A great player plays where the ball is going to be

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By ABABU NAMWAMBA (ababumtumwa@yahoo.com)
Posted  Saturday, November 19  2011 at  16:19

The Sultan of Persia had sentenced two men to death.

One of them, knowing how much the Sultan loved his stallion, offered to teach the horse to fly within a year in return for his life.

The Sultan, fancying himself as the rider of the only flying horse in the world, agreed. The other prisoner looked at his friend in disbelief.

“You know horses don’t fly. What made you come up with a crazy idea like that? You are only postponing the inevitable”.

“Not so,” said the first prisoner. “I have actually given myself four chances for freedom. First, the Sultan might die during the year. Second, I might die.

Third, the horse might die. And fourth, I might indeed teach the horse to fly!”

The Orange Democratic Movement finally heads into its much anticipated but often postponed grassroots elections this week.

The Orange party must be very brave to conduct a potentially divisive internal election so close to an epochal general election that is certain to be a turning point for Kenya.

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ODM says the crucial drive is meant to align the party with the Constitution and to rally, re-organise and ready the troops for battle 2012.

But there also is a strong feeling in the party that the time is just right for this challenge.

Never hurry

Timing, as Robert Green reminds us in the 35th of his 48 Laws of Power, is an art that must be mastered.

“Never seem to be in a hurry – hurrying betrays a lack of control over yourself, and over time. Always seem patient, as if you know that everything will come to you eventually.

“Become a detective of the right moment; sniff out the spirit of the times, the trends that will carry you to power. Learn to stand back when the time is not yet ripe, and to strike fiercely when it has reached fruition.”

ODM may well have measured the timing of this test of its internal democracy with the precision of a neurosurgeon’s scalpel.

But whether the party emerges from the polls a lot stronger or fatally hobbled depends on some three basic factors.

The first is encapsulated in the simple principle of walking the talk. ODM is repeatedly ranked the most popular party in the country.

Progressive manifesto

Commanding a following of almost 50 per cent nationally, the party has consistently stayed way ahead of all its rivals.

With a lucid constitution, progressive manifesto, clear leadership, active party organs, a functional secretariat and a vibrant well drilled parliamentary group, ODM is also well organised by standards of Kenyan political parties.

It is against this backdrop that the party loves to remind all who care to listen that it is the model party in our evolving Second Republic.

But ODM would be well advised to listen to some more Green’s logic, specifically the famed author’s Law 9:

“Any momentary triumph you think you have gained through argument is really a pyrrhic victory... it is much more powerful to get others to agree with you through your actions, without saying a word. Demonstrate, do not explicate,” Green says.

ODM must demonstrate all those high ideals it espouses by putting out such a fine display of internal democracy that will leave no doubt as to the party’s commitment to tenets of transparency, equal opportunity and fair competition.Baltasar Gracian would add that “the truth is generally seen, rarely heard.”

The second is boldness, including readiness to change with the times. I return to Green for inspiration, this time Law 28:

“If you are unsure of a course of action, do not attempt it. Your doubts and hesitations will infect your execution. Timidity is dangerous:

better enter with boldness, any mistakes you commit through audacity are easily corrected with more audacity. Everyone admires the bold; no one honours the timid.”

The party says it wants to revamp its leadership from villages across the length and breadth of the republic all the way to Nairobi.

Towards this end, it must be bold enough to go beyond the superficial and allow democracy to shape the new ODM.

The rank and file must be given free rein to determine their leaders all across the party hierarchy.

Women and youth must be given the space to move beyond the tokenism that defines leadership of the average Kenyan political party.

Yes, this must be an election, not a selection. After all, to conquer new territory you must be ready to lose sight of your known shores.

Raise the bar

Finally, ODM must never entertain the folly of taking its venerated position for granted. As Will Rodgers cautions, “even if you are on the right track, you will be run over if you just sit there.”

The elections are a great opportunity for the party to raise the bar even higher and remain ahead of the pack.

To paraphrase Wayne Gretzy, a good football player plays where the ball is. A great football player plays where the ball is going to be!

I wish all ODM members successful elections. I am watching from Bujumbura!