Graduates during the 37th Kenyatta University graduation ceremony on
December 19, 2014. Professors, just like pastors, maids, houseboys,
herdsboys, watchmen, and ‘mama nguo’ are names that are given to people
to designate them for what they do to earn a living. These names do not
mean that you have been to heaven or hell and you came back!
PHOTO | SALATON NJAU | NATION MEDIA GROUP
None of us has monopoly of knowledge, we’re all different
Alenga Amadi
Titles are in themselves, false names which people use to earn a living.
Professors,
just like pastors, maids, houseboys, herdsboys, watchmen, and ‘mama
nguo’ are names that are given to people to designate them for what they
do to earn a living. These names do not mean that you have been to
heaven or hell and you came back!
There is no real substance in a title, the substance is just a feeling.
There
is no knowledge stationed at any university in the world; knowledge is
in the mind of the masses. It is not kept in the library or lecture
halls or classes anywhere in the world. That is why real universities
are merely centres of learning, where search and re-search has to be
done to search for the real knowledge out there, by way of research;
that is searching for knowledge, from the masses, again and again!
Any
university which does not search for knowledge from the masses again
and again, is deadwood, and the professors in there, are deadwood
professors.
You cannot pretend to
have all the knowledge in the world, because nobody knows everything,
and nobody knows ‘nothing’. Nothing is impossible to know.
MONOPOLY OF KNOWLEDGE
Nobody has monopoly of knowledge, not even the professors at the leading universities in the world.
Each one of us knows something, even if it is not much.
Harry
Mulama knows something, if not much, about professors at the University
of Nairobi. He was telling us what he knows about them, and he has a
right to his opinion. From what he told us, it is not true that he knows
nothing about them.
Those who claim
to know more than others, do not need to be defended by any body. What
they know is enough (or not enough) to defend them.
When
there is criticism of what they are doing in serving others, it means
there is not enough ‘to defend’ what they do. They should humble
themselves and do enough to defend themselves.
Our
history and our past cannot defend us, our titles cannot defend us, our
feelings cannot defend us, it is what we do in serving others that will
defend us. There is no glory in the past, there is no glory in history,
it is just a feeling which cannot stand the test of time. We are
fearfully and wonderfully created. God, in His eternal wisdom, created
each one of us unique and different. There are no two people who are
exactly the same.
We cannot think in
the same way, we cannot write in the same way, we cannot look at the
same thing and see the same thing. There are no better authors than
others, we are just unique in our way of writing and style of telling
our stories, and our stories are not even the same, so how are we
expected to write in the same way and same style?
Nobody
should use his or her style to benchmark others. If God Himself,
believed in me and gave me my style, who can tell me otherwise? Those
who like your style should follow you and support you. Those who do not
like your style should look for the one who tells stories in the way
they like and follow him or her.
God
gave each one of us life to live, live your life and let others live
their lives, do not live your life by controlling other peoples’ lives
When
all these professors are gone, will there be still knowledge, or all
knowledge will be gone with them? Have a thoughtful day, wont you?
Dr
Alenga Amadi, is the chief executive and founder, Career Advisory
Centre, Centre for Academic Excellence and Excellent Character
Development. Email; alengaamadi@yahoo.com
***
If the felt pen runs out of ink, just grab a pencil and continue writing
Judith Muthambi
It is exactly 2:58 a.m. I am awake, my head throbbing with relentless ideas for another book. I pen each of them mercilessly.
I am unstoppable, even sleep itself has taken flight at the gushing wind of soft scribbles on my bedside writing pad.
I
write effortlessly, I write endlessly until a power cut hushes me out.
Even then, the ideas lurk around waiting for the power to return.
In
those moments of darkness, Naomi Susa’s words “...write, you do not
need anyone’s permission” (Saturday Nation, October 24, 2015) hit me.
It suddenly occurs to me that actually, I do not write because I have or
need anyone’s approval. I write because it is my undying passion.
Writing is my love, my life.
Just
last week, I received two e-mails from different publishing companies.
One stated that they could not publish my work for one reason or the
other.
The other was deeply impressed
with the same manuscript. The first voice plastered me with
hopelessness while the second gave me hope.
If
I smother my heart with self-indignation, I will be blocking the first
voice from positive criticism which is a valuable and necessary tool for
any upcoming writer.
Positive criticism can be used realistically to sharpen the world of a writer.
Namwali
Serpell, the recent Caine Prize winner, attested recently that the book
that won her the prize was actually a manuscript that a few other
publishers had rejected. If a publisher tells you no, you do not sit
down and mourn.
After all, it is not their approval that makes you write. It is the inner writer’s ink which kicks in when no one is watching.
It
is that night fuel that does not grow dim even when there is a power
cut. It is an oasis of art. Like a crystal-clear river, it will sparkle
in the desert, where it was unlikely to thrive, and it will find its
way downstream, satisfying certain readers who see value in what you are
doing.
Dear writer, train yourself to hang around like-minded people, take external criticism positively and build upon it.
From
time to time use google to find new ideas, listen to others who have
made it, but do not smother your effort with self-pity just because this
person or the other thinks you are not good enough.
You
are an epic force, a consuming, unstoppable fire that can melt away the
frost bite that nibbles on your fingers during those odd morning hours
when you arise to write.
If you are still waiting for approval first before you can pen those vibrant ideas, it may be a very long wait.
Thank
you again, Naomi Susa, for reminding us that we do not need anyone’s
permission to write. That felt pen of hope may have been crushed by
external voices, dear budding writer, but who said that you can’t reach
out for the pencil and continue scribbling?
The writer works at St Andrews School, Turi
***
This generation of learners not inspiring at all
by Malowa Malowa
I
read Harry Mulama’s article (Saturday Nation, October 10, 2015) and got
very excited. I do not want to throw very undeserving epithets at him. I
will also not want to say that he was very ‘inhuman’ to our great
professors.
This is because there are issues he raised that may not require blanket condemnation.
It
is academically refreshing to compare and/or contrast the
Ngugi-Anyumba-Taban triumvate with Wanjala-Odhiambo-Indangasi. But it is
unfair. The kind of society and circumstances that produced the two
groups of academics are different.
The
former was immersed in a socio-political and economic struggle against
neo-colonialism, disillusionment and political intolerance.
They
felt that literature and literary criticism had a place in making the
society better. Their vibrancy was so intense that some of them became
enemies of state. A few were hounded into prisons as others were forced
into exile.
The society of the latter group is completely different. They faced one party dictatorship, sycophancy and corruption.
We
saw hurried lecture notes that completely lacked in literary depth as
literature teachers and critics shuttled between universities. This was
bad enough. But the worst was when they realised that there could be
quick money in ‘guide books.’ Students and teachers soon opted for short
cuts and the reading of literature books died.
There
is an urgent need to consider the state of English and literature in
the country. Does it ever bother our professors to whom they will pass
their mantle 30 years from now?
Are
they ever worried about the quality of English and Literature graduates
who come out of their hands?I would plead with Harry Mulama not to allow
himself be drawn in the contest about who is who in literary criticism,
but rather get worried about our grandchildren.
The writer teaches at Kabarak
***
Writer gave the right advice to young authors
by Ali Dayib
I
must admit that Naomi Susa’s article (Saturday Nation, October 17,
2015) was one of the best. She had excellent advice to budding writers,
that they don’t need a licence to write.
Upcoming
writers are often frustrated by established ones who are supposed to be
their mentors. I met Susa last April at the Writers Conference.
Her
advice that we could explore new frontiers of writing like cook books,
public speaking and ghost writing were important. These are virgin
topics in Kenya.Long live Readers Corner.
The writer is a freelance writer
***
We’ve lost confidence in school exams due to leakage
by Ouma Otieno
When
I recently contributed in these pages on the woes that bedevil the
classroom teacher in an article titled ‘This is why the teaching
profession has lost its lustre’ (Saturday Nation, October 17), I
received mixed reactions.
It is still
fresh in our minds that immediately after the recent teachers’ strike,
there was a call to postpone the national examinations for the teachers
to compensate for the lost time.
This call was brushed aside by the Kenya National Examinations Council (Knec).
Knec still contracted the very teachers who had not been paid their September salaries to administer the examinations.
When
the examinations finally kicked off under the watch of a brand new
chief executive office, Dr Joseph Kisilu, we were confident that cases
of examination papers leaking to candidates would be minimal. Our poise
was short-lived. Examination papers started leaking out to candidates 48
hours before their scheduled time
Knec
was somehow quick to blame the social media, in particular, Watsapp. A
couple of days later the Cabinet Secretary for Education, Prof Jocob
Kaimenyi shifted the blame to police officers.
It
is quite appalling when the council and the ministry term the exams
papers which are in circulation as trash even after several media houses
have confirmed their authenticity.
We teachers are not certain about the future of our students with the soaring examination malpractices.
Dear
reader, the council has put the country in an awkward position as those
who sit examinations under this system may not easily be accredited to
join universities anywhere in the world.
I want to propose a raft of measures.
Firstly,
our universities should offer pre-entrance exams to those who intend to
join any of their faculties. This is because with cheating in exams,
there are cases of those who join faculties such as engineering and
medicine and fail to cope.
The council should set more of analysis and comprehension questions that often demand more of critical thinking.
The examination mismanagement is just one ailment in the education sector. There are many others.
The writer is a literary critic and teaches at Ng’iya Girls in Siaya County. oumahotienoh2009@yahoo.com
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