The Simon Makonde Phenomenon

Back in the day,when I was in Primary school,I think it was in Class Two or Class Three there,I remember reciting about this character called Simon Makonde.I cant really recall how the story flowed but I remember ,Makonde,a full mundu khu mundu, was born on Monday and died on a Sunday.

That part I cant forget.In a stint between Tuesday to Saturday,he went to school,married and got sick…!I think in between cramming my multiple table of 12 and trying to figure out outdated mathematics of how much it would cost to send a telegram chargeable per word and letter,I lost the Makonde Plot…!Yeah,thats the folly of the 8-4-4 system...!But look how i turned out? {by the way,if anyone remembers the flow of the Makonde story,i will be much obliged…}

In the short span that was his life,Simon Makonde accomplished what most people take a lifetime to accomplish.But then again,maybe the author of the Makonde story had something else in mind when he put his life span to within a week.Perhaps,a week in Makonde’s life could have been 20Years,50 Years,…heck who knows ,maybe even 100years!But at age 8/9 Years when I was reading this,I couldn’t comprehend what I do now.In my infant thinking,a week was a week and I will stick to that analogy.



Makonde epitomizes a “perfect” life for a perfect human being.A life without the stress & strife of recession .A life perfected and mastered at the blueprint.But then again,if my memory is doing me justice,I think he got sick on a Friday and waz taken to hospital on a Saturday,i gues he had his own strife.

Ok,where im I going with this?

Well,I was drawing from this analogy how most people live a Makonde shell life.

Everyone wants to become significant in life.It Is an inner desire which every human being deeply harbors within them.I believe no one enjoys the humiliation of failure or the frustration of a mediocre standard of life:we all want more enriching experiences of life.

But then again mediocricity sets in when you begin to compare and rate yourself with the standards or performance levels of others.The only repercussion is that you will most definitely end up being the best of the worst and the worst of the best since you u are not at your personal best.

When you are a Makonde,u want to accomplish too much within a short span.Some have however done just that:achieved a lot in a short span:I don’t deny,there’s always an exception to each “rule”.Others on the other hand have put onto themselves undue pressure and stress trying to make it:some have faked making it:others fake making it on a daily basis.

The Makondeism is manifest in our workplaces.We strive to elevate our positions at work by geting ahead at all costs.Again,nothing wrong with that.However,we step on the toes of our colleagues ,stab them in the back to gain favor from our bosses and reinforce promotion chances. We apply cut throat gimmicks that will give us leverage to achieve our ultimate goal(s)

I find it disturbing the way people have this misplaced notion that Monday is the blacklisted day of the week.If you want to  see what I mean:jst check on your previous social status updates;be it on facebook or twitter and those of your friends with regards to Mondays.Get my point?

On th flipside,Friday is the most happening day of the week.Infact research has shown that stress levels reduce 90% on Fridays than any other day of the week.Not to mention how glorified the day is:TGIF,Furahi-day,Where are we hooking up-day,Toa mpango-day,Kanywaji wapi-day..(well actually I made up the last three,but you get the point?)I have an idea,what if we treated each day of the week as a Friday and not rush through the rest of the week in anticipation for Friday then we would have been saying TGIM/T/W/T..?

I recently attended a Youth Empowerment conference in tha City.The highlight of the conference was a keynote speech by the Guest Speaker.As usual,in such youth empowerment fora,they call in some of these old grey haired chaps to come stir young minds to “action”.The guy as anticipated went on and on abt ..ooh its time the youth take over …,its your time,…you are the future…blah..blah..yawn..heard it before!But just as I waz abt to doze off,I heard the old man refer to “us” as the “Microwave Generation”..!He went on to explain that the youth want things done in microwave speed.They have no time to appreciate the details of history and reason:reading in between the lines and the footnotes that go with the subject matter. For once,I concurred wt the old folks.

A Makonde always looks for an easy way out.Everywhere you look in the society you will find a Makonde.Be it the matatu driver who throws caution to the wind and dangerously sweves onto the pavement to avoid the traffic jam,to the traffic policeman at the traffic lights waiting for a handout,The MP who promises you heaven while he has never even been there,let alone even in Church,to the ladies who put on weaves because their hair is whack..(ok..now that was below the belt..)etc.

But even before the real Makonde waz born,another Makonde existed in the way of Eve..(..the one in the Bible..not the rapper..)Since she wanted to be a Makonde to gain wisdom fast,she ate the fruit,then brought it to the man,who didn’t want to be a Makonde in the first place and they both ate it.See where that got them?No thanks to the womenfolk now all men became Makondes..!

And by the way,before Facebook and Chat rooms did any of us know of such things as LOL,LMAO,Smiley Icons and the like?The guys who came up with all this is the full Makonde,including the Kenyan who came up with “NKT” ..{..btw it took me a whle before I figured out what that meant..}And the fact that I use all these terms makes me a Makonde of sorts…LOL..see?

All these said,I believe the simple conveniences in life make lie in itself bearable and worth the while.No one wants to experience the discomfort of doing something the long way when there is a simpler ,less hectic way of doing it.Its like asking a small kid to collect bottle tops so that you can teach them addition and subtraction when the kid knows that there is a calculator which he can jst press and do that without the hustle.

I do believe patience is a virtue: but with the Makonde phenomenon clawing in every day,it seems like it’s going the dinosaur way.I am fighting the good fight.With faith in my God above,I can testify that surely good things come to those who wait in patience, reverence and humbleness. Life is compounded with ups and down and nothing comes easy.Infact I live by the adage that the best things in life are the ones you enjoy once you have stuggled for them.

So,to all you Makondes out there,keep up the good fight…

A wise man heeds the counsel of his father.As such,I draw most of my life philosophy from my Dad.In his wise counsel, my dad once told me..”..You must not die a mere man.Dont die unheard.You must take personal responsibility for your destiny and stop appealing for sympathy.Reputation is what society believes you are but character is what you are…"
{..Now translate that in Luo and it will sink in even deeper..u heard..!!}

The scribe rests his pen.