Wekelea Nyama Nakuja*! Obama, Son Of K’Ogelo is coming to Kenya in July!

 

    FINALLY!

     Stop the presses! Londoner, I know I had promised to continue with the juicy story of the Bajuni belle! Ling’ aling’a*, that shall have to wait until next week omera*! Did you hear about President Barack Obama coming back home to Kenya this summer this July for an official visit? Obama is jetting into Nairobi, the green city in the sun for bilateral meetings and the 2015 Global Entrepreneurship Summit, an annual conference that connects entrepreneurs with business leaders, international organizations, and governments. He has chosen to escape the blistering summer heat of Wuosinton DC and seek shelter in the calming July Kenyan breeze! How clever! That’s amazing news and all we can say is, karibu sana Jatelo*!

     Barack Hussein Obama, I know you had gone to our neighbors Tanzania to eat their wali and ugali* and bypassed Kenyan nyama choma* a few years ago. You were angry with the people at the top but your anger had subsided. All is forgiven. Yaliyopita si ndwele, tugange yajayo!*

     Grab your Oxford and Luo-English dictionaries. We are about to go all tero buru* on this ‘Breaking News Special Edition’! We are about to navigate the previously unnavigable River Nyando! Our greatest and most famous export has come for yet another visit. However, this time he is not coming as a broke student from Harvard University or as a ‘junior’ (sic) senator from Illinois. He shall not have to pass through the hectoring customs officers at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport and declare how many dollars he has brought into the country! This time he is coming as the undisputed leader of the free world! He is flying in with the Air Force One! He is flying in as President of the United States of America! Achiel kende!* Wow!

     When people say ‘tumetoka mbali’ (we have come from far) they have no idea! Barack Obama ‘ametoka mbali’! From the shores of Hawaii, to the shores of Indonesia, to the shores of the Pacific Ocean, to the shores of the Atlantic Ocean, to the shores of Lake Michigan, he has come from far! In 2008, the Son of K’ogelo bypassed the Chania River and crossed the mighty Mississippi to the White House! He has overcome all odds, written and re-written history and triumphed over all! Yes We Can!

     What are the chances of becoming president if you are black, from no known political or economic family, powerhouse or pedigree, with a funny sounding Kenyan name and a ‘mere’ law degree or two? He defied the odds! He made it! So can you brothers and sisters. You can make it too. Keep pushing and pursuing your dreams. When pursuing your dreams, people shall be doubtful, sympathetic or even downright discouraging! But, as long as your eyes are on the prize, you can overcome! You shall overcome!

     Obama has really transformed the U.S since he took over power some 6 years ago. You may recall the limping country Obama took over from former president George W Bush! The country was a mess. We were mired in wars that seemed never-ending, inflation was at an all-time high, the financial institutions were playing Russian roulette with the economy and unemployment was high with no end in sight. Obama has really brought change we can believe in! He has reduced unemployment, fostered economic growth, introduced affordable healthcare, (Obama Healthcare Act) brought back most of the troops from the Middle East and brokered numerous peace initiatives and treaties with foreign countries. He is even heralded as having authorized the successful capture of the peripatetic Osama Bin Laden! Even his fiercest critics cannot deny the turnaround that has occurred since Obama took office. Alright, they do deny it, but as these Americans like to say, ‘the proof is in the pudding’! How sweet this Obama pudding is I tell you! He is also scandal-free! No young interns, no wars to settle personal scores, no underhand dealings, nothing! Trust me, they have been looking, snooping around, on the prowl. That’s why they pick on mundane things, things that would not garner any attention if it were not for Obama being president. His achievements are too many to list here and I am sure you hear about them every day. His opponents cower when they hear his name. He is unbwogable*!  He has transformed how elections are held in the U.S, probably forever. He is David-like in subduing his foes and Solomonic in his decisions. His popularity cuts across all demographics. His presidency shall be the talk of scholars for years to come! How does this man even sleep soundly at night with so many people opposed to him and metaphorically baying for his political blood? Cool as a cucumber or, cool as the other side of the pillow. He walks with stride. He truly is a special person and an even better president. Obama oyeee! Obama juu! Obama juu zaidi*!

      If you are in Kenya, you had better bite the bullet and buy a TV decoder! I am assuming that you have a TV. Yes, they are expensive and unnecessary now but you shall realize the folly of not purchasing one when you cannot view the Jarateng’* who leads the country of the jarachar*, live on TV. Those 3 big TV stations, Citizen, Nation and K24, know that everyone shall want to watch Obama’s trip live. Therefore, they shall not relent and shall refuse to broadcast  content until the decoders are bought. They’ll not postpone the change from analogue to digital, especially if they know that you cannot do anything about it. ‘Watakaa ngumu’!* If you don’t have the money, join a Sacco* and make sure that at about July or end of June, you have a guarantor to sign off for you when you apply for a soft loan. Make sure you buy a TV with an inbuilt decoder if you can! Buy a Great Wall TV or a Samseng (not Samsung) or Sunyo (not Sanyo) TV if you have to. It might be counterfeit but it shall do! If you are in the diaspora, please buy one for your dani* and kwaru*. They need to watch this news in high definition, in 3D. If that shall not work, make sure that your kabambe* or mulika mwizi* has enough airtime or ‘credo’, credit as you may need to find out the latest on Obama!

      One of the people who shall have egg on their faces is Dr. Alfred Mutua. Wakuitu* had told Obama off and dismissively remarked that he was a ‘mere junior senator’ (sic) from Illinois! This was when Mutua held the hitherto important position of Government Spokesman and acted as former President Emilio Kibaki’s parakeet! As I had written earlier, in just a few years, how fortunes have changed! Obama is swigging Florida orange juice at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, the world’s most famous residence whilst Mutua is busy battling the free-balling Muthama in Masaku! This Muthama does not even wear a ng*tha!(unmentionables) He goes commando in the sweltering Machakos heat! This mutumia* has been mining and/or selling gemstones for the past half-century and he can’t afford to buy underwear to cover his nether regions? Mutua shall have to find solace and seek a sabbatical in Kilimambogo Hills and wait for the bedlam to die down. Asi!*

     Another chap who shall not be too happy shall be Obama’s half-brother George Obama. For 30 Shekels of silver like Judas Iscariot, he sold his soul to Obama’s detractors! Ashindwe kabisa!* However, the young chap can and should be forgiven. He does not know any better and as a ghetto yute then, the lure of a few dollars may have confused him!

    Malik Obama shall be overjoyed. He didn’t manage to secure the Siaya gubernatorial seat but isorait*, isokei*, isfain*! Dholuo is already an international language but it’s fame shall spread even further. Luos have done them proud. Obama, Lupita Nyong’o, NFL Indianapolis Colts player Daniel Adongo, Divock Origi, soccer player who got stolen by the Belgians, and so on and so forth. The descendants of Joka-Jok, Jok’Owiny and Jok’Omolo have made their worldly mark!

    English from Oxford University shall be the norm. Keep your dictionary close to you at all times. When an Oxford educated Jaduong’* raps out ‘The juxtaposition of my precarious sesquipedalianism shall not endear itself to palpitations of orotund cantankerousness but do I say’ without blinking, just nod in agreement! Later on, search the words out and find out what the riek* man was saying, lest you are deemed ofuwo!* You don’t want someone yelling at you and calling you ‘stewpit’ (stupid) in front of others.  People shall be speaking kisungu, English through the nose omera! If you didn’t go to Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard, Yale or are not a Rhodes scholar, you shall have a difficult time navigating the verbose that shall accompany his visit. If you went to Nairobi Aviation College for your ersatz diploma, huwesmake! (You cannot make it)

     In July, Kisumu city shall be busier than New York and Tokyo combined! Kisumu dala!* The Luopeans* shall descend into the city in full effect! You want to know the meaning of Luopean? Let me help you; Living Under Opulent Predisposed Engagement Around New York! There, you have it. Or simply put, Luos have swag, just like the Europeans! Aii Yawa!* Fortunes shall be made and lost in July in this city! I can only imagine the show of financial might that shall be taking place in the environs of the Kavirondo gulf! It shall be a formidable list of the Lakeside bourgeoisie. ‘R U Sua (are you sure) that this my elkopta (helicopter) is going to be parked prominently by the hanger’, a Lakeside bourgeoise shall retort! There shall be a fleet of helicopters navigating through the Kisumu brume, as the who is who prepare to land and thereafter jostle and angle for a plum position on the dais to interact and hobnob with Obama. It sal be their time to sain (it shall be their time to shine!) The joke that is doing the rounds in Kisumu claims that, cheap cars such as Toyota Corolla, ProBox and Vitz shall be towed away to discourage blight! If your car doesn’t espouse German or Italian engineering, please do not drive it to Kisumu during that period! I can’t blame them. Obama is here! I mean, Obama has to visit his homeland, the simba, hut, where he had slept when he was an unassuming college student in Harvard! Mama Sarah Obama, his grandmother, shall be blissful!

      If you are a fish that is swimming lazily in Lake Victoria around July, your days are numbered as, in July, there shall be no fish on site. Even the proletariat locals who don’t eat fish because it is too expensive and feel that they are better off selling the fish, shall eat fish during that period. Mbuta, Ngege, Omena and Nyar Mami* shall be eaten in banquets reminiscent of the gorging Romans!  The days of eating ‘mgongo wazi’, that is mostly the skeleton of the fish, shall be temporarily put on hold when Obama is in town. These shall be good times, and tongue twisters such as ‘she sells sea shells by the sea shore’ shall be excitedly repeated by the nyithindo* at the shores of Lake Victoria.

     The roads shall be repaired, repaved and resurfaced. If the adherents of Prophet Owuor washed the road with detergent soap so that his convoy can pass through, imagine what people shall do for Obama! It shall be scrubbed clean using Omo with Powerfoam! Apenji!* It is always a good thing when roads are repaired and potholes the size of Ngorongoro crater are sealed, albeit temporarily. However, why do these government officials fix roads only when an important dignitary is passing by? Why can’t they fix roads for the locals to use, all the time? If money can be found to fix the roads when an important visitor is driving by, then I am sure that money can be set aside to fix the roads! In any case, those dignitaries are sure to avoid the roads and use choppers to travel from place to place. So, ironically, they might resurface roads that the dignitaries might not even use! Kenyans are interesting folks. It reminds me of instances when meat and the best foods would be bought and served when visitors would tour our households, but once they were gone, it was back to ugali, cornmeal, and sukumawiki, kale!

     Dholuo musicians shall compose praise songs about Obama. Be prepared to hear a praise song from everyone and anyone who can play an orutu*! I suspect Tony Nyadundo is busy composing an album in readiness for Ja K’Ogelo’s arrival! I hope he has dusted off his nyatiti* or kamba nane* so that he can entertain the jowa* with his ohangla*! Princess Jully shall remind us of the wretched world we live in with her hit ‘dunia mbaya’, and those who follow Benga* shall miss Okach Biggy, who was a Benga maestro! Where are the members of the dynamic duo of Gidi Gidi Maji Maji? They should come together and perform their hit song ‘unbwogable’! Wow, there are too many Dholuo musicians, present and fallen, to list! From Owino Misiani to Poxi Presha to Wicky Mosh of the ‘Atoti’ fame, their songs are classics. Now, I wonder if one of my favorite musicians, Ken Wa Maria shall belt a hit to commemorate Obama and his visit. He better have a catchy beat ready, better than his hit ‘Fundamentals’! This song was internationally acclaimed when it was played in Las Vegas during the International Rugby Sevens tournament. Kenyans shrieked with joy as Ken Wa Maria’s song blared from the Sam Boyd Stadium speakers! Yelele! Ken Wa Maria, we need a new hit and this is the time for one, Wamasaku!*

     You remember when the beer ‘Senator’ ran out in Luo Nyanza when Obama visited Kenya? If I was the managing director for Kenya Breweries, sorry, East African Breweries, I would have to make a special ‘President Obama’ edition. I am sure the money minded lady Karanja of Keroche breweries is going to make a beer commemorating that visit. The Kenyan hoi polloi need to be sipping a commemorative brew mos mos* as they celebrate and follow the trails of their son across the country. One has to make hay while the sun shines, strike while the iron is hot.

     If you are in Nairobi, or whichever city Obama is scheduled to visit, please take note; your phones shall not work. They shall be scrambled to prevent terrorists from trying to complete their murderous plans! You’ll not have network. Philandering husbands and wives, boyfriends and girlfriends shall use this opportunity to meet their clandestine lovers as they shall be legitimately ‘mteja’, out of reach! If there is a guy who owes you money and you need the person to repay it during that period, forget it! He or she shall be ‘unavailable’. You remember Michael Joseph, formerly of Safaricom Kenya, calling us ‘peculiar’ people? We shall indeed try to marshall our peculiarity during that period by overwhelming the wireless networks in Nairobi, Kisumu and beyond.

       Painters, twilight girls, hoteliers, preachers, you name it;  everyone shall try and make a killing during that period. Everybody shall be planting the seed, kupanda mbegu. You see, twilight girls follow the money! When the Samburu people were paid millions by the British for unexploded rocket shells that were carelessly scattered by the johnnies (British Army soldiers) and had maimed some of the Samburu people, twilight girls swarmed Samburu country! If you have been to Samburu, it is not the easiest place to live. It gets hotter than Arizona in the summer! The previously austere town of Mararal became the place to see and to be seen. In fact, a DJ or two went up to Mararal and turnt up the place! Alcohol flowed freely like the Ewaso Ng’iro River! The girls deserted Koinange street and followed the moolah! The girls of the night set up shop in Mararal, the Samburu County capital and got to work. And work they did. They worked day and night and when they were done, the Samburu moran* were left penniless! Millions of Kenyan shillings vanished into the thin Mararal air!

     When the U.S or British sailors would come to the city of Mombasa to unwind after months at perilous and tempestuous seas, I hear girls used to come from as far as Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and even Kigali, Rwanda to participate in the gravy train! The battleships would discharge the seamen and the games would begin. The debauchery with the libidinous seamen would continue until the ships had left, whereupon the rich ladies, loot in hand left for their respective domiciles.

     Same with the coffee farmers in Nyeri, Kiambu and Murang’a! These coffee farmers toiled from dawn to dusk with their whole families, wives and children. When they were paid the coffee bonuses or ‘bonathi’, they would disappear from their houses and they would go and ‘remove (or wipe off) the dust off their brow from the coffee and tea farms’! They would opt for the frothy Ruaraka waters, as the bottled brew of East African Breweries is called. After drinking muratina* from a dirty gourd or communally from a clay pot with straws all year, you can only imagine the excitement of drinking ice cold bottled beer. They would forget their hard working wives and children and the Jezebel women would temporarily replace the official wives and perform conjugal duties! Once the ‘bonathi’ was over, the dejected farmers would troop home to their angry wives all blenched and have to explain where the ‘bonathi’ went to. No wonder we hear of deranged women of Central Province (as it was called) administering thorough beatings to their penny wise, pound foolish husbands! When you hear born-again women in Christ claim that alcohol is the devil, they probably have a point!

     With all these salacious stories of debauchery, the twilight girls usually have an ally in the form of a covert pharmaceutical grain that is fearfully referred to as ‘mchele’ or ‘rice grain’. It is an essential tool of the trade! This small grain is filled with comatose inducing pharmaceuticals that put their unfortunate victims in between a coma and purgatory! They are lethal! The girls slip this tiny ‘grain’ into the unsuspecting prospective or current customer’s alcoholic drink and after a while, it starts working its magic. It knocks you out colder than a Muhammad Ali punch, bomaye!* If you are fortunate to wake up, you shall find yourself completely relieved of your valuables! These wicked women also take the time to carry your clothes so that you shall be butt naked when you wake up from your morphine-induced sleep! They know that a naked person usually has a lot of issues to sort out, the most important of which is to convince the rest of the people that they are indeed of sane and sound mind and are not madmen, ‘mwenda wazimu’. 

     Rumor has it that the Maasai have also fallen prey to these modern day jezebels! Once the Maasai have trekked hundreds of kilometers to sell their herd after months, if not years of grazing, they decide to peel a note or two to recover from their arduous perilous journey. They decide to drink beer from a bottle, not enaisho* from a gourd or clay pot! As they are drinking the frothy Ruaraka waters, the salacious beauties join them in merry making. Now, rumor has it that back in the day, the Maa had a tradition where a man would firmly plant his spear at the doorstep of the hut of a lady and be uninterrupted with the lady occupant of the hut for as long as the spear stood planted into that doorstep. It did not really matter if the lady was married to another man. Sharing was encouraged. Modern times are with us and the amorous Maasai herdsmen, emboldened by the copious amounts of alcohol that they have imbibed, decide to ‘plant the spear’ in the lodging’s bedrooms and explore the ladies’ rifts and valleys! Unbeknownst to them, the ladies have slipped a grain of ‘mchele’ or two in the drinks of the inebriated Maasai herdsmen and this knocks the moran out harder than a knock to the head by a rungu*! When the Maasai moran wakes up from his induced coma, he realizes that he cannot move his head! Initially, he thinks that it is due to the throbbing headache he is suffering from last night’s alcoholic deluge; however, the reasons are more sinister. The duplicitous night-nurse took the opportunity to lock the Maasai’s stretched earlobe to the bed with a tri-circle padlock! Laleiyo*! If you have ever used a tri-circle padlock, a genuine one that is, you know that it is a tough padlock that is not easy to cut off or pick its lock. Once the petrified Maasai realizes that his earlobes are locked onto the bed, he lets out a warlike cry and the hotel attendants rush to the aid of the distressed moran. When they open the door, the first sight that meets them is a naked moran padlocked to the bed! ‘Yuko ndethe!*’ (He is naked!) The pertinent issue of whether to cut the padlock or cut the earlobe must be decided quickly! What would you do? Try to cut through tough steel or cut open an enraged Maasai moran’s earlobe? These ladies! 

 

      Sometimes, the ladies’ avarice catches up with them and their injudiciousness doesn’t pan out! When the double-crossed men discover that their valuables are missing, they try and find out where these ladies are! When the devious divas are caught, they are thrashed and stripped of their clothing to teach them a lesson. This is one of those instances where ‘my dress my choice’ advocates have no say! Do unto others as you would have them do unto you, is the Golden Rule. If you leave your patrons naked, then don’t be surprised when you find yourself naked. If I gave you the stories of these ladies of the night, it can fill out a book, so let me go back to the story at hand, Obama!

         Read Obama’s books, Dreams From My Father, followed by The Audacity Of Hope. Real and counterfeit copies shall be sold like hot cakes. Some enterprising chaps shall even decide to make a killing and produce counterfeits! A counterfeit copy might read ‘Dreams For My Father’ and ‘An Audacity From Hope’ but that shall not matter! Business is business, biashara ni biashara.

     I know the yute shall want to meet Sasha and Malia. These young ladies are out of bounds. Security shall be tighter than the Fort Knox Bullion’s Depository in Kentucky!  Nuff said!

     Ladies, look at the beginning and the course of the Obama marriage. Barack was Michelle’s junior at the law firm where they met. She was assigned to mentor him as a summer associate at the Chicago law firm they worked in. He didn’t have too much money when they started. He drove a beat up Volkswagen Beetle while others drove Cadillacs and Mercedes Benzes. Barack was a community organizer when their marriage was blossoming but Michelle believed in him. He had potential. Ladies, if a man has potential, stick by him if he sticks by you. Michelle could have opted to date and ultimately marry a man of means, which Barack was not. They grew together and now, they are wealthy beyond their wildest dreams! Just wait and see how much the Obamas shall command in speaking and other fees once Barack’s presidency ends. It shall be in the millions of dollars! Ladies, stand by your man. Gentlemen, stand by your queen!

     Security shall be tight! From the American secret service with their immaculate black suits and earpieces, American snipers positioned in all possible crevices to protect Jarateng’! The hawk-eyed Kenyan security agencies shall also be on top form during the visit. They shall want to prove to the world that their rigid training by Israeli Mossad agents has not been in vain. You see, back in the day, Kenyan security forces were very good, amongst the best in the world and wowed intelligence experts from Tel Aviv to Washington DC to London with their efficiency! They may still be amongst the best but their name has suffered under numerous scandals, and they want to get back to the pinnacle of security. They have something to prove and they do not want to be embarrassed during Obama’s visit! If you are a rabble rouser, please keep off! This is not the time to start shenanigans! You shall be bundled into a waiting Land Rover and be taken to an undisclosed location and when there, you shall know that ‘malenge ni mboga’* The security agents shall seek to know who you are, who sent you and what objective you were seeking to fulfill. I know Kenya is a signatory of the United Nations Convention Against Torture but those mean-faced officers do not smile and may not have familiarized themselves with the contents of the treaty. They shall squeeze your gonnards until you reveal your paymasters. Take a vacation for the few days that Obama shall be there! If you are a gangster, hustler or someone whose daily bread is ill gotten and depends on relieving people of their valuables, then I advise you to lay low like an envelope till the furore of Obama’s visit is over. As for the murderous Al-Shabab operatives, this is not the time to try out your shenanigans of carnage and blowing yourselves up. We are all alert!

     My brother, let me pen off. Writing about Obama can fill up an entire library. I’m done burning the midnight oil! Cheerio!

* Wekelea Nyama Nakuja- place the meat on the grill/pot, I am coming, in Kiswahili.

*Ling’ aling’a. Just keep calm, be quiet, don’t worry, in Luo (Dholuo)

*Omera- My brother, in Luo. Sometimes it is used as an informal way of addressing a friend.

*Karibu sana – you are fully welcome, in Kiswahili

*Jatelo – Leader, in Luo

*Wali na Ugali – Rice and cornmeal, (fufu) in Kiswahili. Kiswahili is spoken widely in Tanzania too.

*Nyama Choma- Roast meat, in Kiswahili

*Yaliyopita Si Ndwele, Tugange yajayo! – Let’s not worry about what is in the past, let’s concern ourselves with curing future ills) in Kiswahili.

* Tero Buru – an elaborate and dramatic Luo mourning ceremony that involves the exorcising of evil spirits from the home of the deceased.

*Achiel Kende – The only (number) one, in Luo

*Unbwogable- From ‘bwogo’, in Luo meaning shake or scare. It means one is unshakeable and cannot be scared. The term is from the song ‘Unbwogable’ by Gidi Gidi Maji Maji.

*Juu – Up, in Kiswahili

*Zaidi – More, in Kiswahili 

*Jarateng’ – Black person, in Luo

*jarachar – white man, in Luo

*Watakaa ngumu – They shall not relent, in ‘broken’ Kiswahili or Sheng.

*Sacco – Savings and credit cooperative organization

*dani – grandmother, in Luo

*kwaru – grandfather, in Luo

*Kabambe and Mulika Mwizi – Sheng’ (Kiswahili-English slang) for cheap, sometimes counterfeit phones.

*Wakuitu- Kamba greeting for man or person from my place, or my kinsman.

*Mutumia- Man, or head of the family in Kamba. The use of the word Mutumia is very confusing for the Kamba neighbors, the Kikuyu, and vice versa, as Mutumia in Kikuyu means ‘woman’!

*Asi- Kamba exclamation remark!

*Ashindwe kabisa- Be defeated completely, in Kiswahili

*Isorait, Isokei, isfain- corruption of It’s all right, it’s okay, it’s fine

*Jaduong’ – Elder, in Luo

*riek- Clever, in Luo

*Ofuwo- foolish, in Luo.

*Dala- home, in Luo

*Luopean- a term denoting a Luo person with ‘swag’ and style like a European!

*Yawa- An expression of surprise, in Luo

* Mbuta … Nyar Mami – types of fish in Luo

*Nyithindo- Children, in Luo

*Apenji- I ask you, in Luo

*Orutu – One string instrument played by the Luo

*Nyatiti- 8 string musical instrument played by Luo, also called *Kamba Nane, 8 strings in Kiswahili.

*Jowa – common folks, in Luo.

*Ohangla- a traditional dance among the Luo community. It was used to celebrate weddings and also in funeral ceremony as part of Tero Buru. (See Tero Buru above.) 

*Benga- a genre of Kenyan music that usually consists of Luo folk songs where the electric bass guitar is played in a style reminiscent of the nyatiti, see above.

*WaMasaku- term for Kamba Man from Masaku, Machakos, Kenya.

*Mos Mos – Slowly slowly, in Luo

*Moran- Maasai or Samburu warrior 

*Muratina- Kikuyu traditional alcoholic brew

*Bomaye- Kill him in Lingala, a Congolese language. Term popularized during Muhammad Ali’s fight in Zaire, former Democratic Republic of Congo, where he fought George Foreman. 

*Enaisho- Honey beer, traditional alcoholic beverage of the Maasai

*Rungu- wooden club or baton used by the Maasai for hunting or warfare

*Laleiyo- Maasai for Hallelujah or a cry to the Almighty.

*Malenge ni mboga- Pumpkins are a vegetable, Kiswahili.

*Biashara ni biashara- Business is business, in Kiswahili (and also in the Kikuyu language)