Politics

Who will be Nairobi's first governor?

-Paul Orodi   In the recently concluded nominations, both ODM and TNA were expecting to get very strong and public - appealing candidates to field in the Nairobi’s gubernatorial race.

Nairobi County is termed as the ultimate battle ground between the two major coalitions.

Whoever clinches the seat will be viewed as the stronger of the two.

I don’t know why but I guess it is how politics plays out.

However, beyond what parties and coalitions want lies the question; what does the citizens or rather voters want?

On the ballot paper will be at least two big names that are quite familiar with the public and media houses.

One is a former MP while another is an immediate Chief Executive Officer of Mumias sugar company.

They both have their track records; whether they are good or bad is not for me to justify.

Nonetheless, it is very important to look critically into their past and discern various factors.

Nairobi as a county has the chance to pick its first ever governor and this obviously calls for utmost consideration about what the county needs and who is best suited to deliver.

TNA’s Waititu is a man of many coats.

He can be a fighter for the less advantaged and still be able to amicably convene a press briefing to answer questions.

But the greatest of all his characters is the fact that he emotionally connects with the electorate.

He is a man who can get on the ground and do things that are ordinarily done by a common citizen not a ‘mheshimiwa’.

This might be a good trait that the residents of Nairobi county would like to use to spur the growth of the county but will it actually work?

Is a governor supposed to fight physically or confront police and hurl stones?

What is a governor supposed to do in the first place?

All these questions should be deliberated upon before ticking any name on the gubernatorial ballot paper.

On the other hand we have Kidero Evans, a man who boasts of the fact that he has done wonders in the corporate world.

How true this is, I am yet to find out.

What I do know is that the man has made Mumias sugar company an entity to emulate.

He ran that company in a manner that ensured its objectives were clear and consequently the whole company embarked on a journey to fulfill these laid down goals.

With all this, we still need to critically analyse if all his expertise and experience is what the county is needed.

With the two gentlemen presented before the electorate, the only remainder is who will make it to the office.

Nairobi as a county needs a man who can embark on building infrastructure but also be a champion of the less advantaged.

It needs someone who can get on the ground and do activities so as to let the public know that it is possible.

It needs someone who can seat in boardrooms and convince private investors why they need to put up businesses in the county.

It needs someone who can interpret economic situations and draft proper policies to remedy the economic maladies.

Come March 4th, you and I will be heading to the polling station to choose our leaders.

As the county of Nairobi embarks on the same journey, it needs to evaluate the characters of the two men and any other who might emerge so as to make a decision worth not regretting.