Why Nairobi Governor Race is Waititu's to Lose

I was not surprised when ‘Rio’ Ferdinand Clifford Waititu won the TNA nominations for Nairobi County Governor at the expense of the sleek Jimnah Mbaru. I also expected Bishop, Dr. Margaret Wanjiru to beat Dr. Evans Odhiambo Kidero; the good pharmacist should thank the gods he is on the ballot for ODM just because Bishop Wanjiru was barred for lack of a University degree. To know why these not so learned and rather ‘uncultured’ politicians get good fortunes in the game, tag on me.

Everyone says that a Governor or let me say Gubernatorial seat should be the preserve of technocratic managers rather than the politician type. I couldn’t disagree more, in as much as management skills are important, political skills are more important. This is what is used to discredit Waititu alias ‘Baba Yao’ from the race.

To be Governor, one must get votes and to get these votes one must endear himself to the voters. Waititu has served as a councilor and is the immediate former MP for Embakasi. He is in touch with the ground and his networks traverse the city, having been born in Kibera, lived in Dagoreti to the west and represented Embakasi constituency which is to the East of the city. He comes across as a thorough bred Nairobian.

He built these networks over time without the pressures and constraints of an upcoming election. He even did it ‘with no strings attached’ attitude to the people yet he knew what he was going for. Unlike Kidero and Mbaru who have the money and expertise, yet failed to take time to build their networks in good time. Phillip Kisia being a technocrat spent about four years at City Hall as Town Clerk but failed to use it to learn political skill and build networks.

Waititu speaks the language of the people of Nairobi no wonder they call him ‘Baba Yao’- the top dog. Jimnah Mbaru on the other hand has the audacity to campaign around Mathare slums speaking in English. It doesn't matter how good his ideas are, his choice of language meant they were dead on arrival.

Meanwhile Kidero has tried to do a lot of work including having lunch with the people at Kariokor Market, unlike Waititu this comes out as an attempt to fit in for the sake of votes. Recently on Citizen TV, Kidero kept talking about programmes as Waititu kept it simple, always referring to ‘my people’ in every statement. To the people, what matters is what is in it for them, and it is prudent for the candidates to break down their ideas to basics.

Management

It is unfortunate that a person of Waititu’s character is close to ascending to the second most powerful seat in Kenya after the presidency. Nairobi accounts a huge chunk of economic transactions in Kenya and the region. A recent statement from a Safaricom executive revealed that over two thirds of Mpesa transactions emanate from Nairobi. I can see why the tag manager is being floated every time Governor is mentioned.

The constitution does not vest executive authority of a county in the office of Governor but the County Executive Committee. Waititu may not be a technocrat but if he can cobble a good team and manage them well, he can still succeed as Governor. Then there is the County Assembly composed officials elected to represent the residents’ interests. A governor must be able to manage the personal expectations of these representatives and of the people they represent.

To this I believe, a politician with managerial sub-skills can make a good Governor as compared to a manager without political sub-skills. If he can manage people well, his executive committee and the county representatives then he wins, and that is politics.

Corporate management is all about the bottom line- profits must be made. In the office of governor, it is not about profits but services for which I believe a Non-profit organization manager can make a good Governor. The office has a diplomatic role, resource mobilization and project implementation. These are roles a Governor will seek to hire the right people to help him accomplish.

Politics of Management

When ANC sidestepped Cyril Ramaphosa to give Thabo Mbeki the number two slot to Nelson Mandela, many people agreed with the party’s choice. A few years later Mbeki succeeded Madiba and then things started going well for the country but went worse for him. Mbeki is a technocratic leader who set South Africa on an economic growth path, until Jacob Zuma came. The man from Kwa Zulu branded Mbeki a ‘Boer’and set out to sing the anti apartheid song ‘umshini wami’ (bring me my machine gun) and Mbeki was no more politically.

In 2008 ODM had a majority of councillors in Nairobi City Hall, and Majiwa was elected mayor.  No sooner had he felt the weight of mayoral chains than chairs started flying in council meetings. Then came George Aladwa, a man with modest education but a good mobilizer. Yes, Nairobi resident may have lacked good services from Nairobi City Council but the noise faded. Looking at these two mayors, Majiwa a graduate of Maseno University and Aladwa, a graduate of Makongeni University, who comes out as a better leader?

To be a governor, one must win majority of votes cast by Nairobi residents. To win these votes you must go out and seduce the people of Nairobi to vote for you. Academic qualifications and a good Curriculum Vitae are good, but they do not attract votes. Someone must sacrifice his pride and ambitions to build a political base.

A good example is American President Barrack Obama, when he knew he wanted to be president, despite having a law degree from Harvard  he opted for the trenches of Chicago Community service. He spent years building a political base and reaped from it. I fail to wonder how Jimnah Mbaru can wake up in December 2012 and expect to win an election in March 2013. Money can buy many things but money can never buy trust, and people vote for leaders they can trust.

To conclude- It is Evans Kidero who can give Waititu a run for his money. This will be more due to ethnic arithmetic than his skills as a person. I expect Waititu to pull a surprise, because Mbaru will eat into Waititu’s ethnic vote and Kidero’s ‘middle class’ vote. My bet was initially on Peter Kenneth who I believe has the ability to have his head in the ivory tower and feet in the trenches, now I will watch and see how ‘Baba Yao’ takes on ‘Dawa Yao.’

It will be unfortunate if Waititu and Mike ‘sonko’ Mbuvi get elected in Nairobi. One, they thrive in the informal and broken down systems that has been run from the corruption ridden City Hall. They will do little to change or improve these conditions because it is what will keep them relevant.

The so called ‘middle class’ in Kenyan should desist from knee jerk reaction in politics. It takes time and resources to build a base, just because you have made it in another field does not mean you can transfer that to politics. Learn the game, language and unwritten rules before you plunge in or else, people like Waititu and Sonko will show you why they are ‘Baba Yao.’