OPINION: There's more to Nairobi's problems than Sonko's leadership

Igathe's resignation seems to have brought Nairobi to its knees and finally crossroads. Nairobi County has often been a city of extremes, with some of the largest slums, biggest informal economies, and most glaring forms of inequality often in the continent found there.

How did we arrive here?

Several factors have accelerated the situation. The coming of devolution seems to have caught the city with its pants down with the complexity of city politics worsening the situation. So ideally, while its leaders came to power with popular votes, most of the problems facing the city are largely due to systematic failures over the years.

Traditionally Nairobi has received significant amount of money from Commission on Revenue allocation

In 2018 it probably received the single largest allocation, of Sh15.3 billion, followed by Turkana at Sh11.8 billion and Kakamega at Sh10.6 billion.

To fix it woes, the city needs protracted and robust efforts taking into consideration the complexity of a metropolis and its key place in national politics. Those toying with an idea of President Kenyatta reverting the county to the authority of the national government administratively are daydreamers and doomsayers.

No individual has such, unless a referendum on the same is initiated, which is likely not to see the light of the day.

As Nairobi's leadership grapples with its internal bottlenecks, which often lead to poor service delivery, we must all support the city to move forward. 

The executive and assembly must expedite action plans that would turn the city from its current filthy state to that of a more attractive and ideal city for investors under the sun.

Issues such as water shortage, waste pillage, rampant corruption, increase in crime and endless feuds must be sorted.

Systematic failures which have been institutionalised for years must be the brought to rest. 

In midst of all these challenges, ranging from human resources, technicality and governance in nature, the city holds the promise.

We need collaborative approach to sanitize the city which has been the centre for several global organisations and high profile conferences.

We must not relent even if it would take the likes of Miguna on helm. A few years ago Nairobi was on its right path and its leaders were vetted and celebrated for turning it around.