Let big, tangible ideas trigger Kenya's real development

Last week, I arrived at Singapore’s Changi Airport on a business trip. As is often the case, I was in a hurry to leave the airport, get to my hotel and get on with the business of the day. Then I saw something that took my breath away and made me want to stay at the airport as long as possible. I came across an extremely large waterfall, right there in the airport! It was almost as big as the Thomson Falls.

Known as the Rain Vortex, this forty-metre waterfall is the largest indoor waterfall in the world surrounded by a massive four-storey indoor forest. More than 900 trees and 60,000 shrubs grow in this forest. The forest, waterfall and several other natural attractions are part of Jewel, Changi Airport’s new and grandeur nature-themed entertainment and retail complex.

The wonders of Changi Airport are illustrative of this Asian country’s unbelievable growth over the years. With a population of only 5.6 million people, Singapore’s population is roughly the same as Nairobi’s. Even more stunning, the entire country is also the size of Nairobi, which makes it four times smaller than Kakamega. Unlike Kenya, it has absolutely no minerals to boast of and no agricultural sector, so it has to import 90 per cent of its food.

A lot has been said and written about Singapore’s exponential growth and how Kenya should follow in its footsteps. It is no secret that this growth is rightfully attributed to Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore’s first Prime Minister who governed for three decades. On two occasions, he uttered two quotes that point to critical growth dynamics that are quite relevant for Kenya.

Lee Kuan Yew once said: “I always tried to be correct, not politically correct.” This speaks to a brutal honesty that Kenya must embrace wholeheartedly. In his Jamhuri Day speech, President Kenyatta said: “We are returning the river to its course by turning every hurdle into a stepping stone, every challenge into an opportunity and every obstacle into a bridge for a better future for all.”

There is a critical need for brutal honesty in the ongoing national conversation so that we can unearth those hurdles and challenges that must be turned into stepping-stones and opportunities. In this national conversation, divergent opinions should not instantly split people into political factions. This conversation should not focus on finger pointing but on big innovative solutions. Remember the words of Eleanor Roosevelt, USA’s former First Lady, ‘great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people.’

If you can’t even remember the last time you heard your leader talk of big ideas, just know that the character is small-minded and unworthy of your vote or time. But it’s not just about talk. As Mahatma Gandhi said, ‘you must be the change you wish to see in the world.’ Lee Kuan Yew alluded to this in his second quote that I would like to draw our attention to, ‘What I fear is complacency. When things always become better, people tend to want more for less work.’

Our country is at a crisis where we, as Kenyans rightfully want more jobs, more integrity, more economic growth, more food security, more national cohesion and more. We are rightfully demanding that our leaders provide solutions that will respond to our cries. We are tired of their never-ending weekend politicking and selfish tendencies. But with that in mind, at this critical juncture of our nation’s history, we as Kenyans must also demand more from our inner selves.

By virtue of their age, the youth have the biggest stake in the future of our Nation. It is they who can truly unearth those hurdles and challenges that need to be turned into stepping-stones and opportunities. Are they tired of traffic jams that bleed the economy every single day? They can come up with apps that ease these jams even as they monitor public expenditure towards infrastructure. They can also freshly demand and enforce transformative leadership from all young parliamentarians and MCAs, who sometimes end up becoming even more corrupt than their older counterparts!

It is we, the people of Kenya, who must roll up our sleeves and invest unprecedented amounts of sweat and big ideas that must turn a huge wheel that practically activates sustainable development. If Singapore did it, we too can. Let’s think and act green!

– The writer is founder and chairperson, Green Africa Foundation. www.isaackalua.co.ke