“When the curtain falls, it is time to get off the stage – and that is what I propose to do.” Former United Kingdom Prime Minister John Major made this memorable statement after losing the general election to Tony Blair’s Labour Party in 1997.
I recalled these words while reflecting on Raila Odinga’s winding political journey. It has been a tragicomedy of illustrious political career and pulsating successes, misses, near misses and spectacular failures.
Undoubtedly, Raila is a foremost political figure who has straddled the local political scene like a colossus across four regimes. He has reigned without occupying the highest seat on the land. Whatever regime, save for Jomo Kenyatta’s, he has had a fair share of its cake as much as he has contested against it.
After mission impossible on the local scene, Raila recently ventured into the continental stage for African Union Commission chairmanship. The debacle in Addis Ababa is still reverberating across the political landscape with various ramifications. It has revived calls for Prime Minister Raila or even President Raila come 2027.
In neither my Railaphobia nor Railamania view, Agwambo (Raila) met his political waterloo in the 2022 presidential election. Then, he had all it takes to become president but William Samoei Ruto miraculously outmanoeuvred him. In his own confession ahead of the 2022 election, he held the last bullet then. The fall in Addis was merely the icing on the cake for his jinxed missions.
Agwambo, the curtain has long fallen, and the echoes of applause have faded. Time is nigh for your exit from the political scene. It’s time for you to hand over the baton to the next generation of politicians as you bask in your sunset moments as an elder statesman.
The political stage is dotted with your grandchildren’s age mates who may engage you in pigsty fights and soil your legacy. These are the people who don’t play in your league, as you have always reminded them metaphorically.
A stint as Prime Minister, five presidential election losses and one crucial continental position loss, just how else higher can you climb – Agwambo? The Kamukuywa folks say the higher the monkey climbs, the more he shows his behind. Must it come to that? Would you like to be the proverbial dancer who refused to leave the stage and danced until he became lame? A wise man knows when to retreat and the best time is to quit while you’re shining.
Agwambo, you’re overstaying your welcome. The curtain has fallen and there are many reasons why you should quit the stage. Presidential election losses notwithstanding, you have evidently played a great role in national politics and you have nothing else to prove. Your footprints in the reform movements over the last four decades are indelible.
You were one of the valiant soldiers in the trenches when the country yearned for multiparty democracy, leading to the repeal of Section 2A of the Constitution in 1991. With your ‘Kibaki tosha’ declaration, you played a central role in the end of the 40-year Kanu rule. As Prime Minister (2008-2013), you were instrumental in the promulgation of the 2010 Constitution which ushered a semblance of democracy. You have been a fervent advocate of good governance and social justice.
Agwambo, your recent political manoeuvres threaten to dent your rich legacy and erase all your contributions if you don’t quit the stage. It all began when you surprisingly joined Ruto’s (broad-based) government. This is the very government whose legitimacy you bitterly questioned following the 2022 disputed presidential election result. And your move couldn’t have come at a worse time — during the Gen Zs’ rebellion for good governance. Many young people who worshipped at your political altar now perceive you as a betrayer of their cause. By joining Ruto’s government, you have now become a political mongrel and emboldened all the mischiefs the regime has been accused of.
Agwambo, I see mockery in the Prime Minister and President posts dangled at you. Both friend and foe urging you to remain on the stage are not doing so out of love for you but for their own political preservation. Ruto is cosying up to you for his second term ambitions amid diminishing prospects. Many governors, senators, MPs and even MCAs want you around because they owe their positions to you and hope for future endorsements. Even your enemies have gained political mileage merely from abusing you!
You vied for the presidency in 1997, 2007, 2013, 2017, and 2022. Five times unlucky! In all these occasions you have faced diminishing returns in your bid for power and any other bid and loss will bury your legacy, forever. That many of your adherents now suffer political support fatigue following serial losses is evident. You should exit the stage gracefully and mentor younger leaders. Having spent your last bullet in 2022, what else do you possess is in your armoury if not unconventional weapons?
Remember Jesus Christ’s last moments in the Garden of Gethsemane when he famously declared to his disciples, “the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.” At almost 80 years now, do you really still have the burning fire and passion of yester-years? The physical and mental demands of political leadership is exhausting and potentially harmful to your performance and judgment on critical issues.
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Agwambo, it’s time to quit the stage or be pulled out of it ignominiously. Do you hear me?
