under rulers with no vision or political will to tackle corruption, Wangarĩ comes into power. This ‘god-send’, this long-awaited woman ‘messiah’, fearlessly and selflessly reforms Lufrikan leadership that has previously been tainted by greed. She slays the dragon of corruption on its head, including numerous political opponents from all corners of Lufrika, and even cronies from her own backyard. After her ascendancy into power, Wangarĩ does the unthinkable, by setting a trap to find honest leaders that can serve in her government, while eliminating those that are dishonest. She is aware that forging academic credentials is not a rare phenomenon among Lufrikans, and therefore, leaders need to be tested, to verify their honesty. In view of this corruption that has traversed every state institution, including learning centres, it is necessary to verify their honesty. Fisadi, for instance, bribes the university overseers, in order to acquire fake degrees. Despite attaining all those certificates through the backdoor, he is upset if he was not called a ‘doctor’. However, a professor from the Nyoni campus, one of Lufrikas’ accredited universities affiliated abroad, comes clean and reveals how they assisted students who requested certificates. The professor had sold certificates to many students who had neither stepped foot into a classroom, nor had they any idea of where the institution was located, or how to get there. Therefore, Madam Wangarĩ has good reasons to check their integrity. She gives them each a half-cooked pea to plant, and tells them to later bring back the sprouted plant in a pot. The majority of the candidates fake the germination, claiming that the seed has actually grown perfectly well. After discovering that the initial seed is not germinating, these candidates cunningly look for another viable seed to plant. When they bring their ‘assignment’ to Wangarĩ, she surprises them by revealing that the seed she had given them was not viable for germination, because she had half-cooked it, and that those who had germinated other seeds, had cheated. She disqualifies those dishonest interviewees and brings into her cabinet only those that had not faked the germination.

Wangarĩ brings in very competent, thoroughly-screened persons to her cabinet, people reputed for their service to their former communities. It is the first time in the history of Lufrika that women take on various leadership positions, an unusual phenomenon in this patriarchal society. Women perform excellently in positions in the treasury and in defence, which were traditionally regarded as masculine posts, despite the public outcry emanating from chauvinistic minds.

Wangarĩ reforms and strengthens the judiciary, so that it will deal squarely with the corrupt leaders that have siphoned the public coffers. She forms a committee of inquiry, to investigate the billions that have been stolen from public offices in the former regime. Several high profile leaders are charged and imprisoned. They are forced to pay back all the money that they have siphoned. Madam Wangarĩ uses that money to build Lufrika. The economy expands and people’s lives are greatly improved after the recovered money is injected into various projects. Public spending is closely monitored by Madam Wangarĩ. She becomes the first leader to walk the talk in tackling corruption.

Wangarĩ’s term draws to an end, and politicians begin campaigning everywhere. Wangarĩ does not. She is too busy alleviating communities from poverty, illiteracy, disease, sycophancy and backwardness. She is approached by her political allies about why she is not campaigning. Her response is that, when a leader does what is expected of him/her, there is no need for campaigning, because his/her legacy will speak for itself. She later says that she will not vie for a second term, because she believes that other people can do a better job than she has, and that giving them space is the honourable thing to do. As she says in her own words, This country is bigger than my interests as a person and therefore I will leave space for another person to run it. Leadership of this land is not my right, but a service to humanity, which is meant to make Lufrika a better place for everyone. Lufrikans look to her as a good example of leadership, which has changed the face of Lufrika. They say that Wangarĩ is a leader worth emulating in a world where greed has widened the gap between the haves and have-nots. They beg God to send many Wangarĩs, to continue liberating Lufrikans from racism, tribalism, xenophobia, male chauvinism, sycophancy, corruption, land grabbing, and so forth. Due to her exemplary leadership, Lufrikans refer to her as ‘The President’ who has changed the lives of most poor people in Lufrika.

CHAPTER ONE

I t was Christmas time in the beautiful land of Lufrika, and the mood of revelry was a bit different from that of other Christmas celebrations. Three months away, and Lufrikans would walk into the polling stations to vote for new leaders who could change the status quo of the land. They hoped God would send them a messiah who would redeem them from their abject poverty, ignorance, corruption, hostility towards immigrants, and sexism. Lufrikans were sick and tired of the rhetoric of politicians, and they vowed to reject them. Nonetheless, as soon as the angry worms began screaming in their empty stomachs, and when they heard sound of coins, they would forget themselves and vote for the wrong leaders.

Lufrika was blessed with rare earth gems, black gold, fertile soil, and a superb climate. The land was evergreen throughout the year. The irony was that a large number of people were living in abject poverty. Many orphaned children roamed the streets, begging for food, mothers prostituted their bodies to sustain their families, while unemployed and frustrated youths searched for jobs, with long brown envelopes containing their C.Vs. Universities produced thousands of half-baked graduates who could not be absorbed into the workforce.

The children of this soil originated from the same mother, and had the same features. However, people from the neighbouring lands told them that they were different. The land had become divided, and the once united Lufrika began rejecting their brothers and sisters. To this day, their blood sisters and brothers see their own siblings as a threat, competing for scarce opportunities of employment. Lufrikans traded not as people with a common origin, but as competitors, so much so that they had better economic ties with the neighbouring land, than with their own people.

Every neighbour wanted a piece of this land, because it was a Canaan with immense wealth. This made them scramble competitively for the rich resources. Lufrika was very careful to whom it related, in case it spoilt the party for some traditional neighbours with whom they had enjoyed economic relations for a long time. The leaders in Lufrika were often caught in a dilemma, because associating with some neighbours meant that they would lose some of the benefits that they enjoyed. The leaders who went against the wishes of certain rich neighbours, who regarded themselves as gods, were regarded as criminals. Their days were numbered because the Machiavellian philosophy of ‘the end justifies the means’ was fully utilized. These neighbours lit fires and blamed the Lufrikan leaders for lighting them. These wars would last for decades and the children of this soil would die like rats. Lufrikans, however, would never ask themselves why the neighbours never wanted to cut the supply of weaponry. Lufrikans went on fighting these wars, in order to sustain the booming weapon industry of their neighbours. It was also a way of removing Lufrikan leaders that were not cooperating with them. When Lufrikans wanted to hold onto the teachings of their ancestors, the neighbours told them that this was archaic and a sign of backwardness. Any leaders that raised their hands to oppose policies that conflicted with their long-held spiritual values, were put on notice. They were told by the neighbours to either work with them, or walk away peacefully.

In Lufrika, the level of corruption was very high in public offices. This included the institutions of learning, the churches and the local communities. Public resources that could be used to turn around the economy and improve the lives of Lufrikans, disappeared into the pockets of a few individuals. These individuals seemed to care very little about the wider population. Corruption facilitated the smuggling of hard drugs, fire-arms that sustained endless internal feuds, as well as the selling of rhino horns and elephant tusks. In this land, people bought degrees and other qualifications, a phenomenon that mirrored the rot that existed within the learning institutions. The legal institutions were also corrupt. As a result, criminals walked out of the courts as free men, after bribing the judges.

The level of poverty was high. Lufrika was very wealthy, but only a few individuals owned the resources, while the majority of its citizens barely had enough to live on. The basic amenities, such as housing, electricity, and foodstuffs, were a luxury to many of the people, because they could hardly afford them. There was the unequal distribution of resources by visionless and selfish leaders that just thought about enriching themselves. The people were greedy and they voted for the wrong leaders, which left Lufrika worse off than before. They ate as much as they could, before their tenure expired. Lufrika was desperate for good leadership! They looked forward to seeing the day when xenophobia, gender inequality, poverty, racial segregation, interminable wars, corruption, diseases, illiteracy, sycophancy, nepotism and tribalism would end.

After several years of suffering, a messiah came. Wangarĩ was their true messiah, who would liberate them from all those ills. She worked indefatigably to transform Lufrika and restore hope among Lufrikans. She fought corruption, endless ethnic/racial/economic and interfaith wars, gender inequality, diseases, illiteracy, sycophancy and nepotism. This reformer created a new Lufrika and transformed it. People from neighbouring lands looked forward to coming, because Lufrika was now a happy nation that was well-fed, a nation that was open to foreigners, a nation that treated women and men the same, a nation that had the best quality and affordable education and health care systems, a nation that would analyze what politicians said, in order to make informed choices. It was a new Lufrika!

CHAPTER TWO

W ake up, wake up, my children! Let’s go and give Wangarĩ our votes, said John. His eldest son responded, Over my dead body will I waste my vote by appointing a female candidate. John slammed the door. He was furious. He commanded that, in his household, everyone had no choice but to vote for Wangarĩ. Maswali asked his father, How come you vote for Wangarĩ? Have you forgotten that Fisadi gave us some money for groceries? Nyawĩra, the mother, was listening to the whole conversation, but never uttered a single word. She was an introvert who spoke few words, and only when necessary. John, on the contrary, was a chatterbox. The youngest son, Amani, asked why they should not vote for a woman. Amani said that women were important and played a significant role in society. They had made remarkable contributions to society and therefore needed to be given the space to lead. Maswali was irked by Amani and said, Please save me from that conversation, forget about women, because they are led by emotions and, therefore, voting for them would be the greatest blunder we could make. The father intervened, and said, Come on! Have you not seen how Sister Khanyisile the mistresses of the Shida Secondary School performed so well, that the school topped all the other schools in Lufrika, ten times running? Have you forgotten how Mama Nurisha improved the health of most Jikaze residents by educating them about healthy eating and adopting healthy lifestyles? Have you forgotten Madam Imara, who eradicated local liquor, which contributed to reducing father absenteeism and the distribution of hard drugs, which turned youth into imbeciles? Have you forgotten Mama Agbakoba, a mother who brought peace and reconciliation to the Shida warring ethnic communities? Are these not women who have played a huge role in this land of Lufrika? How dare you reduce women as whims! We need women in our society to take on leadership, and to fill decisive roles. They have proved themselves to be competent in many notable fields, such as science, politics, spirituality, and so forth.

No-one can beat my mother, she is my heroine and a great woman, because she decided to bring life on earth. My brother, Maswali, our mothers are great life-givers and that is why we need them in this land. In Lufrika, we need life, not death. Brothers and sisters are murdering one another for black gold, fuelled by their neighbours who have economic interests in Lufrika. Needless to say, tribalism and hatred among the siblings is taking away the lives of the innocent. We need life and not death! We need life and not death! We need it! Our mothers have the capacity to bring it to us by eradicating poverty, promoting education and fighting against corruption. They can bring sanity into Lufrika, if given the space. While men wage war, women wage peace, said Amani.

Are you sure about what you are saying, Amani? asked Maswali. Yes I am, responded Amani. What about the recent involvement of women in terror and gangster activities? asked Maswali. [Amani avoids the question and continues to recommend women]. Our own mothers sacrifice themselves their entire lives to see us prosper. After a long day in the heat of the sun, our mothers are the last to go to bed, late at night. In the morning, they are the first to wake up, in order to prepare breakfast, polish our shoes, bathe and clothe us. While the women are doing domestic chores in the kitchen, even after their heavy day, most men are sitting on the settees, reading the newspaper and watching Lufrikan movies and TV series.

It was six o’clock in the evening and the conversation was distracted by