Prejudice Western Style: I watched in shock as my former boss, and someone I really respect Mr David Makali made some comments about Nigeria- regarding the Oil deals between Kenya and Nigeria that were signed last month. First, it is clear that many Kenyans only know Nigeria through what they read in the Press, and see in some Naija movies. However, there is much more. Personally I started interacting with Nigerians in the 80s when my elder brother stayed with a number of them in our SQ in Parklands. Since then, I have had very deep relations with the Brodas. For starters- Nigeria is currently the largest economy in Africa. It did not just reach that position by Juju- but by systematic and well coordinated activities. There is soooo much we Kenyans can learn from Nigeria. The problem of relying on the Western Media to make judgements always results in having a very warped view of reality on the ground. For instance- the inter- clan wars and curfew in Wajir is being depicted in some Western Media outlets as something affecting the whole country. Second- the economy of Lagos alone is much bigger than the entire Kenyan Economy- including all the ching chang money for Railway. In general, the GDP is about 12 times our own GDP. Nigeria has one of the wealthiest middle class- and that is why all top global brands are setting up their African HQ in Nigeria. As I keep saying- President Uhuru has seen far. The vision he has of establishing intra-african trade and co-operation is simply amazing. Before, Uhuru established close ties with Ethiopia- very few Kenyans still imagined Ethiopia to be some hunger stricken country- only to find out that our neighbours in the north have a GDP far larger than Kenyas (by nearly one trillion shillings), and a potential market twice the size of Kenya i.e (90 million). Before Uhuru established very close relations with Kabila, many thought DRC was just a country that produces Lingala- yet it is one of the Worlds richest country as far as natural resources are concerned. Before Uhuru established very deep ties with Nigeria- many Kenyans thought that Nigerians are conmen on Facebook. For this reason, we should keep our President in prayer more than ever- because many visionary leaders that ever started doing what he is doing have been messed up by the West.
Posted on: Tue, 03 Jun 2014 08:13:27 +0000
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