Are We Bracing Ourselves for a Raila Presidency this Time?

Are We Bracing Ourselves for a Raila Presidency this Time?

One recent event if anything to go by, sought to confirm what most of us knew about Raila Odinga’s plans for the 2022 presidency. It is now crystal clear that Jakom is in the race once again. Suffice to say that even this one may not be his last one up to until it really becomes one.

After the 2017 general elections, hearsay kept hinting to us Kenyans that that was likely his last bid. It would equate to foolishness if we trusted those words though some did. It is one thing that makes me pity the likes of Kalonzo, Mudavadi and Wetangula who trusted that come the 2022 general elections, it was going to be a duo of them and that Raila was going to play the proverbial elder.

Today the three are very bitter that one of their co-principals decided to betray them. They have called it political conmanship and all manner of names but to me, I think otherwise. Kalonzo, Mudavadi and Wetangula have been in the Kenyan political kitchen long enough to know what would work and what would not.

They ought to have known more than I do that Raila was going to be in the race come 2022 and long before even other Kenyans saw that. If they are to amount to anything for the presidency, the three should focus on beating the two frontline runners for the seat and stop the regret narrative.

If you accused me of being crafty with my words, just give time time. At the end of the day, it will be William Ruto and Raila Odinga. In fact, no need to wait for the end of the day, it is out rightly before us today that the race is between the two and it will remain so unless otherwise. Truthfully, it is never going to be easy for Ruto to back down from the race. The man has set his eyes on the ultimate prize already and nothing will change his mind.

So today, Ruto’s nightmare is one man; Raila Amolo Odinga. It may be easier to hear Ruto say it in public that he will defeat Raila in the morning come election day but behavioral scientists will tell you that he says so while deep inside the same Raila is his greatest worry.

All things seem to be working in favor for Raila this time round. No wonder I am asking if we should brace ourselves for a Raila presidency. On Friday, December the 10th of 2021, heavy state machineries were deployed to the Azimio La Umoja rally at the Kasarani stadium. The message ought to have gotten home for anybody who cared to read in between the lines.

What do you think of the support the man enjoys from the elite business class, the state itself and some of the big political names in the country? All of a sudden, Raila has become the maiden every serious man around wants to court.

Call politics a game of surprises but what do these big guys know that we don’t. One man once said that the person who casts the vote doesn’t determine the winner. The one who counts the votes has the ultimate power to determine the winner of an election. Remember, it is not enough that you will wake up to go cast your vote next year August. It is another thing that it counts.

So, when you heard William Ruto say that the deep state and mafia were thwarting his efforts to ascend to the presidency years back, he had seen it in in advance. Only now, years later that it is unraveling before our eyes what the game plan was and has been all along.

And if the plan holds credence, then Raila is poised to be the next president for this country. From a layman point of view, it seems the near octogenarian Raila is being groomed to assume the highest office in the land as of now.

At the Jamuhuri Celebrations, being given the opportunity to speak last wasn’t a matter of coincidence. The president was indirectly challenging us to decode his message of he who has eyes let him/her see. In other words, that Uhuru is Solidly behind Raila as the best and safest bet for the office he himself holds.

And by that, we know that Raila enjoys massive support from the ruling government. That is one thing he has always missed all along in his quest to ascend to the presidency. He has always been on the sidelines of the warring war. And that is where he was when he managed to ‘win’ the 2007 general election as far as we know.

He kept at those lanes in 2013 and 2017 and managed to come in second with massive bagging, almost 50%, of the votes cast. Now, as we head into the 2022 elections, he is no longer in the sidelines rather right in the very front of the warring war. He enjoys a lot of support from them that so to say ‘determine’ who sits on the big seat at any time.

Not only that, walking around and you will hear a lot of the people begin to think that Raila is becoming a safe hand to lay our destiny on. Others have set their hopes in the fact that maybe, Raila learnt a thing or two about running an economy successfully from his coalition maestro to help him lead us to the next level. The maestro was one statesman of his own kind; former president Mwai Kibaki.

Those who once looked at Raila as the father of goons have noted in him an old man who has learnt over the years what to do and be and what not to do and be as well. He now knows that one should not be like the gazelle that danced itself lame before the main dance even began. No wonder you see himself taking time to assemble the various groups that are key in not only winning an election but also in running a successful government.

They say that eight months is a long time and that anything is possible within that time. But if anything is to go by, the narrative is getting louder. The voice is being raised every single day and the movement is becoming larger.

If Ruto is to beat Raila, he needs a master plan whose blow is lethal. Otherwise, a lot seems to be working in favor of Raila and should the status quo still remain, then we better prepare for a Raila presidency this time round. If the lanes are kept at this pace, this is the closest and most sure conviction Kenyans have of one president Raila Amolo Odinga.

But what will a Raila presidency look like? That is a long story for a subsequent edition. For now, everything points at him as the man to watch for the 2022 presidency.

Geoffrey Ndege

Geoffrey Ndege

Geoffrey Ndege is the Editor and topical contributor for the Daily Focus. He writes in the areas of Science, Manufacturing, Technology, Innovation, Governance, Management and International Emerging Issues. For featuring, promotions or support, reach out to us at info@dailyfocus.co.ke
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