I didn't know that I also have the PM's status

Yesterday, as I was headed home, I got nine simultaneous calls and a text message. Of those, I only returned two. The point in the calls was that they had seen me on TV yawning at a news conference addressed by the Institute of Surveyors of Kenya.
That my yawning, made the cut on prime time news in the 'most authoritative news channel' on a Friday night should tell you that I have the same status as Prime Minister Raila Odinga. No?
As at yesterday, we can both say we shared the same platform for the same reasons! He was caught on TV yawning (and dozing), I was just yawning. That's what long working hours do to you. I think I need my leave soon. Seriously!
That should tell you about the 'media stupidity' that Esther Arunga and the PM have been complaining. People are busy discussing the crucial issue of contention over the land chapter in the proposed Constitution, yet all the reporter and the cameraman do is to focus on a yawning journalist as a fit cutaway!
We have to get serious if we have to move this country forward.
Anyway, it didn't feel bad to be seen on TV after a long hiatus...yeah Parliament is on recess. Plus I got to know that my friends and family are news conscious and they watch TV and they still remember me.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

This is Louis --that interview with artists was tight!

Louis Otieno is one of the few broadcasters I do enjoy watching. Of course (I like that word alot), there is Rama Nyang' and Jeff Koinange. So, I am not talking about broadcasters today, so I will not list all my favourites. That's a story for another day. So, when he moved to K24 from Citizen TV, Louis moved with his name which is already a brand in media circles. He hosts a weekly talkshow, really a discussion like that of CNN's Larry King, that is not only informative, but truly resonates with the people of Kenya. So here he was this Wednesday night with leading artists in Kenya, the cream of the entertainers of this country. There was Nameless and Juacali (all musicians), the talented Arthur K. (a TV music producer), Larry Asego and Kajairo (influential radio personalities in their own right) and one Ben Njiru, a man in a smart suit, I don't know who he is. The chitchat focused on the constitution. But then there was the usual bibble-babble about being left out of t...
Read more

LONG READ: The YALI Experience in 3,200 Words

Image
There are lessons you are inadvertently taught when you are a 35-year-old being forced to sit in the same class with an 18-year-old. Imagine someone who is half your age, with less of life experiences sitting by your side, being taught the things you should have learned eighteen years ago. You feel a little jealous that you were not told these things early enough; that some people are just lucky. But you also feel hopeful that a young generation is being made to learn about better ideals of leadership, and what a good society should look like. It is also somewhat shameful that you haven’t really done a lot to ‘change lives’, and in a country with a life expectancy of 61 years such as Kenya, you take a silent vow – the things you tell your heart and your mind and your conscience— to use the remaining part of your life to change the world. Your world. But when you sit in that class with an open mind, to learn not just from the lecturers but also from your colleagues, both the one...
Read more

Order! You two principals!

I am not a prophet. But I know two things about the President and his men: they believe they are the law, and if not, they believe they are above the law. I spend most of my time in Parliament and that is not something to smile about. A friend of mine, George, joked that I spend my time “surrounded by 222 idiots”. “How do you survive?” he asked. Being a journalist, I looked at him. Is this guy trying the ‘show-me-your-friend-and-I-will-tell-you-who –you-are’ thing on me? But then I laughed it off. But, kindly indulge me. The President submits names to Parliament. The Prime Minister makes a lot of noise about being left out of the loop and asks the Speaker not to accept the President’s nominees. So, the Speaker is harassed for sometime to make crucial decisions. He ponders about it; buys time “hoping” the President and the PM will sit and agree. The duo fail to agree and say, “On the Issue of the nominations to fill State offices currently under consideration by Parliament, the two ...
Read more