ODM Titanic: The ship sinks as the captain watches

By Peter Nguli

Just as one of the world's biggest and mightiest ships, The Titanic sunk 100 years ago in 1912 after hitting an iceberg, one of the most popular and mightiest political parties in Kenya, ODM seems to be sinking in 2012.

Unlike the Titanic which hit just one iceberg, the ODM ship has hit many icebergs. And just as the captain of Titanic, Edward John Smith watched his ship sink and ultimately himself too, the ODM captain Prime Minister Raila Odinga is watching his ODM Titanic sinking fast. Will he also sink with his ship?

The RMS Titanic liner had travelled almost three quarters of her doomed maiden voyage from Southampton, UK and was very close to her destination, New York, USA when it hit an iceberg at Newfoundland in North Atlantic Ocean. Similarly, The ODM Titanic liner has sailed for three quarters of its political journey and now has started hitting political icebergs in 2012, sinking together with its captain.

The captain of ODM Titanic, also known as Kenya's enigma of politics is watching as the ship sinks together with his political career.  Renowned West African novelist Chinua Achebe, would undoubtedly decscribe Raila Amollo Odinga, the captain of ODM Titanic, as Amalize the cat with nine lives and whose political back never touches the ground. 

Achebe, in his Things Fall Apart, would probably describe Raila as Okonkwo who was known throughout the nine villages of Umuofia but ruled his household with an iron fist.

Prime Minister Raila Odinga, the captain of ODM Titanic, who is set to re-launch his campaign strategy, is said to have slowed down on seeking alliances with other presidential candidates sailing in other ships nearby after some key leaders in the G7 Alliance declined his SOS offers.

After realizing that his ODM Titanic is sinking, the premier sent an SOS signal to other ships but none is willing to come to his rescue.  Apart from icebergs, there is a northerly political turbulence and a tornado from the south. Just as 1912 Titanic captain sent SOS signals in vain, the captain of 2012 ODM Titanic has sent SOS signals of apologies.

At a time when the political climate is awash with political deals and alliances ahead of the December 4th deadline, it appears no one is willing to form alliances with the 'reformer' captain even after sending his historical SOS apology to the Rift Valley citizenry.

Just like some passengers of Titanic started to play piano and Saxophone tunes as the ship sunk, the former passengers of ODM Titanic have started playing songs of consolation from political arena advising the PM that he should consider retirement, leave the ship sink gracefully and go and try fish farming at Bondo. While this political cat captain with nine lives has learnt the art of political survival under harsh harmattan political climate, the sun seems to be setting for the liberator and 'reformer' of the common man as the ship sinks. 

Unfortunately, there is no time left and the waters are ice cold as political passengers start falling one by one into cold the waters and swimming on their own looking for life-saving boats when the ship is half way sunk. Suddenly, just as Titanic captain Smith started shooting his annoying passengers with a pistol instead of listening to them, the Captain of ODM Titanic stops listening to his political passengers’ grievances and starts shooting them with his dictatorial tendencies. 

While he has fought strongly for democratic freedoms and liberty for all Kenyans, the ODM Titanic captain seems to have played the political chessboard wrongly this time round and at times placing the cart before the horse long before his doomed political voyage in his luxurious Hummer ship model liner.

Ever since he became Kenya's second premier since independence, Raila has made more political foes than friends in his ODM Titanic. Now that the famous ship is sinking, it’s everyone for himself and God for us all.

The ship has now sunk three quarters but there are no enough life boats. It’s time to lower the few life boats onboard. The first boat to be lowered is to be rowed by a new captain, the Rift Valley King-maker, William Ruto who escapes into the sea with a considerable number of voters from the rich-vote Rift Valley Ocean.

Soon, other boats are lowered and their captains include Musalia Mudavadi and Najib Balala who both escape with voters in different boats into the deep seas. Suddenly, ODM Titanic captain's SOS signals are heard by one good Samaritan sailor in a boat nearby and as recent media reports indicate, the captain of the boat, VP Kalonzo Musyoka is almost about to rescue ODM Titanic captain but the VP suddenly changes his mind and instead of rescuing the ODM Titanic captain, he rows his boat to catch that of his speeding neighbour Musalia Mudavadi. Kalonzo abandons his own boat and jumps in Musalia's boat and leaves the ODM Titanic to sink on its own.
As this happens, the political life boats then return to rescue more political passengers swimming in cold waters of the North Atlantic. More MP passengers are rescued from the sinking ODM Titanic. As the ship sinks deeper and deeper, it hits more political icebergs.

Rescued passengers include Charity Ngilu, a political Ukambani Ocean captain, Rachel Shebesh and Bomet Ocean captain, Beatrice Kones. Other passengers continue to jump from ODM Titanic in order to safe their political life, predominantly those from Rift Valley Ocean as the ODM Titanic ship sinks together with its captain.

In 2013, mourners in a replica Titanic II visit the scene in remembrance to commemorate the sinking of ODM Titanic with flowers and placards reading ' R.I.P., ODM Titanic'!