Nigeria, Oct. 22 -- There are men who live quietly and leave quietly. And there are those whose lives become the pulse of a nation, whose names are woven into the dreams, the pain, and the unfinished prayers of their people. Raila Amolo Odinga belonged to the latter. His life was a long conversation with destiny. For more than eight decades, he stood at the centre of Kenya's uneasy dance with democracy. Sometimes he was applauded. Often, he was resisted. But he was never ignored.

He was born in January 1945 in Maseno, Kenya, at a time when the winds of colonial rule were beginning to shift. He was the son of Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, Kenya's first Vice President, and Mary Juma Odinga. From his father, he inherited the courage to question p...