Skip to main content

Rather than positivity, Kenya needs to face its problems

Traffic between Thika and Nairobi as a result of Highway Bumps and reliance on the road 
as the sole link between the two towns. Arguing the traffic is better than in Lagos or
encouraging people to use the road earlier doesn't solve the problem


A fierce debate springs up every now and then on development in Kenya, or in other developing countries. There are two schools of thought - those who argue that a lot needs to be done and what is there is barely much, and those who feel a lot of progress has been made.

Those who focus on the progress will point out that at least Kenya (or another country) is better than its neighbouring or other countries in its status when it comes to some aspect such as roads, or education. While this is true, it however presents a lot of danger as we will discuss shortly.
Another point of those who focus on progress is encouraging individual responsibility rather than criticism. This may appear as a very positive contribution to solving the problem, but like a mirage it is merely an illusion. While a person may find that waking up at 4 AM to beat traffic works for them, it is a solution that can only work as long as it is restricted to a few people attempting it.

If just a quarter of road users woke up at 4 AM to beat traffic - then the trick would stop working. In addition, if this was a viable strategy, then there would be no need for governments to invest in functional public transport. They would simply encourage people to wake up earlier and earlier.

Tokyo, the world’s largest city with a population of 9 million in its core and 37 million in total if you include its suburbs is one perfect example that challenges the idea of individual responsibility. The average commute time in Tokyo is just 40 minutes, with most citizens taking between 20 minutes to 1 and a half hours to reach their workplaces.

In contrast, Nairobi, a city of less than 4.5 million in total has its residents often clocking an hour to more than 2 hours in traffic, even for short distances.

Tokyo’s secret is not waking up early, but heavy government investment in a functional rail network and other public transport infrastructure.

Similarly, arguing that at least Nairobi is better than Lagos doesn’t present a solution. When you are sick and visit a hospital, they do not ask you to return home untreated on the basis that you are at least better off than the dead. Rather, they strive to ensure the best outcome for you.

As I had earlier mentioned, the danger of looking at the positive side of things is that it encourages their not being fixed. Take the case of electric cars - for years, car manufacturers were convinced that low powered cars that did less than 100 kilometers per charge was the best the world could do. Yet, Tesla has proven electric cars can be very powerful and last more than 500 kilometres for every charge.

Thus, a lot of progress is achieved by wanting to outdo oneself. A country that feels it is doing well stops employing teachers, social officers, nurses, doctors and policemen even when it faces an unemployment crisis and poor access to services offered by such professionals. This is the dilemma many developing countries find themselves in.

As in the case of Tesla and Tokyo, solving problems is not accomplished by having a positive mindset around the current situation.

Instead, the best solutions are achieved by an overwhelming desire to conquer the problem while not having to make sacrifices. That’s how genius solutions are unlocked.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Beers in Kenya: A sober opinion

Note: This is a dated post and has since been mostly passed by events. SAB Miller beers including Castle and Peroni are no longer widely available in Kenya after their exist. Sirville Brewery was bought out by Brew Bistro before being permanently shut in a tax dispute. Kenya is a land of milk, honey, beaches and taxes. I have penned, or is typed, a newer post here .  Peroni - One of the best beers in Kenya. Did a taste of canned and bottled Italian, and bottled Tanzanian I like the tangy flavour and body in Tanzanian Peroni. The can is close. Heineken drinkers will like the Italian one.  I have had a short beer swigging stint in my life. It has however been long enough for me to share my opinion 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 one free, extra hangover for every ha...

Nairobi's Top 4 Texas Brisket Places Reviewed and Ranked

Brisket on a bed of roast vegetables with barbecue sauce at Texas Brisket, Kikuyu  This review has been updated after a number of you suggested I try the brisket at County2County.  What's the best place to have Brisket in Nairobi? What's even brisket?  Brisket is one of the toughest cuts in a cow, from around the belly. It is so tough that it has to be smoked for about 16 hours to tenderise. But that there, is the catch.  12 to 16 hours later, it is the most flavourful and softest cut you will ever have. So full of flavour and so soft you can pick it apart with your fingers.  However, due to the long cooking time involved, only a few places offer brisket in Nairobi.  The best so far is Texas Brisket which is located within Kikuyu Railway station.  They do the meat for a proper 16 hours, and will usually have a fatty or non-fatty portion. The fatty portions are more tasty. A 500 gram serving goes for KSh. 900 and a 1 KG order comes with a serving of fre...

WhatsApp Solution: Sorry we were unable to restore any of your message history backup

*This method only works if you are trying to transfer WhatsApp from one phone to another, and have not deleted WhatsApp data or formatted the old phone. If you already uninstalled WhatsApp and deleted data or logged into a different number, it won't work. If you get the “Sorry we were unable to restore any of your message history backup” when trying to restore your WhatsApp messages, trying to restore again from the same backup will probably fail. The issue seems to be caused by an issue with your backup file such as if you repeatedly tried to backup with internet connecting and disconnecting. 

25

Well, it has been quite a while since I last posted anything here, or even visited this blog. Yet another proof that the blog is quite boring that it does not warrant my visiting it. As for me not updating it, I could have blamed the numerous blackouts, or even blamed the alcohol(proliferation of Chang’aa in Kenya). But here is a perfect reason that I was not blogging. See, I come form a very green area in Kenya called Mwingi. O.k. , I now admit that it is a dry area often plagued by drought , but the area is quite green due to the continuous rains in Kenya starting last November. In case you are wondering, neither drought, rain or lush greenery is to blame for my failure to blog. A more closer fit would be the constitutional system of the country. See I come from Mwingi south , a constituency that was once split from Mwingi constituency. Before the split, Mwingi constituency had its M.P. as Kalonzo Musyoka , the country’s V.P. Kalonzo Musyoka is still the M.P. for Mwingi North. Recen...

Why Humanity Hasn't Learned From the Covid Pandemic

In 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic began ravaging the world, succeeding the 1918 flu pandemic.  Many found it unbelievable that despite all the scientific progress that the world has made since 1918, from composite jets to modern healthcare to going to the moon, the world was still susceptible to a pandemic.  Ironically, some of these advancements largely played a role in the spread of the pandemic. Thousands of global flights every hour and air conditioning fanned its spread like a dry wind would in a forest fire.  There was even further disbelief in mid-2020 when it became apparent that many countries were even struggling to keep a pandemic in check. Developed countries, supposed to have the best healthcare, suffered the worst outbreaks amidst disagreements on measures such as quarantines and wearing of masks.  In yet another twist, technology advancement finally came to our rescue with the speedy development of vaccines, including the safe pioneering of never-tried-b...