*DR.MOHAMED ABDI KUTI IS THE SAFE PAIR OF HANDS THAT CAN DELIVER ISIOLO COUNTY FROM ETHNIC BIGOTRY AND CARTEL STOOGES*

*DR.Kuti or Yoyah as he is fondly known to his supporters is no stranger to the people of Isiolo County!*

He has been at the helm of leadership for Fifteen(15) years(which makes him the most experienced politician in Isiolo) writing many success stories across the hearts of the people of Isiolo.
He is an outstanding leader that has represented the people of Isiolo since 2002 when he rolled into Isiolo political battleground in style beating the then KANU bigwig -hon.Mokku by a decisive landslide sealing his(Mokku) era in isiolo beating him in the two subsequent elections effectively retiring the former legislator, (who also had a stint as an assistant minister in moi cabinet) from elective politics forever!
*We shall always miss the good old Mokku of course!*

The good doctor has been the man of many firsts setting new trends in Isiolo, putting the formerly marginalized region on the spotlight.
*He lobbied for,initiated and implemented countless number of government projects in the previously neglected region!*

The first years of the millenium brought along with it blessings to the people of Isiolo.
This blessing visited the people in the form of one *Dr. Mohamed Abdi Kuti-a medical doctor by profession- who ushered in a new era of hope for the people of waso!*
The people having been fatigued by the irresponsible leaders that treated them with iron fists resolved that their time for liberation was then and sent the inept leaders packing paving way for *the philanthropic prince of Waso!*
Yoyah established himself as an easy-going and down-to-earth fellow demystifying the way leaders were held before-untouchables! To this day, Yoyah has kept this trait which comes naturally to him. He changed the face of Isiolo for the better! In this quest,he sought to unite all communities in Isiolo.Without a lasting peace,there couldn't be any meaningful development!
So said daktari.

*The long journey towards peace-building*

The journey to bring unity among communities living in Isiolo was kicked off with a formula that  bordered on equity,cohesion and development!

This was achieved by bringing together all the community stakeholders in Isiolo and a series of peace-meetings later, the communities that had previously lived under the guise of mistrust started interacting! Isiolo took a sigh of relief then!
The cattle rustling and ethnic unrests that had been the way of life before became a thing of the past! Communities started trading together, roads that had been a nightmare before for banditry were now accessible.
He emphasized that today's war can only be fought by
a pen! Not swords and armour! A man that had spent 7 years in a medical school and excelled himself, this message resonated well with people.
There was a massive surge in enrolment in isiolo north schools.
Today,Isiolo north still stands as an academic powerhouse compared to its 'sister' whose leadership instead concentrated on which of their kin to promote to a certain position failing to change the narrative of education in the region!
It should not be forgotten that peace having achieved among the formerly warring communities,education spontaneously picked up!
Killing two birds with one stone-some would say!

*Yoyah s Education Policy:The major key that unlocked Isiolo Potential*

 He then took up the task to sensitize the communities so they can take advantage of the free primary education(FPE) that was the hallmark of President Kibaki's stint as the head of state by sending every child to school,he engaged the chiefs,community elders and education stakeholders to streamline the education sector in isiolo.
A raft of agreements was arrived at with teachers to be promoted on merit by a clear structure that involved fair evaluation of ones résumé other than tribe,clan,religion or political affiliation!

The era where teachers were sacked,transferred or promoted based on their closeness to the 'big man' or ones 'political correctness' was long gone.(in isiolo south,the opposite holds in that period too).
Since then,the education sector underwent major transformation that saw the enrolment in schools constituency wide!!! Heavy investment in the sector in form of building classrooms,providing books and ensured the school-feeding programme was in place.this ensured every child had a decent shot at life in their learning quarters!
*Bursaries for the secondary and college students* resulted to continuation of the system with students remaining in school and studying other than at home to look for fees!!!
*ICT center at Merti Muslim Girls Secondary School* was a clear manifest that Yoyah went *digital* way before most of his peers! He knew the power of the computer! Not only that but he lobbied for and achieved to set-up a *Maarifa Center* in Merti. A project that was funded by the European Union(EU) and implemented by the CORDAID and MID-P. It was the birth of internet in Marti. The information superhighway was at home!
The beautiful plateau town of Marti was connected to the global village!  It was one!
*It will be a major understatement if I failed to acknowledge that it was at this time and place that most of us joined the virtual social media world- facebook to be precise!*

It is as a result of all these that Isiolo today stands as a hub of education.our schools churning out better results every year and the transition to colleges and universities rising every year!

 All of these was achieved through a collective effort! It involved the civil society,community elders,youth,GOK and all the education stakeholders!!! Yoyah's vote of confidence in a cohesive society paid off! *Isiolo became one under his stewardship*. Businesses picked up,trade blossomed,livestock received proper care from veterinary services and the peace concept was a win for all the community in Isiolo!
*There are forces fighting to reverse these invaluable gains we made,we should reject them!*

*Yoyah is dynamic,he is anti-status quo. This man lives in time! He represents the face of change in Isiolo!*while unbeknownst to most,he inculcated the concept of gender empowerment way before most of our leaders were alive to the fact that gender equity is real. He understood the struggles the women of Isiolo went through each day! His heart bled for them!
*He promised to lift the jerrycans off the women's back!(literary and figuratively!). That came to pass finally in 2010 when the then minister of water Hon Charity Ngilu announced publicly and in the presence of no less than the president of the republic of Kenya, His Excellency Mwai Kibaki-(this is another first-a head of state to step foot on our soil-A historic fete for those of us who were in Marti at the time) that her ministry will allocate Kes 40M for the Cherab Water project!!*
Yoyah's place in the hearts and minds of our women folk was sealed on that day!!!

*He had lifted a heavy burden off their shoulders! There were no more kilometres to cover in search of water!!! They had it right in front of their door posts courtesy of Yoyah's indefatigable spirit in fulfilling his promise to his people. However long it took,the project happened,the people of Cherab got water.Clean water! ( this is the same project that the incumbent governor doyo is erroneously and shamelessly laying a claim to.*He has been thriving on lies anyway!)
In 2008, he organized a largely successful fundraiser for women groups from Biliqo Marara all the way to Dadacha Bassa in which more than Five(5) million was raised.He gave a milli to that cause! This can only be akin of a man that has deep respect for women and understands their plight too!
Its no wonder then that wherever he goes,they welcome him with pomp,colour and ululations deserving of a royalty!!

Unlike our neighbours in Isiolo south during the same period ,Isiolo North CDF tenders went to vulnerable groups such as the youth, women groups and ordinary folks generally.On the other hand, *the cartels that are building sky-scrappers in every corner of Isiolo town courtesy of Isiolo south CDF and Isiolo County monies are well-known too!*
I do not want to go into the details but well,let's say these are the people that yoyah has as his main challengers in the now upcoming 8/8 elections,
We all know what happened when their time of reckoning came! *When it became clear to them, too, that yoyah was going to win the JP ticket in the early morning of 21st!* Its a tale that we might live to tell(pun intended)sometimes in future may be! Cutting the long story short, internet didn't let them off the hook that easily, the hashtag #kutiphobia or sometimes #yoyahphobia has been trending in several Isiolo county online forums!

If I keep going into the nitty-gritties of what yoyah has achieved in his stint as the undisputed leader of Isiolo people or the ineptness of his opponents(if I decide to look the other way that is) ,we might never get through all of it!

Lets take a sneek peek at these opponents of Yoyah and who they are stuck up with in their quest to lead the people of Isiolo.
*Someone once said that "you are the people you sorround yourself with!"*
An ally of one of the gubernatorial aspirants is *facing allegations of the theft of kes 99 Million belonging to the people of Isiolo North while the lady of the wolfpack was herself unceremoniusly sacked from Ewaso Nyiro North Develepment Authority -ENNDA , for reasons not known to the public yet!*
The leader of this team is himself well-known for the atrocities he committed while he was the member of the legislature repping Isiolo south, a man  whose campaign outfit  is well known for,  among other things,  *a 'legendary' use of propaganda* to sell his manifesto. Make no mistake that karma has now taken charge and things are going south  for them every passing day.

The other opponent is the incumbent who is *facing a theft charge in court involving Kes 271M that was allocated to tarmac the road leading to the governors residence!* He has embezzled almost every cent that has found itself in the coffers of Isiolo County with impunity that has surprised even the nation kenya. since he took the reins of Isiolo county leadership, our county has been hitting headlines for all the wrong reasons. The Isiolo county leadership has been  a joke for a long time and its now our chance to make that right. *Yoyahs opponents are two sides of the same coin!  Electing either of them is tantamount to maintaining the status quo!* There wouldnt be any difference in the way things are run in our County if that happens!
Fellow county folks, in this election we have a choice to make our county better.That can only happen if we elect a leader who is beyond ethnicity and who has a known track record for the years he led Isiolo and his innumerable achievements along with navigating the murky government waters as the steward of three different ministries during his time in the August house without a single blemish on his record!
He stands tall among them!!!

*#AfreesaIsReal*
Today  the #Afreesa movement which is a rallying call meaning  -make it 4 times coined by the people of Isiolo who sought to have him as their leader for the fourth consecutive time has taken Isiolo town by storm!!! It has become an unstoppable revolution!!!  the four-finger wave sign that has gone viral in online circles and scaring hell out of yoyah opponents! Tales of what #KutiPhobia does to his opponents are well-known including but not limited  to the fear of yoyah billboards erected in the middle of Isiolo town!  Sad tale!

This election gives us a choice between two fellows and a statesman whose voice can be listened to by the people! He has definitely been the voice of reason all along!  A guiding beacon for the people of Isiolo! After five years of mismanagement and persecution in Isiolo county, we can now take a sigh of relief and relax as #AfreesaMania takes the steering wheel of Isiolo county and lead us to unbounded bounties!

One of his opponents is a well-known authoritarian and his era-indeed a ten year error-(in the words of one of his allies while showing approval for the peoples decision to send him home in 2013 and who is now foaming at the mouth trying to elaborate why the same man he rejected and highly disapproved of in 2013 can lead us effectively in 2017-what changed?perhaps alliances, nothing more). *Theirs is a coalition of convenience!*

The other opponent of yoyah is the incumbent who has *orchestrated a systemic failure in the Isiolo county* government for the past four years, in that period, its well known that anarchy ruled!!! This one is written off and his presence in the race is simply in exercise of his democratic right as granted by the Kenyan Constitution!

Lets all shun ethnicity and give reason a chance on that very special morning of 8/8 and send Yoyah right to the gubernatorial office to handle the affairs of our county the best way he knows how!!!

      ~~  *AfreesaIsReal*~~

By

*Godana Godana*