VERSATILE: He is a no-nonsense guy and after stepping down as chairman of an examinations body, no one would have imagined Fagil Mandy as a lead actor in a romantic soap opera. He is a true manifestation that it is never too late to leave that boring desk job and live your dream.
I think the only thing Fagil Mandy is yet to do on this earth is release a raunchy hip hop video featuring Gravity Omutujju, with a bunch of sweaty girls grinding on him while calling him “dzaddy”. That way, he would have kicked the last item off his bucket list. I mean, who knew this guy could act? The guy shocked us by starring in the Ugandan version of the Latino soap, Second Chance, as a one Peter Byekwaso (Pedro Donoso), Well, I am not sure which of the two sounds more eye-popping: Donald Trump as the President of the USA or Mandy as an actor. Truth is, it is going to take a while for us to get used to this. Fagil Mandy’s acting won’t certainly earn him an Oscar nomination next year. Far from it actually. I doubt his acting skills would even get him a role in those laughable Ebonies’ dramas. Guy is as stiff as nails. His lines are laboured, though you have got to give it to him for the effort. He tries bambi. Chaps his age are more likely to be rehearsing names of medicine than movie lines. Before this acting phenomenon, he was more known as an avid educationist, a teacher, an athlete and more recently, the chairman of UNEB before his resignation. It turns out he is actually a professional playwright with a couple of plays written and performed by him. He is a fitness freak too, who is more likely to take his employees for morning fitness drills around the office block rather than a board meeting. You wanna be like Fagil Mandy, here is your guide:
Be a fitness guru
If the only exercise you have done in the past few months is lifting a beer bottle from the table and putting it back, it is time to wake up and smell the coffee. Chances are that many of you have never done any exercise so it is time to get off your lazy bottoms and stretch the hell out of your bones. Make your bodies busy, do those sit-ups and press-ups. You can be sure that you will not suffer a stroke and die.
Chaps are running to pork joints instead of running around their hoods to keep fit. Fagil Mandy is obsessed with fitness. He confesses to working out every day and has forced some of his staff in the past into workouts. Surprise your body with a jog around your neighbourhood. You do not even have to suffer with subscribing to a gym because well, many of you cannot afford. Simply disgust your neighbours with a sore sight of your funny legs in shorts while mindful of your fitness goals. No excuses please, just run. Lose that balloon, you call a belly.
Nothing is impossible
Fagil Mandy believes nothing is impossible in this world and he has backed this claim. The tough-talking and no-nonsense disciplinarian is now a soap opera actor. It is unthinkable to imagine Fagil going down for a kiss, let alone say anything romantic. He looks more suited for a role as an army commander in a war movie. The guy has no time for jokes. We would never have imagined him as an actor in a soap.
It might be time to step out of your comfort zone. This might be time to strip down from suits and ties to a more unfancy profession such as a nudist. Desire Luzinda found fame and fortune in this…. hehe or better, ask Kim Kardashian. You do not have to die at your desk, on a job you hate when you can follow your passion. Take your singing talent out of the bathroom and onto the stage. If Fagil could act at 67, why can’t you? Do not be a chicken who is frightened of following their dreams.
Be very principled
We all have that one friend who is nothing but ‘stress’. The kind to make your business their own. The kind to constantly remind you of how you have failed in life with their perfect lives. They arrive early for all meetings (so un-Ugandan), they work out regularly, eat right, arghhhh. They are a traffic police officer’s worst enemy because they have everything from a driver’s permit to the car’s log book. They live life by the book. Fagil Mandy is one such person.
To be like Fagil Mandy, you will have to live and die by some principles. This is a tough one, I know. Some of us have no principles to live by. We live by accident; have no values to stand for. We are mistakes waiting to happen and some of us can’t be too bothered. You fill our Facebook timelines with Bible quotes and go around sinning disgracefully. Don’t be like such people.
There you have it. Go ahead and be like Fagil Mandy.
Twitter: @spoiltbrat
