It is a warning to detractors that they can’t control one’s life; that people who are in charge of their lives are fiercely independent and know their way around town.
The song is doing well and had registered more than a million views on Youtube by December 2021, putting the singers on the road to good money, now that even politicians are using the corrupted Kiswahili word to campaign for votes ahead of the August 9 general election.
Among others, Deputy President William Ruto caused a stir when he declared “sipangwingwi” in his search for votes to become the Fifth President of Kenya, selling the bottom-up idea he says will uplift the low-income earners.
Apart from the political sloganeering, what can professionals learn from the “Sipangwingwi” firmness at a time experts are routinely accused and found in bed with the wrong people?
Sloppiness is the order of the day. Codes of regulations are abused with abandon despite the fact that the accused boast and boast of “senior training” at various local, regional and international schools.
And when such abuses dot the world confetti-like, corruption thrives and the wheels of growth and development get slower while leaving a trail of destruction, including creating a pool of poor workers for the future.
People who are in charge honour their schools and experience and will not join the Gravy Grain where billions of billings are lost and stolen because professionals are not in charge or are literally caught with their hands in the cookie jar.
When professionals are so malleable (wanapangwa, Kiswahili for being manipulated easily), they reveal a people who have little or no knowledge and the desire to nurture growth through insight, procedures, and ability to learn.
In the Bible, the book of Hosea 4: 6, says: “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.” And, God warns people that “Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being priest for Me.…I will also forget your children.”
Everyone believes in some Higher Power, and so when God says those who ignore knowledge will not serve Him as priests, it means that professionals who are defiling themselves in the name of “making money” will not be honoured.
The Holy Writ, again: “But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s delicacies, nor with the wine that he drank.” (Daniel 1:1-17) He only asked for vegetables and water for himself, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. Instead of looking frail and dishevelled, the four young men looked better fed than the rest who ate the king’s portions.
Because of choosing to remain undefiled, God gave them a rare intellectual ability and “Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams,” the Bible says. And when Kind Nebuchadnezzar examined them, they were found to be 10 times better than magicians and astrologers in wisdom and understanding.
This is how a professional can declare, “Sipangwingwi” when they insist on the right thing as taught by their universities and schools in Kenya, across Africa and the world.
Professionals fail the test of practice and wisdom because they easily join the bandwagon of corruption in the hope that they can catch up by amassing wealth.
The annoying malleability and manipulation without asking questions has seen people from respected institutions and companies become weak-kneed, leaving friend and foe asking how one who was doing well suddenly changed to become the lord of corruption or an artless worker whose production does not pass muster.
Many graduates claim the top management, ownership, and the political class did not allow them to practise. No, that is a lie because Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego politely went against the orders of the king (say President) and emerged victorious when their abilities were found to dwarf those of astrologers.
Today, astrologers and magicians could be the board and the so-called Deep State or other influence peddlers who have the ears of the mighty and other “powerful” corners and desks.
A consistent monitoring of the systems and rejecting the meanders of the system — refusing to defile oneself — will sooner or later put your organisation and country on the route to glory.
So, where are professionals who will say No to ill controls that bleed promising entities dry in the name of personal goals? May professionals find a deeper meaning in works of art, including songs, paintings, sculptures, and drawings.
aplainteam@gmail.com
