Deputy President William Ruto's ambition for the top seat in the coming 2022 general polls is already in the public domain, only awaiting its realisation.
However, he will have to do some compulsory tasks to realise that, the major one being to woo national leaders whose closeness to him might translate to votes.
And though he is reportedly anticipating President Uhuru Kenyatta's backing in the race, Ruto actually needs to be more keen on Raila's support.
With Raila on his side, should it get to that, he will be assured of a win.
This is because apart from his Luo Nyanza bedrock, the opposition chief also enjoys backing in some parts of Western Kenya, Coast and North Eastern.
This is as opposed to Uhuru who is not known to have any backing in other regions outside Central Kenya homeland, meaning that Ruto might still lose even with his nod.
Also, Raila has proved his ability to sabotage his rivals' presidencies and needs to be on the winners' side for them to win peacefully in the first place.
He has brought himself out as a rebellious leader with a backing of millions of diehard supporters ready to come out in their thousands in opposition or support of anyone or anything.
He also forced a rerun after the previous general election and could do the same to Ruto should the DP not manage to pull him to his side.
As an enemy, Raila who is known as a great mobiliser will cause nothing but trouble to Ruto even after he (Ruto) wins, resulting in stalled operations.
Courtesy of his constant critics and at times street demonstrations, Ruto will not get the time to realise his manifesto should he win, giving him a hard time explaining his failures the next time he faces the electorate.
Finally and most importantly, with Raila in his bandwagon and out of the race, Ruto will not have any major competition, sliding smoothly to the statehouse.
Uhuru will, on the other hand, be a retiree who cannot compromise his image by criticising the government or leading any demonstrations.
He will be out of the scene, following up from his retirement destination and is therefore not a threat in any way.
#HivisasaOriginal.