Skip to main content

Minding Your Own Business

The other day, I was talking with an upwardly mobile lady. An upwardly mobile lady is one who is doing quite well in life, has a good job, a good lifestyle and has planned out her life in a way that Wycliffe Oparanya, our minister of planning , would envy. However, my friend thinks that am favouring the above lady, and as he points out, an upwardly mobile lady should at least own the keys to a Toyota Vitz. Anyway, as a few of you may have realized, that wasn't the point.

The upwardly mobile lady told me that contrary to popular opinion in a certain secondary school, she did not reach such great heights while others slept. Matter of fact, she told me that they were wide awake, otherwise who would she have bought breakfast from in the morning and who would have ferried her to work? she told me that she had reached to this great heights by minding her own business. It is at this point that I raised a very strong objection. I was of the opinion that those had reached such great heights through the combined business of many people.

You cannot achieve such great heights if everyone decided to mind their own business. For example, if those in the great heights of the government decided to mind their own business, we would be in chaos. Unfortunately, they occasionally decide to mind their own business, while others are always minding their own business. In the beginning of 2008, they decided to strictly mind their own business, and any one who was considered not part of their business had a high mathematical probability of being slashed to death,shot to death or cremated alive without an opportunity to choose which method they best liked.

Then there are those who always mind their own business. How do you think people ended up in the Mau forest, or the Government decided to that Volkswagen Passats were the cars most close to gods of economics

The results of people minding their own business can be very tragic. If the owner of the matatu decided to mind his own business and maintain it with cheapest and most likely to fail parts, and the driver decided to mind his own business of putting alcohol first, and the traffic police mind their own business like they usually do, you might be a dead end.

That reminds me of a picture that appeared in the papers the other day. A North-rift 14 seater matatu had most of its body ripped off, and 5 out of the 14 souls were the only ones lucky enough left to tell a story. the story is that a trailer driver was minding his own business, and he decided to overtake another trailer. As he was minding his own business and overtaking the other trailer, the matatu was coming from the opposite direction. The road happened to be raised several metres off the ground, and the result was that the trailer and matatu swerved off towards the side of the road, and the trailer ripped off the front and side of the matatu. I have also seen a bus full of passengers leave the road to avoid a lorry driver who decides to make a side turn as the bus overtakes. the lorry driver returned to his side of the road and continued minding his business, and the bus passengers were left to mind theirs.

There is also the case of a few countries like Sierra Leone and Democratic Republic of Congo that happened to have been blessed with lots of business in terms of mineral. As a result, several people minding their own business decided to invest in a few high powered fire arms and square out whose business will mind over the business. There is also the peculiar case of Somalia, where they am still not sure whose business triggered a never-ending war.

Then there is Bush, who decided that a certain Saddam Hussein would make a very good input in his business. Right now, there are several people in Iraq minding their own business, and the business includes blowing themselves to the next world with the highest possible scorecard in terms of casualty.

And Ladies and Gentlemen, that is whys you should be wary of people who mind their own business. You might not end up appearing as crucial assets in their business, but as a liability to be ridden off.

Mind other peoples business, and you will reach to great heights. P.s. when it comes to minding your competitors business, please undercut them, and always make sure that you mind business of those who hold favours.
Reactions:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The bitter story of the downfall of Mumias Sugar company

Have you heard the bitter story of Mumias Sugar?

Regarded by many as Kenya's most successful sugar miller, Mumias Sugar Company was a disaster waiting to happen.

Many pointed out how Mumias Sugar Company was a fortress in the wreck that is Kenya's sugar industry, only unaware that it was just a matter of time. As the old wise men said, "Ukiona cha mwenzako cha nyolewa, tia chako maji".

The proverb means that if you see your neighbour's head getting shaved, your head will soon be undergoing the same - you'd therefore better wet your head for a smoother shave, otherwise you will be forced to undergo a painful, dry, shave.

But what ails Kenya's sugar industry?

The Kenya sugar industry is under legal siege. The typical Kenyan issue of coming up with laws to tackle a problem is evident here.

Many of Kenya's sugar factories are owned by the government, and have slowly declined under mismanagement and corruption. The appointing of political cronies and trib…
Post a Comment
Read more

Beers in Kenya: A sober opinion

I have had a short beer swigging stint in my life. It has however been long enough for me to share my opinions of Kenyan beer. Interestingly, over the course of sharing such opinions with other drunkards connoisseurs,  I have found that we all have different views as to what beer is the best, which one makes you too drunk, or which one gives a free,  extra hangover for every hangover you get from it.

For starters, like everyone else, I discovered that beer isn’t as sweet as it looks like in those adverts that show golden barley swaying in breezes,  happy men smiling and toasting chilled, foaming glasses of beer as a deep voice does some narration in the background.

Beer is bitter! Now, it turns out beer is intentionally made bitter. See,  beer shares the same ingredients as bread. The major difference is that bread isn't fermented. Bread is sweet, so why isn't beer sweet?
Post a Comment
Read more

Kenyan products: The art of punishing your consumer

Peanut butter used to taste so good, but you could not afford it on the pocket money that you got back in school. A few years later, you have your first real job and your first "disposable" income. You buy your first real tub of peanut butter , probably the first in your life. You feel proud that Dominion peanut butter is manufactured in Ruiru, a town that you visited in your campus days to withdraw your pocket money , it was the nearest bank ATM to your campus. This was before Equity bank became a mainstream bank and decided to open an ATM in your campus, and before M-Pesa meant that you could withdraw your pocket money next to the kibanda  where you had your one meal of the day.

The peanut butter though is a far cry form the peanut butter you remember. It does not taste that good, and turns into some sort of stone barely before you are a third way through the jar. The stone is not a kind that you learned about in your Geography classes though.

Dejectedly, you decide not …
Post a Comment
Read more

How much Nairobi Residents Pay in Rent

In my last post, I explained how difficult for people looking for housing in Nairobi. The main challenge is lack of information. On this front, I began a project that will collect some information, which will provide some start for those looking for housing in different areas in the city.

In the last one month, 33 people have given their responses.




Interesting enough, majority of the respondents, 16 to be exact, live in 2 bedrooms. This may mean that either 2 bedrooms are the most popular rentals in the city, or the most available. Only one way to find out - if you live in a 2 bedroom rental, here’s another survey.

10 of those who filled in the survey live in self contained 1 bedrooms.

5 people have 3 bedrooms, including 2 in Kikuyu, 1 in Ngong and Lower Kabete each, and another around Langata/National Park.

1 respondent has a 4 bedroom, while another one has a self contained bedsitter.
Pricing




Turning to pricing, the price of 1 bedrooms ranges from Kshs. 10,000 in Rongai to Kshs…
Post a Comment
Read more

A Kenyan in Addis Ababa (Part 2) - The "University Girls"

This post continues from Part 1. 

The residents of Addis are friendly too. On my first day, I did meet a guard at a hotel, who later offered to show me around. Among the places he suggested, was this place where some “University girls” were holding some "dancing ceremony". He added, that Ethiopians being Orthodox Christians, were about to go on a sex, alcohol and meat fast, hence the importance of this “ceremony.”
I had some suspicion that I was being sold to sex, but my guide insisted that this was not a sex sale. Just dancing University girls. We did end up in some nondescript compound, and into a house. There was sort of a sitting area, with a radio system, low benches and tables, and grass sprinkled around the floor. Grass sprinkled around the floor is an Ethiopian tradition that indicates you are welcome to a place.

It was about 5 PM,  and the hosts seemed not to be expecting any visitors at this time. My guide disappeared down some corridor into the back to call them. In…
Post a Comment
Read more