Skip to main content

African gods: President's and CEOs

Businesses in Kenya were penalized for failing
to have such a framed portrait of then President
Daniel Moi. Today, this has been replaced by
portraits of CEOs .
(image credits. http://www.taifalangu.com )
Every Sunday, African streets are thronged with people gong to church, dressed in their best outfits, coincidentally referred to as Sunday Bests. Even children are not left out in the madness as they are decked in colourful outfits and dressed as miniature adults. Those who do not go to church are frowned upon, and seen as wrong doers and society evil bringers. Africa really puts its trust in God, however, this is mostly limited to a single day in the week.

For other days of the week, Africa prefers to have its other gods, its presidents. In several African countries, the president is an ageing man. His age is not the only thing that is greater than that of most of the population, the number of years that he has been in power is also greater than the age of majority of the population.

The last such president we had in Kenya went by the name of Daniel Toroitich arap Moi. This was a god who you could not speak ill about, for a long time. News bulletins on radio and television began with a recap of where he had been , what he did and his visionary thoughts.


Moi also happened to be a down-to-earth person, matter-of-fact, he was so down to earth that he decided not to build any roads, as this would result in them no longer being earthen. He would also make random stops all over the country with his many car motorcade , step out onto the earth to address his loving citizens. School children would line up with miniature flags to wave him by, whereas women - our own mothers- would dance and sing for him. As such, teachers and the ad-hoc women group would receive wads of  money in envelopes.

As for the motorcade, in the early 1990s, there were few vehicles in Kenya. It was at this time that I happened to be in Nyahururu and I remember a day when all vehicles on the 130 kilometre road had been held back, for several hours, at both towns. The reason was that president Moi was travelling in between the two towns. By the time he arrived in Nyahururu, he was tagged by what looked like more than a hundred vehicles, as a result of the hold back to allow his safe travel. But that is presidential motorcades for you.

To top it up, all businesses and public institutions were required to hang a framed portrait of the president  in a visible place.

This however changed in 2002 when Moi finally handed over power. If you think Africans were oppressed by his virtual presence, you could not be more wrong. Moi was just fulfilling a need for a human need of god.

This has been reinforced lately from my interactions with a few firms, in my capacity as a business writer. See your focus as a writer, is to write a great story for your reader.

In the past one week, I have received calls from public relations staff at various firms. One CEO was not happy that a story I did did not have his photo, while I included those of a "competing firm". Another CEO was sad that I had irreparably damaged his reputation by referring to him by his previous post, and not as the CEO.

Both CEOs felt that the story was dead in the water. It dawned on me that I was totally wrong in thinking that businesses made more business by informing potential users of their solutions, and of the benefits of such solutions to potential users.

No, potential customers buy the products after looking at a blown up image of the CEO, knowing his age, his hobbies and how many billions he has raked. The larger the image of the CEO, the more interest it stirs up in potential buyers.

However it fails to dawn on me why the same firms do not grace those big ass  billboards at the sides of the road with images of their CEOs.

A succesful CEO, in addition to having several portraits of themselves around the firm, should be like Zimbabwe's President, Robert Mugabe. Like Mugabe, no firm employee should use the CEOs toilet, or  comment on the CEOs age. Such employees should lose their jobs - such behaviour shows their lack of commitment to the CEO and in extension to the company.



Reactions:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Beers in Kenya: A sober opinion

I have had a short beer swigging stint in my life. It has however been long enough for me to share my opinions of Kenyan beer. Interestingly, over the course of sharing such opinions with other drunkards connoisseurs,  I have found that we all have different views as to what beer is the best, which one makes you too drunk, or which one gives a free,  extra hangover for every hangover you get from it.
For starters, like everyone else, I discovered that beer isn’t as sweet as it looks like in those adverts that show golden barley swaying in breezes,  happy men smiling and toasting chilled, foaming glasses of beer as a deep voice does some narration in the background.
Beer is bitter! Now, it turns out beer is intentionally made bitter. See,  beer shares the same ingredients as bread. The major difference is that bread isn't fermented. Bread is sweet, so why isn't beer sweet?
Post a Comment
Read more

The bitter story of the downfall of Mumias Sugar company

Have you heard the bitter story of Mumias Sugar?

Regarded by many as Kenya's most successful sugar miller, Mumias Sugar Company was a disaster waiting to happen.

Many pointed out how Mumias Sugar Company was a fortress in the wreck that is Kenya's sugar industry, only unaware that it was just a matter of time. As the old wise men said, "Ukiona cha mwenzako cha nyolewa, tia chako maji".

The proverb means that if you see your neighbour's head getting shaved, your head will soon be undergoing the same - you'd therefore better wet your head for a smoother shave, otherwise you will be forced to undergo a painful, dry, shave.

But what ails Kenya's sugar industry?

The Kenya sugar industry is under legal siege. The typical Kenyan issue of coming up with laws to tackle a problem is evident here.

Many of Kenya's sugar factories are owned by the government, and have slowly declined under mismanagement and corruption. The appointing of political cronies and trib…
Post a Comment
Read more

How much Nairobi Residents Pay in Rent

In my last post, I explained how difficult for people looking for housing in Nairobi. The main challenge is lack of information. On this front, I began a project that will collect some information, which will provide some start for those looking for housing in different areas in the city.

In the last one month, 33 people have given their responses.




Interesting enough, majority of the respondents, 16 to be exact, live in 2 bedrooms. This may mean that either 2 bedrooms are the most popular rentals in the city, or the most available. Only one way to find out - if you live in a 2 bedroom rental, here’s another survey.

10 of those who filled in the survey live in self contained 1 bedrooms.

5 people have 3 bedrooms, including 2 in Kikuyu, 1 in Ngong and Lower Kabete each, and another around Langata/National Park.

1 respondent has a 4 bedroom, while another one has a self contained bedsitter.
Pricing




Turning to pricing, the price of 1 bedrooms ranges from Kshs. 10,000 in Rongai to Kshs…
Post a Comment
Read more

Kenyan products: The art of punishing your consumer

Peanut butter used to taste so good, but you could not afford it on the pocket money that you got back in school. A few years later, you have your first real job and your first "disposable" income. You buy your first real tub of peanut butter , probably the first in your life. You feel proud that Dominion peanut butter is manufactured in Ruiru, a town that you visited in your campus days to withdraw your pocket money , it was the nearest bank ATM to your campus. This was before Equity bank became a mainstream bank and decided to open an ATM in your campus, and before M-Pesa meant that you could withdraw your pocket money next to the kibanda  where you had your one meal of the day.

The peanut butter though is a far cry form the peanut butter you remember. It does not taste that good, and turns into some sort of stone barely before you are a third way through the jar. The stone is not a kind that you learned about in your Geography classes though.

Dejectedly, you decide not …
Post a Comment
Read more

Why Kenyans love Kigali (Part 2)

See part 1 of why Kenyans Love Kigali, which this articl is a continuation.

In my previous post on why Kenyans love Kigali, or Rwanda for that matter, I had mentioned on the security of the city. The post however widely dealt with the feel and appearance of the city, and a little bit of the country.

Both of my visits to Kigali have been through the airport, though you may opt for a more adventurous journey by road. Getting to Kigali then required a Kenyan passport, but no visa. Now, all you need to go through both Uganda and Rwandan borders are a National Identity Card.

For travel by air, Rwandair is a cheaper option for Kenyans as compared to our national flag carrier, Kenya Airways. Ironically, most other Africans get to Kigali via Kenya Airways, thought most Kenyans will opt for the cheaper Rwandair. The flights are comfortable and the service on board the 1 hour 15 minutes flight is great.

Depending on the weather, your landing can be quite full of turbulence in Kigali. The airpor…
Post a Comment
Read more