Lost in the Crowd: Navigating Nairobi’s Bustle

The City Nightmare.

I turned 18 a few years ago, I won’t mention how many because I don’t need you to do the maths. Funny right? It then dawned on me, that I will be having to run my own errands without the help of mom or dad. Fast-forward, my biggest fear was to visit Nairobi despite having been born and raised here my whole life, I never had the interest to navigate the city on my own.

The first time I visited Nairobi on my own, I was heading to Country bus, people from western and Nyanza part of Kenya can relate with me so well. We used to board buses in the likes of Mbukinya, Nyamira express, Eldoret express and so on. I really wonder how they did not have bedbugs because they were ever in a very bad situation; they looked like a dust, abandoned cat’s bed. I mean, just not so appealing to the eye, the doors looked like they could fly away, but if you didn’t have enough money for other options then what else could you do?

So I alighted this bus at commercial that is CBD, and immediately my feet touched down I was so shocked, the bus driver could barely wait for me to get down when he already started driving off; this taut held me by my hand and said, “madam hapa watu wanakuanga chap chap” I literally wished I could tele-port back home because, what? I had just begun my journey.

I tried fixing my face, and it could get not better, I wonder where everyone came from? The city was so full, I mean. People were crossing the roads so quickly and carelessly. The last time I checked only the cat had 9 lives, oh well, these pedestrians didn’t seem to care about the only life they had. The streets were so flooded with hawkers occupying everywhere you could barely see the ground because every space was occupied apart from the main roads. How did this come to happen? How did all this people find themselves here? Was there an emergency call? Oh, no!

The last time I checked only the cat had 9 lives, oh well, these pedestrians didn’t seem to care about the only life they had.

World Population Day

Well, thinking of it this way, Nairobi has become so overpopulated I can say, with everyone’s wish in the rural areas being to settle in Nairobi where they use the phrase, “naenda kutafuta pesa Nairobi.” Barely do they know it’s termed as, “Shamba la Mawe” I mean struggle for the fittest. People in the rural area Fantasize so much about Nairobi, and they believe that everyone who lives in Nairobi is well loaded in their accounts, until they visit then realize it’s more or less the same.

Still trying to find my way to country bus which is so far from where I alighted the bus I used. It was so hard because in every ten minutes, you were knocked twice or rather stepped on, and you could barely do nothing because the moment you will want to stand and rant; the same thing will happen, and you will only feel worse. I mean, people are too many and moving too fast at the same time. Ever since, any time I’m needed to run errands there, I normally pray to God first; because the situation was horrifying to me and if I manage to go, I have to take another one month break before I find myself there again.

The moment you will want to stand and rant; the same thing will happen, and you will only feel worse. I mean, people are too many and moving too fast at the same time.

In relation to this, recently on 11th July was World Population day, whereby the theme was “Leave no one behind, Count all”. This day was first celebrated in 1987 when the world’s population got to 5 billion. Well the government can make a good step of creating jobs and equal facilities at every county, sub county and wards to avoid the congestion in only one city. A step that can take quite a long process, but in the end it will be a crucial move.

Did you experience the same on your first time in Nairobi?