NYACHAE THE YOUNG PEOPLE HAVE NOT KNOWN

As a young boy growing up in the larger Kisii community Hon. Simion Nyachae’s name was synonymous to power, wealth and fame.

I remember how my father with other elders used to discuss about the future of Abagusii weaving it to the national fabric - in this wavelength Hon Nyachae’s name dominated vastly alongside the list of promising church leaders, the educated, businessmen, and top civil servants.

This created a sense of enthusiasm and yearning to know him better. To understand how he was able to raise and stand tall from the rest. Thanks to my late brother, Charles Nyarang’o who was a great documentalist – in treasuring books, journals, magazines and newspapers.

These materials opened the curtain to who, when, where, why and how’s of Nyachae. However, it’s one thing to read about someone, watch him in the TV, and listen to people’s opinion about him/her. But it is totally different when you meet, however, how brief the moment might be.

This explains why as a young boy with the rest of my friends, notwithstanding how much we were restricted to attended public rallies, much more political ones, we had to find ourselves among the surging crowd that attended the public rally which was addressed by Nyachae in his entry to politics.

We tried to push our way as close as possible to the podium to have a camera like glance but our struggle was met with order that can rarely be registered in our political rallies presently: we all had to sit down in silence that was punctuated by ululation and political songs echoing with the bursting waters of River Gucha and its gigantic trees blending with praises in honor to Hon Nyachae. Every word counted. He was authority personified. Nevertheless, he was dressed in a very simple, modest manner.

Nyachae’s entry and exit from politics has given me a food of thought over the years. It had made me to raise more questions than answers. To look into the lives of our political leaders devoid of biasness rather with objectivity; without judgmentalism rather with a spirit to glean some lessons to apply in my daily life; and without other people’s pinion rather with facts.

It’s self evident that Nyachae unrolled one of the most comprehensive and dynamic manifesto to the constituency. It touched on water, electricity, education, health care system, agriculture and employment and other penitent issues.

In assuming leadership the constituents were called to mobilize themselves into self-help groups – to be given a daily cow, a modern bleed of high yield which was supposed to calf through artificial insemination or though the bull of the same caliber. What happened? People devoured one another ruining the project after its launch.

Our primary school, Nyaguta was one of the beneficiaries among other schools in the constituency. What happened? Wanting care was afforded - the daily cow died. 

On the front of education, he offered his salary as a bursary fund to go a long way to benefit needy and worthy students, particularly secondary students. What happened? History is a great testimony, indeed some students might have benefited from the kitty but Nyachae’s desired goals were thwarted.

Mismanagement and corruption was reported to have pushed the poor into an oozing zone of lamentation and differed hope, hope that rested on the ability of poor but brilliant children.

The result of not dealing with our problems correctively in the context of self sacrifice and mutual trust are obvious – the viscous cycle of poverty endures, the divide between the have and have nots grow, hooliganism and crime from the village to the national arena ensures, yes, insecurity and unemployment persists coupled with soaring resentment and rebellion towards the government and leaders.

However, how generous a leader might be if the rest of the community has not embraced, owned the vision – realizing the same is very difficult. People will be living on short term and selfish benefits at the expense of grandeur and lasting objectives, example holding hands in securing best education possible, widening business opportunities, scaling food production and extra.

As leaders sign a contract the people, people must sign their own – methink this will foster checks and balances that will drive our societies to another level of progress.

Yes, leaders need to realize that those who benefit from them unjustly will never celebrate with someone else or tell a friend or a neighbor; they feel that they have paid for it through their dishonesty and corrupt means. They join those who are, sincerely, in need and afflicted and are finding a means to be heard – within no time they cause turbulence that is beyond their influence to contain.

Those invested with the privilege of being go between the leaders create a chasm too wide to come together and reason and to high to cross with consolation that their riding will be forever safe.

The aftermath is that we end up crushing great leaders as our disappoints worsen.

In the front of health care Nyachae realized a great feat – putting up a dispensary in every sub location, 19, with a constant supply of medication. Nyaribari Chache blossomed as a health care centre for the surrounding constituencies.

I had an opportunity as a university student representative to have moments of brain storming with Nyachae on the challenges our fellow youths were facing and the way forward.

This encounter helped me to come in term with the brilliance and accumulative experience of Nyachae. I was amazed how his memory meandered to the past bouncing with analytical solutions to the present challenges.

I treasure his endearing dictum that every problem we encounter in life is a stepping stone to realize our potential and take hold of success. To Nyachae there are no small opportunities – every chance calls for the best in us, excellent returns.

It is noteworthy that after leaving Kisii High School in 1954, he threw himself to the uncharted waters of entrepreneurship where the enormous Kabasora empire was born from the baking of 16 loaves of bread that he distributed using a bicycle in raising and falling terrains of Kisii.  

He mustered the acumen of dexterously blending entrepreneurship with educational pursuit thus when he proceeded to Churchill College, Cambridge for a diploma course in public administration his dream was not stifled with the comfort that  come with education and status to sit back and enjoy – his exposer widened his vision beyond the horizon and renewed his spirit of hard working and precision.

As he astronomically a rose in the civil service ranks to the apex, chief secretary; unlike many people who drown in miasma class and feat, Nyachae never forfeited farming. While working in Nakuru as a Provincial Commissioner he afforded time to persist in his farming exploits in Kisii, plough by him.

In a time when we are bombarded with momentous challenges ranging from food insecurity, unemployment, climate change, poverty among others there is much we can learn from those who have left a foot print in the sands of  determination, endurance, hard work,  falling and raising and serving. Learn from their success and forfeit their failure. This calls for knowing someone who truly he is, like Nyachae.

My parting sort to all of us: “Lazy hands make for poverty, but diligent hands bring wealth,” the wise man, Solomon says.