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Businesses, not politics, hold key to development

Thursday September 01 2022
Kenyans vote.

Voters argue queue early in the morning to cast their ballots at a polling station at St Stephen School in the informal settlement of Mathare in Nairobi County, on August 9, 2022. PHOTO | AFP

By WALE AKINYEMI

Why are African elections such do-or-die events? Why is it that when elections are approaching, the police get ready, and in some cases, the military, Red Cross and hospitals get ready?

Past elections in Kenya saw the death of people and this election too has resulted in some deaths. Why is it such a fight to the finish?

When you take a deep dive into the African scenario, what lies at the core is resources. What do the African super-rich have in common? The common thread is relation to government. A large proportion of the super-rich in Africa were either in government or had a family member or friend in government.

When success is tied to the government then there is a problem. True democracy is when the child of a nobody can become somebody without knowing anybody.

Stories abound of people who became millionaires based purely on the power of their innovation and not because of connection to government.

The tech industry developed around innovation and places like Silicon Valley are the products of innovation.

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The first signs of a true democratic society is when we begin to see the democratisation of success, when based on the power of innovation, communities begin to develop around ideas. It is when ideas begin to flourish at the smallest levels in society.

Examples from the West

Warren Buffet did not need to be in Washington DC as a congressman to have access to resources. Jeff Bezos did not need to be a governor and neither did Bill Gates need to be a cabinet secretary. In fact in those environments, people do not become billionaires because they are in government. They go into government as billionaires and millionaires to serve their communities.

Has it occurred to anyone that one of the wealthiest people in Kenya today is the American ambassador to Kenya, Meg Whitman? According to Forbes, Meg Whitman is best known for taking eBay from $5.7 million to $8 billion in sales as CEO from 1998 to 2008. She was CEO of Hewlett-Packard from 2011 to 2015, where she oversaw its split into HP Inc. and Hewlett Packard Enterprise. Her net worth is put at $3.3 billion.

Yet a list of Africa’s wealthiest comprises majorly of people whose wealth can be traced directly or indirectly to government.

Another reason for cut throat competition and a do-or-die approach to politics is because resource allocation and development for communities is determined by having their own people in power.

Why has a place like Lagos thrived despite being punished by the central government at some point because they were in opposition? Lagos state prides itself as a centre of excellence. People can come in from any part of the nation and thrive in Lagos just on the power of their innovation.

True devolution

This is what devolution is meant to achieve. It is meant to create centres of excellence across the nations where the children of seeming nobodies become somebodies without knowing powerful people.

To be free from the grip of politics that cripples society, entrepreneurship is going to play a key role. As the business community we must make our businesses centres of excellence and catalysts for development.

When public service becomes a service to the public and not to self, when you do not need a connection in government to get what is yours, and when we can have elections without preparing like we are going for war, then we can claim to be truly democratic.

Wale Akinyemi is the chief transformation officer, PowerTalks. E-mail: [email protected]

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