Caption: Raila Odinga as Prime Minister, an air's breath from the Presidency. ( photo/ pulselive)
Chinua Achebe has a subtle warning to all heroes in the world. I feel Raila falls in the very category that Chinua Achebe was addressing as he spoke. This is the message that the late Achebe sought to drum into the deaf ears of heroes; he says that all heroes are lying dead in the field as cowards are telling their children and grandchildren tales of their ' heroism' and 'valor' in wars they never participated in!
Indeed, the cowards will always eat groundnuts with their grandchildren as the hounds tear the carcases of all heroes in the wilds of the battlefield.
I feel that comrade Raila Odinga has played hero for too long. I strongly think that he is strongly hurt in the battlefield and his dripping blood is attracting the hounds of the jungle.
In every struggle, the baton must be handed to the next generation. As the bible aptly puts it, what will it benefit a man to gain the whole world and lose his soul?
If you ask me, I will tell you without fear of contradiction that baba needs to relax in cool places like Zanzibari. His muscles need gentle kneading from a professional masseur like the good Zanzibaris.
Yet come to think of it. Where did Raila go wrong in his political ambition to deserve the unenviable title of ' the President who never was?' What really went wrong with his political journey?
A number of people have brought the disputable argument that old Jaramogi cursed Raila when he attempted to inherit his mantle in FORD while he (Jaramogi) was still alive. For this reason, cultural reasons have been advanced to explain Raila's failure.
However, I feel that Raila's restlessness and rush judgment in decision has contributed largely to his failure. This has costed him valuable friends. Raila has changed his political friends frequently like the diapers of a child suffering from a serious bout of diarrhea. Ask William Ruto and he will tell you how Raila cannot be trusted as a friend.
This explains why William Ruto lost all love for Raila. You will always hear him refer to ' Yule mchawi wa vitendawili.'
All said, I feel Raila's failure to ascend to the Presidency can, and should, only be blamed on nobody else, but himself.