Lessons From a Common Man

If there is one person I have come to draw inspiration from, it is Njogu - an age-mate of mine who works in my hometown of Kiserian. He is hard-working and committed to every job he does, however lowly it is. And he must be a God-fearing chap given the way I have found him dancing to Christian music in crusades held on the streets of Kiserian.

I have known Njogu since we were small boys back in the '90s. He would sometimes come to our church and recite Swahili poems which he loved and believed in. Despite his passion for poetry and public-speaking, I don't think he had the privilege of finishing his primary school education.

Earlier in the previous decade, I used to see Njogu do business in Kiserian using a cart. He would transport people's goods in the cart which he pulled with his hands. And I would spot him barefooted, either because he disliked shoes or he earned too little money to afford footwear. But when it rained, he had the sense to wear gumboots.

Njogu's work as a cart-puller made him famous in Kiserian. People often talked about how he pulled his cart for long distances. I heard through the grapevine that one prominent politician was so impressed with Njogu's industrious nature that he bought him a public service vehicle to ease his life.

A few years ago, I started seeing Njogu control road traffic in Kiserian Town while clad in reflector jackets. That made me guess he had been offered the job by the local government, thus saving him from the back-breaking work of pulling a cart all day long.

Just as he did his previous work as a cart-puller with zeal, Njogu has taken his job as a road traffic controller like a duck to water. He is very passionate about it, something I am sure has earned him a number of enemies who can't tolerate his commands.

Last month, I caught sight of him controlling traffic near a petrol station in Kiserian. When I continued with my walk and reached a certain bridge where there was a traffic snarl-up, I found Njogu there. How he got to the bridge before me yet I had left him busy controlling traffic at the petrol station is something that baffled me.

And last week, Njogu was very helpful during the funeral of my mother. The night before the funeral, he came to our home and attended a funeral arrangement meeting during which he promised to ensure traffic flowed smoothly as we laid our dear Mum to rest.

In the course of the meeting, one of the attendees - a catechist named Njoroge - attested to Njogu's baffling ability of seeming to be in two places at the same time. He narrated how he would leave Njogu in one place and then travel to another place, only to find him there as well.

After the meeting, I approached Njogu to inquire more about his fascinating life. He informed me that he was given his current job of controlling road traffic in Kiserian by the government. But he didn't disclose to me who in the government organized the job for him.

True to his word, Njogu worked hard to ensure traffic flowed smoothly as we laid Mum to rest. He was at our home by 5.30am on funeral day. And I happened to sit beside him in the car that drove us to the mortuary.

At one point during our ride to the mortuary, Njogu broke the silence in the car and asked us in Swahili, "Unaona gari yangu? (Can you see my vehicle?)" He pointed to a stylish bus that he claimed he was bought for by Amb. Francis Muthaura, a former high-ranking government official in Kenya.

When he told us so, I inquired from him whether the stories I had heard about a prominent politician buying him a public service vehicle were true. He said they were indeed true and when I asked him which politician in particular bought him the vehicle, he thought for a moment and said it was Dr. Titus Naikuni.

With that, Njogu concluded he now had two public service vehicles, including the stylish bus he had pointed to us. Mark you, this is the same Njogu who used to pull a cart in Kiserian, barefooted. Sounds like a rags-to-riches tale, doesn't it?

Njogu has his admirers in Kiserian. As we were travelling back from the mortuary, some ladies spoke of him in glowing terms. They commented on how he was fitted to his current job as a road traffic controller, how he was dedicated to it and how the police respected him for helping them deliver their duties.

I hope people out there will also admire the stories and videos I share on this blog in the same way folks in Kiserian have admired Njogu for his diligence in doing his jobs and even gifted him with vehicles. That's why Njogu has become my inspiration, uneducated though he is.

***********************
RECOMMENDATION: If you've enjoyed the above story on lessons from a common man, you might also enjoy another one on "My Hometown of Kiserian" which I wrote sometime back. Just click on that link in blue to dive straight into the story.