A Kenyan living in Dubai explains the difference between Kenya and Dubai.Here are the things that separate Kenya and Dubai like day and night.
The guy who drove us to Abu Dhabi yesterday is a Kenyan called Muchui. He is into luxury real estate and tours & travel here in Dubai. Actually, there are so many Kenyans in this city, most of them working in hospitality. From management to life guards and concierges. They are doing well, earning that Dirham. Every six weeks Muchui goes back home to see his folks.
Anyway, we got back to Dubai past dark and this city lights up like a Christmas tree. Then he dared me. He said that if I could spot one streetlight…just ONE…that is not working, he would give me 100 Dirham. At first I thought Muchui was kidding, kumbe he was not. I started looking.
None. For like a long 30 minute stretch there was not a single bulb that was not working. Can you imagine that? He told me that there is a person who might lose his job if a street lamp is not working. Because it is a crime to ‘ruin the image of Dubai’. This also includes driving around with a dirty car (even though this is a desert) or a broken taillight.
If I was not Kenyan enough I have missed that 100 Dirham. I would have given up searching. But then I found two, which shocked him so much. He said it was the first time in 15 years that he was seeing a dysfunctional bulb in this city.
I earned my bet.
But it got me thinking about Nairobi. Will there ever be a day when someone will be brave enough to bet 3000 on our services? I look at this city and it is so shiny bana. Streets are clean. Malls spotless. Just 15 years ago this place was a desert. Yet UAE made the decision to build it. All this magnificence. 15 years only. So why can’t we?
Yes. I get it. UAE has oil money and cheap labour (some news sites even call it ‘modern day slavery’). But are we really so poor? If we are poor then where is all this money being stolen coming from? 5 billion has disappeared this week only. How much has this government stolen since it got into power? Does someone have a figure?
I mean, I am not really interested in Nairobi having the highest buildings, but I am interested in Nairobi (and the rest of Kenya) having the highest standards. And when I say we need to aspire to become like UAE, I am talking about the end, not the means. We do not need modern day slavery to clean up a city. To mark roads. To light up the neighbourhoods. To enforce regional laws and city planning. To ensure safety for me to walk aroud at 3am with confidence. To provide long term solutions to medical care. So that nobody else dies begging for healthcare like Kasichana Riziki’s dada.
We could have these things if we didn’t have a president who keeps passing the buck as if he didn’t know what he was signing up for when he ran for office. Surely, if my president throws his hands in the air to asks ‘now what do you want me to do about corruption”, what am I to do?
We take a lot of pride in being the stronger economy in East and Central Africa region, but for how long? We will wake up one day to find Rwanda and TZ eating our breakfast.
Anyway. For now, I am 100 Dirham richer.
