We need repository of great academics

Slightly under two weeks ago, the country woke up to the news of the death of Prof. Okoth Okombo who until his death was a professor of Linguistics at the University of Nairobi.

When I received the news, it sounded unreal. For I had just shared a podium with Prof. Okombo during the induction week for new Members of the National Assembly.

The number of messages of condolence from across the spectrum of the citizenry of the country is testimony to the influence that he had on those he interacted with.

In his field of linguistics, he was a renowned authority and was recognised for pioneering the teaching of sign language.

Most of the messages, however, were based on interactions with Prof Okombo in his trainings and workshops. I interacted with him for close to 15 years and can attest to his prowess.

He was extremely committed to his work. Once during a training session, he confessed that he was not computer literate.

Consequently, in preparation for a training he would sit with a young man who helped him with his presentation, sometimes even the whole night to ensure that his PowerPoint presentations were comprehensive.

Until he made that confession one would not have guessed because his presentations adhered to the rules of preparing PowerPoint complete with pictures.

His main presentations were on communication. In the run up to the 2013 General Election I had the privilege of co-ordinating a training programme, dubbed the Leadership and Campaign Academy, an initiative that trained several aspiring candidates for elective positions.

Prof Okombo was one of a handful trainers who covered the topic on communication. The one thing you learned was to avoid putting him before another speaker. He would overshoot the time allocated to him.

More fundamentally though, everybody would be happy for him to go on such that whoever came after him would find it hard to match his presentation standards.

My most memorable experiences were when he was training on dancing skills and dining etiquette. He was also very passionate about language.

Three examples remain etched in my mind. First, after the 2013 elections a group of us at the university organised a public forum to discuss the Supreme Court decision in the case of Raila Odinga vs IEBC.

His presentation was on language. He picked issue with the court’s decision on rejected and valid votes. What stood out for me though was his argument to the effect that in such an issue, the court should have admitted experts in language as friends of the court to help resolve the issue.

My second experience was a training for Judges where he argued against legalese in writing judgements pointing out that these consisted of “noise” and did not effectively communicate.

The last experience on language was when editing a book in honour of the late Prof. Okoth Ogendo, also of the University of Nairobi. Professor Okombo was writing a chapter on the Ogendo’s writing style.

As he is laid to rest, there are several things that we should learn from his life. First is if you are good at what you do, the world will appreciate your contribution, even if they do not say it when you are alive.

Prof Okombo made a mark in this world. He touched many people. This is the greatest contribution that one can make when they are alive. It is not about the material possessions you have. It is more about how much you impact people’s lives. This is the greatest legacy that Prof Okombo leaves behind.

Throughout this year, I have had discussions with several colleagues about intergenerational succession in the academy. The debate is about training younger people to take over from older academics.

As we reminisce over the life of Prof Okombo, we have to ask who will be able to make presentations on communication as he used to do. Or will his death mark the end of that skill and experience? This is an area that the academy must invest in much more.

It will require older academics to have younger people shadowing them. This way they get to pass on the baton when still alive. In addition, we have to develop the culture of recording, storing, publishing and disseminating the works of great academics.

I was looking for any videos of the late Prof. Okombo and could find very few. This is unacceptable. We have to commit to ensure that this does not happen to the next academic. Academics are known for their written and spoken words. We must start storing these for future generations.