FATHERS OF NATIONS KCSE ESSAY QUESTION 

Closely referring to Professor Kimani in Fathers of Nations, write an essay to show how one problem can lead to another.

Sometimes we find ourselves in certain problems.  It is possible that one problem can lead to another one.  In Fathers of Nations, Professor Kimani is faced with a series of problems that seem to result from one another.

The problem of global recession means low wages for professors like Karanja Kimani. The changes proposed by the donors come with tough consequences. They catalyse excesses. Members of parliament who earned less than professors when Kimani started working now rack up a hundred times more than professors do. While professors’ salaries are taxable, MPs exempt themselves from paying taxes. Kimani tells his daughter about this while spending time with her in a low-end restaurant. Kimani can only afford an old Toyota unlike members of parliament like Walomu who own up to four vehicles. Kimani gets pressure from his wife who compels him to quit teaching and seek greener pastures. Indeed, one problem can lead to another.

Professor Kimani’s financial woes contribute to the death of his daughter Tuni. Tuni wants to borrow her father’s car which his wife Asiya refers to as a dying old Toyota. The request makes Kimani wince. It is like dirt that an enemy had shot into his face to mock him. He is forced to tell her the truth after unsuccessfully fumbling for an excuse. The car is down again. He hopes to fix it when he gets his next salary. His wife initially saw him like a young man going places but now, like his car, he is an old man going nowhere. She even suggests that he goes for greener pastures like Newborn who owns four cars. When Tuni uses a public minivan instead, she is involved in a tragic crash that claims her life. For six months, the parents are inconsolable. Asiya blames Kimani saying Tuni would be alive if he had a real car. Truly, one problem can lead to another.

Following Tuni’s death, the strain in the relationship between Asiya and Kimani is compounded further. After Tuni’s death, the parents are inconsolable for six months. After grieving the death of her daughter, the dejection shifts to her husband. Asiya suddenly loathes him. When he tries to touch her, she jumps back and shrinks away. He is forced to keep out of her way. Their communication is reduced to wordless nods and wordless smiles. All along, she remains gloomy. She moans until one evening when she drops the bombshell. She was leaving professor Kimani. Surely, one problem can result in another.

Professor Kimani’s financial woes and his daughter’s death result in the separation between him and his wife. His wife of over 30 years, Asiya Omondi, deserts him barely six months after the untimely death of their daughter Tuni. Asiya did not want to live with him anymore. Newborn Walomu had asked to marry her. Asiya had earlier opened some wounds when she suggested that Kimani quits teaching and seeks greener pastures. She peppers the wound by comparing him to Newborn who owns four cars. Newborn was a rowdy fellow and Kimani’s former junior colleague at the university. Kimani asks if Asiya was marrying Newborn for his money. It was not a guarantee of happiness, he says. Asiya mocks him about not having any money. His efforts to convince his 60-year-old wife to stay with him is futile. She leaves the next morning.

Even after taking his wife, Newborn adds insult to injury when he mocks professor Kimani. Professor Kimani considers Newborn an archenemy. He calls him a greedy fat baboon. Kimani confronts him for stealing his wife. He wonders what good she is to him but feels the question degrades both he and Asiya. Newborn victoriously rocks in his chair. He mocks Kimani when he gives him spouse stealing statistics citing a Texas professor who said that 17% of Americans, 30% of Britons and 40% of Greeks are spouse stealers. He says that although Asiya is old, old is gold. Unable to tolerate the derision, Kimani takes three swings at Newborn, misses each time, loses balance and falls. The two angry men are arrested after the clumsy scuffle. For Kimani, one problem surely leads to another.

Newborn makes fun of professor Kimani after stealing his wife and the ensuing scuffle leads to Kimani’s arrest. After Asiya leaves him for Newborn, Kimani confronts him. He insults him calling him a fat baboon and inquires why he stole his wife. Newborn casually mocks his former colleague. The professor decides to fight him but the physical altercation only results in his arrest. He is charged with assaulting a member of parliament. He serves six months and leaves prison utterly dejected.

Following his arrest, Professor Kimani is demoted from his current rank as professor back to his starting rank as senior lecturer. This comes after a scuffle with Newborn. Kimani is charged with assaulting a member of parliament. Newborn Walomu was Kimani’s junior colleague at the university. He marries Kimani’s wife Asiya. When he confronts and fights him, he is demoted as due punishment for disgracing the university in the eye of the public. Kimani had joined the university of Nairobi as a senior lecturer in the Institute of Development Studies after completing his studies at the University of Oxford. He successfully advocates for a number of ‘radical’ changes. He later marries a campus beauty Asiya Omondi and is promoted to rank of professor. All this happiness comes crashing down when Asiya is stolen by Newborn, Kimani is arrested and demoted. His career is doomed beyond revival. Going against his vow, he thinks of quitting teaching once and for all.

In conclusion, when it rains it pours. Sometimes one problem ends up creating another one.