I have observed, with a mixture of amusement and trepidation, the recent happenings on the political scene. It reminded me many moons ago when I led a resistance movement against elected student leaders. I was being heavily supported by the Government of the day. I eventually succeeded In destabilising the student leadership and bending them to my will,at a handsome profit.
It was during the grand coalition government. The cost of living was very high and an Unga revolution was brewing. All top leaders had been booed and asked about Unga in public meetings. Money was being poured by NGOs to finance the Unga revolution. Black shirts,marked with a clenched fist,and emblazoned with the word OTPOR were everywhere. I was told that OTPOR originated from Serbia and meant resistance.
These NGOs were able to penetrate student leadership and recruit our student union chairman. He was well remunerated to claim Students were supporting OTPOR.
I soon got wind of his machinations. We had previously clashed and he was undermining me repeatedly although I was a mid ranking student union official. I decided to take my revenge. I contacted a lecturer who was close to the powers that be and informed him that the government was under siege and something needed to be done.
The lecturer later got back to me and asked what could be done. I proposed a serious press conference by student leaders who would disown the Chairman and give some halfhearted support to the Government. He directed me to organize the press conference and asked me to meet him and receive facilitation which I did. I then recruited a large number of junior elected student leaders. Largely hall representatives.
The next day, we held a well attended press conference at a city hotel. It is then that I saw government machinery at work. The media arrived including Kenya News Agency. They then directed us on our sitting arrangement and lighting. After we read the statement,they would give us further directions and then record. The hall representatives disowned the chairman and claimed he had no locus standi to speak on matters without their mandate. He was castigated as a Tumbocrat and a fraudster and impeachment proceedings were threatened.
A government Landrover then arrived and I was called and given a paperbag full of cash. It was from the local PC who had been informed of my patriotic schemes.
After we were through I got some few friends and gave them cash to distribute as all the attendees were served Soda. I then interacted with the journalists and thanked them for coming. I asked them to give it prominence in the news.
I then got a taxi and escaped with my paperbag. My phone did not stop ringing as people called to congratulate me and try to be close. They could not understand how I organised such a big press conference despite my junior post. Some wanted some handouts but were using coded language.
More interestingly the chief security officer of the university called and thanked me. He asked me to pass by his office for a chat. I later in the next week did so and he gave me some good cash.
The student union chairman was later to loose clout after I became very popular with grassroots student leaders who had tasted my generosity and, since I had not spoken but left it to the hall representatives to speak ,they had some little fame courtesy of me.
That weekend I escaped to my rural home to enjoy my loot courtesy of the state.
Indeed when you climb the Iroko tree you must bring down as much firewood as possible.
Please remind me to tell you of Masood and the defence of a first Lady.
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