By: Ahmed Hassan In Nairobi, Kenya
A lot of people thought the outspoken Eldas Member of Parliament (MP) Adan Keynan would shake the one time confused and restless Wajir county governor Ahmed Abdullahi, but it doesn’t look so of late.
Keynan was one time self-declared King of Wajir politics, and indeed he was.
The boyish looking Mheshimiwa (honourable) created a constituency where many were not expecting. He successfully changed attitudes and the people of Eldas are now competing with central Wajir where the ‘who-is-who’ of the county is housed. If you travel to Eldas today, you will not pay sh25 to get Safaricom airtime scratch card ‘bamba 20’ as it used to be.
The business community in Eldas directly source goods from Nairobi, Moyale and Garissa to avoid being of advantage to the middlemen at Wajir who had them sell goods like outposts merchants.
We all remember before 4th March General Election how Keynan was on the move to ensure govenor Ahmed Abdullahi alias Ahmed Jirow and other CORD candidates clinched seats to maintain the position of Wajir as a well known “ngome ya Raila”( the political stronghold of Raila) rather than putting focus on his own election bid. The man was sure of something- victory!
Ahmed Abdullahi (Jirow) managed to clinch the gubernatorial seat due to tyranny of numbers considering he comes from the Matan Degodia sub-clan which is majority in his Degodia clan. He trounced the current ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Mohamed Abdi alias mwalimu Pekee whose fall came after expensive pride that cost him hundreds of camels. Ahmed Jirow also got support from Keynan who Wajirians love so much but could not trust him with a seat at the county level.
Third and most important, Ahmed was a new comer and best among the worst of the three candidates. After expensive campaigns, Ahmed Jirow was announced the duly elected governor. Keynan was overwhelmed with joy! At least mwalimu lost everything that day.
But when you fight for your brother to get a beautiful girl, you don’t expect him to ask for more. You don’t expect him to ask you to “sweet-talk” her to the matrimonial bed, however “inexperienced” he may look.
To Ahmed, Wajir is the beautiful girl, and it’s over. The rest are in-laws and guests in his house andnothing more. However, Keynan thinks he deserves a share of this beautiful girl and that is when the problem starts. This ‘girl’ who is now raising her family had just realised she is surrounded by a powerful admirer with unclear motives because she has never been part of any love triangle before.
That aside, this pretty girl is already heavy and about to deliver beautiful kids like her and make the entire village proud for the first time in its existence. The secret admirer has his own reasons: he thinks this girl deserves more than she’s getting. Here now emerges unnecessary competition since it involves two brothers (sharing same political party). A man’s marriage is at a stake and in order to protect his house from raiders, he is emerging out stronger.
The court of public opinion has become a centre of confusion and full of noise as the lovers in question
lock horns. The beautiful girl sometimes sees a different future with a lifestyle better than her current state—if promises by the admirer and his sympathizers are anything to go by.
It is at this point that she decides to consult her peers. They give varying ideas leaving her more confused. In a moment, she tries to concentrate on her role and leave the sideshows. It is only at that moments that her husband appears more religious, handsome and very responsible. Reading the signals, the boss takes his First Lady out to a lavish place she has never been to surprises her with gifts she has never imagined and before she utters a word, he intimately tells herhis side of the story as she listens.
Indeed he is a proud husband with respect and raised status in the society and he underlines that she is the sole reason he is proud. She forgets every thing ‘else’ and promises to devote all her energy to him. But the question is: For how long will she entertain the thought while her husband; the boss is busy accumulating fees for the kids?
-the writer is a commentator on Wajir Ccounty affairs. He can be reached on ahmedwajeer@gmail.com
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