The rantings of a megalomaniac who loves the sound of his own ideas

A book never raised so many questions and answered so few like Ndiritu Njoka’s tribute to male chauvinism, Coup de Grace: Gender Apartheid 1st World War of Sexes.

So raw and caustic is the narrative that one wonders whether this is a work of a maverick or a pathological attention seeker.

For starters, it’s difficult to tell whether this pile of 288 pages is a book or a disparate dustbin of pages bound together by a megalomaniac who loves the sound of his own ideas.

Apart from his now famous contempt for women, there’s no other thread that holds the narrative together.

FIGHT TO FREE MEN

From appointing himself the president of men worldwide and US First Lady Michelle Obama as the president of women, to declaring himself a field marshal in the fight to “free men”, Njoka’s pen seems to turn on hubris.

He wants women to work half day for half pay so that they can spend more time with children at home. And there are more conspiracy theories.

Njoka alleges a global plot to annihilate men. He sees daggers in the numerous policies, organisations and interventions focusing on the girl child at the expense of the boy. This has led to societal ills ranging from drug abuse to crime and even terrorism.

“Neglect of the boy child is giving rise to terrorism, crime and rampant drug abuse as most of the perpetrators of these crimes are young men who have not been empowered or given equal opportunities as the girl child,” he says, adding, working women are leeches and do not spend their salaries on the family.

“Men are viewed as a cash crop and are appreciated as long as they bring money to the table and they make economic sense, once they stop earning money, they are mistreated and even killed.”

While mothers are away at work, he claims, house-helps prey on young boys physically and sometimes sexually.

They also introduce vices such as drug abuse and witchcraft to the children, which scar them for life.

From birth, the boy is treated as an adult who is expected to fend for himself whereas the girl is protected as a delicate and fragile specimen.

WEARING SHORTS

He takes issue with the education system for allowing boys to go to school wearing shorts and girls in stockings and leg warmers.

This gives them undue advantage over boys, especially in cold weather.

Separate schools for girls and boys act as a catalyst for brainwashing girls into a false sense of equality, he claims.

This leads them to believe they are superior to boys and they can do pretty much what they set their minds to or even enter into competition with boys and later on in their lives with men — their spouses — which then leads to unhappy and broken families.

A quota system that allows girls admission to universities with less points puts thousands of boys at a disadvantage as it gives girls a headstart in life.

Njoka is angry that billions of shillings are being spent on women empowerment at the expense of “better” issues — such enhancing men’s welfare.

He says county women representatives add little value to national politics and are a drain on resources. He blames the creation of this post on a reckless rush for affirmative action.

“Affirmative actions are usually taken to defend the rights of the minority and the weak, going by the past census, women are a majority and they therefore do not deserve this consideration,” he adds.

Any intervention that goes directly to the woman without being run past the man will flop as it is illegitimate.

“Through history, men have been better agitators of women rights and they do a better job of defending the rights of women in a way that women themselves wouldn’t. Since men will be involved in arriving at these solutions, they will be more supportive and women will go farther.”

Efforts to get more girls to study sciences and take up careers in science, technology and mathematics are in vain, Ndiritu opines.

“Let women study and stay in careers they are naturally predisposed to. They are not gifted in sciences and mathematics. Let them be teachers and other professions such as nursing where they are really good and leave the heavy lifting to the men”.

He argues that women are recruited into the army for cosmetic purposes.

“They will not bear arms, their work on the front is to cook for their male colleagues who are engaged in the actual battle. This is counterproductive and a waste of time.
“In fact it compromises operations as the male soldiers will need to look out for the women and this would be detrimental to the troops at the war front!”

BOYCOTT SEX

In his world of hubris, Njoka sees nothing but suffering men in need of rescue.

He proposes a passive protest where all men will greet women with their left hands. They should also boycott sex for 24 hours to create awareness on the gender tragedy of our times.

There are many things about Njoka’s book that don’t just sound right, but the nagging question as I race down the tirade is: Just what is his point?

The book is published by Abroad Technology.