Who Is Bigger, The Office or The Occupant?

When does an occupant equal his/her office? When does the office outgrow the occupant and vice versa?

Former information PS Professor Bitange Ndemo once narrated how his phone went unusually silent from the day he ceased being a PS. They went from an average of 30 calls a day to nill. The office had left him. Lucky for him, his first love, the university lecture rooms had space for him. And he remains immensely useful to Kenya.

For some, things are different. The office is not just the four corners of a room. It is about the state of occupying an acknowledged space at a certain time in one's life. Usain Bolt was in office for more than a decade breaking his sprint records on the track.

Here at home, a certain athlete who remains nameless is wasting away in Trans-Nzoia county plucking tea bushes, even though she once earned millions while in office.

The illusion of eternity in office grips many and deludes them to believe that the same level of attention and respect enjoyed as incumbents, is earned for life. It is for this reason that the saying: "make hay while the sun shines", was coined. Whatever rises must set.

The office has trappings that go with it and when one gets overtaken by a sense of entitlement, they fall sick when the office leaves them.

The office is always bigger than the occupant. But many times, big-office syndrome overwhelms many. A story is told of a man of class. He was very particular with his drink. His time to retire came and he relocated to the village. Gin and Tonic often with a wedge of lemon was his thing.

Down at the village, his resources dwindled, and his old habits never died. He simply adjusted and frequented chang'aa dens and insisted on his glass of chang'aa coming with a wedge of lemon. His elitist vocabulary got locals thinking of him as a disillusioned man with very little awareness of his surroundings. Who cares about horse racing or a weekend at a Formula one race in Arabia, when the local football team's success is the hottest topic?

The social office never left his head and this got him on the wrong end and always the victim of village jokes.

So, when you are enjoying incumbency, always find space and time to plan for the life after. No one is ever bigger than the office.