By XN IRAKI

On Tuesday, John Michuki will be buried in his Kangema home. His age mate Njenga Karume will follow suite. The two giants will lie under the sod silently till the end time depending on your belief on life and death.

For eight decades, the two punctuated Kenyan political and economic landscape leaving landmarks and many legacies.

What made the two so successful? What are their entrepreneurial and economic legacies?

First the two were quite difference. Michuki was an Oxford educated technocrat who later became a politician.

His prior experience, holding various positions in the government perhaps explains his success in politics. He debunked the myth that the old guards are not effective. Njenga Karume was less educated, never was a technocrat, but a true politician from grassroots to the national level.

Both are tied by the entrepreneurial acumen, accumulating wealth over the years.

There are many explanations for their success. On the personal level, they were forceful and seem to know what they wanted and how to get. They were decisive. For Njenga, he seems to have long recognised the power of pooling, hence his close association with Gikuyu Embu Meru Association.

Both were traditional, with close ties to their communities. This was evident from the single encounter I had with Michuki, issuing instructions to some of his juniors in coded mother tongue.

Attachment to traditions perhaps explains the success of Asians in business and in other ventures including academia. They even ensure their children talk their mother tongue and marry their own. The cultural drifts afflicting most of us could be part our undoing.

But the real source of these men’s success is less personal. They rode through economic and political transitions. Both were born during the colonial era, and had the benefit of living under mzungu.

Both lived through the price control regime where prices of essential commodities were controlled by the government to the free market era when prices were freed.

There is evidence that change is a great catalyst in entrepreneurship.

For Michuki there was more change, he migrated from rural to urban area, worked on different jobs and even studied abroad.

Early life experiences from growing up in polygamous homes to poverty interacted with changes in political and economic landscapes to bring out the entrepreneurial potential of the two men.

Paradoxically, poverty is no longer a motivator, with teachers in high schools complaining that children from poor background are least motivated to improve their lives.

There are those who will argue that the two men were in the right place at the right time. They were young adults when independence came; the population was low, opportunities plenty.

Others could argue the two benefited from rent seeking, taking advantage of too much government control on the economy. The previous statement is not 100 per cent false. Enough on their secret to success. What are the lessons for the younger generation?

First, we are living in a different period in history; competition is more severe for jobs and entrepreneurial opportunities.

National level

The popularity of devolution has a lot to do with diminishing economic and political opportunities at national level. There is a deep belief that such opportunities will emerge with devolution. Let us wait. The current generation will have to be more focused, work harder and build strong brands.

Two, their shall always be rewards for the determined and the patient. The two men waited for a long period of time to accumulate their wealth. Corruption is about trying to accumulate wealth overnight.

Three, the next generation of wealth creators will make their money using different models from Njenga’s and Michuki’s. They have to rely less on physical capital like land but more on intellectual capital. What is Microsoft or Google’s greatest asset?

Four, by starting enterprises, the two planted the seeds of economic growth. We need more of such entrepreneurs to create jobs, and uplift our standards of living.

Five, life has its limits; nature eventually triumphs over us. We need use the few days we are on this small planet to achieve our dreams, which should outlive us.

Six, our business schools should codify the experiences of the two gentlemen through case studies to serve as inspiration to the next generation.