Nairobi -
As US President Barack Obama’s visit to Kenya draws near, Kenyans are using humour to counter apocalyptic threats of Nairobi’s imminent shutdown.
The real pain of Obama’s visit will be felt on the roads where Kenyans burn fuel worth $500 000 (R6.2 million) daily in strangulating traffic, thanks to years of neglected infrastructure expansion to match the growing population.
But never mind the roads blocked for sudden renovations; the city governor, Evans Kidero, became the butt of online jokes when Kenyans on Twitter turned their attention to the ill-timed landscaping on the city’s major artery from the airport.
“If you think your work is stressful,” offered one tweet, “Think of the Kidero grass made to grow in three days!”
The grass in question is part of a $1 million refurbishment of the city before Obama’s visit this weekend. But even the hefty investment has not coaxed the grass to grow faster because it was planted only days ago.
Get Obama to wear green glasses, said another tweet, while another suggested use of the popular spice Aromat to promote faster growth of the grass.
The humour is pithy commentary on some of the absurdities that Kenyans face routinely.
The county of Siaya, about four hours west of Nairobi, where Obama’s father’s and grandfather’s remains lie, has set aside about $500 000 to spruce up the town before the US president’s visit, even after the US embassy in Nairobi confirmed Obama would not be touring there.
Obama’s father died in a road accident in 1982. His remains lie in Kogelo village in Siaya alongside those of his father.
Standing before the two graves was a significant moment for Obama, as he records in his coming-of-age memoir, Dreams from My Father: “For a long time I sat between the two graves and wept. When my tears were finally spent, I felt a calmness wash over me. I felt the circle finally close.”
It was closure for a young man who had grown up fatherless.
The Kogelo trip is untenable because the nearby Kisumu airport is too small to accommodate the US presidential jet, Air-Force One, and a lockdown of the 400km stretch from Nairobi to Kisumu would disrupt the entire region. The road serves as the gateway to landlocked countries like Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi.
Obama’s step-grandmother, Sarah Obama, has promised to make her grandson the traditional dish he enjoyed previously, if he is able to visit.
Mercury Foreign Service