Everyone and their mother are talking about the just released KCSE results.

The hot topic is, what did social activist Boniface Mwangi get?

After getting trolled online, Nairobi Senator Mike Sonko has come out to defend Boniface.

He says,

"Examination Results Should Not & Cannot Define You so wacheni kuliza Boniface Mwangi amepata nini he has created more jobs through his Company PAWA 254."

Sonko continued explaining why book smarts don't necessarily lead to wealth creation.

"Many years ago before the art of cheating, stealing or buying examinations became a trend, I sat for National Examinations and performed very well. In fact I made it to the headlines of National Press twice. With other "star" performers we joined the Original National Schools & later college to study premier courses like Law, Medicine, Engineering, Architecture, Surveying, Pharmacy, Economics, Commerce etc. Upon graduation we joined the rat race and we are still chasing our dreams.

However, life has taught me differently. Passing examinations is not a guarantee for success and good life. Sample this; the Chairperson of our investment Club did not study past O-Levels after scoring an average grade. His highest academic qualification is a Certificate in Enterprise Leadership & Management acquired 30 years after he left school! After a 2 year stint as an in-servive trainee teacher, he abandoned the chalk for business. The man is today an astute entrepreneur with a mercurial sense of sniffing business opportunities. He hit the Big B mark (Over 1 Billion in Networth) many years ago & is the only self-made billionaire I know because of his humble beginnings. He doesn't do business with the government to avoid soiling his name. He is often invited to the House on the Hill to discuss business matters on behalf of a special category of traders in Nairobi's CBD and many a times I have witnessed some senior politicians from the ruling coalition & diplomats consulting him on business matters. A referral letter from him is enough to get you a good bank loan, business or even employment in many companies. He however prefers to sit and listen to business ideas, rather than requests for job placements. Our club has 22 members and only 4 of us are graduates and we agree to be led by those who know how to create wealth much better. In fact from a reading of the Club's books, 3 graduate members are the "poorest" in terms of actual numbers!

Even after graduating with a Second Class Honours (Upper Division) degree, our Chairperson's first born flatly declined to be employed and chose to follow in the father's footsteps. 3 years down the road, the young man is earning more from business than his contemporaries who studied medicine and are currently on strike agitating for higher pay! I should know; 2 young people I have referred to him have been hired this year.

I am not dismissing academic education but take this from my experience; any education/knowledge which does not add value to the capital markets is WORTHLESS! This is the reason I hardly bother to check who got what grade/marks or points or which school led in the country or a county. Success is not about examination results. It is value driven!

In the meantime, allow me to congratulate the "star" performers in this year's KCSE. I will not dampen their spirits but I hope that by the time they graduate, their contemporaries who performed "dismally" will have created enough jobs to employ them or paid enough taxes to enable government hire & pay them in the public service. Or even built enough houses for them to rent and enough matatus/buses to take them home!

Our Chairperson's businesses employ more people than some government Agencies and Boards and he doesn't tire to remind us that the ultimate goal in life is happiness achieved by creating value for oneself and the community around us. If you go to work riding in a matatu owned/operated by a person who dropped out of primary or high school and live/stay in a house built by a person of similar circumstances, think thrice about this post. Stop wasting your time celebrating the academic performance of your former school or schools in your village. All that matters now is not the grade you attained but what you have achieved or the value you have created with the little education you acquired from those places!

To those who got Grades C and below I say; let nobody discourage you! Dream on, life is not just about a result slip. After all, Sports & Games (Athletics, Football, Volleyball, Basketball, Swimming, Car Rallying, etc); Performing Arts & Culture (Music, Drama, Role Acting, Filmmaking, etc); Entrepreneurship (Business & Value Addition); Technology & Innovation (New Ideas, Tools, Products, Manufacturing/Conversion of Raw Materials) CREATE more VALUE & FAME than academics in Medicine, Engineering, Law, Architecture, Surveying, Pharmacy, Economics etc. Such is Life!"