Why Kenya Stands To Reap Big From Democracy.

All around Kenya and Africa, in general, countries whose modus Operandi, on a continuum of 1 to 10—with one being very democratic and 10 being a self-manifested dictatorship, exist. The scatter diagram would have in it a few dots on the democratic side, some more on the somewhat zone, and a forest of dots at the extreme end, for dictators abound.

Figure this out with me. Many heads of state from all over the continent, own properties in Kenya, be they homes or commercial. At best, Kenya has had embassies in those jurisdictions but none of our heads of state has owned homes there. This goes to show that even dictators need safe havens found in democracies to pad up their vulnerabilities.

Many indicators prove to us that ours is a flourishing democracy. The papers freely criticize the government without thinking of a chilling visit from the secret service.

So, as we go about our grind, in comparison with many of our fellow continental compatriots, we have outside of normal regulations, a greater choice of things, decisions, and activities at our disposal.

Other than the multi-nationality-natured population of Nairobi arising from the presence of the United Nations headquarters, many foreign nationals live here on their own accord. Many more from the diplomatic corps and the private sector, chose to retire here. Whereas the outside seems greener all the time, when people from greater democratic cultures opt to reside here, it means something is right with us.

A sustained democratic space means that mama mboga has more customers because more money is in circulation. It means more demand for manufactured goods because a bigger middle class exists.

Even with our flaws in bad pricing regimes and the inconsistencies in product quality, we stand out in Africa overall for having a better life experience on account of democracy. It is in itself our biggest country product.

Who wants to miss out on witnessing the perfect circus? The political power pull at play all the time. An effective government side pulls in investors and wanderers alike. An effective opposition pulls admirers in to witness the noisy opposition parties put the government in check. It is their silence that scares away long-term investors, for the government may have bedded the opposition.

The four peaceful transitions after independence are to investors what a rested volcano for fifty years is to geologists, a sign that everyone is safe settling around the mountain. We are open for business. Just be fit enough to scale the mountain.

The Africa Continental Free Trade Area — AfCFTA, headquartered in Accra, Ghana, has commenced the much-awaited benefits of intra-Africa trade. The goal is to move it from under 20% trade to 100% trade if possible. This calls for the free movement of people and goods subject to meeting set local standards. With this, economic and political osmosis/meiosis is bound to occur, with people moving from regions of lower democratic concentrations to those with higher concentrations. People will vote with their feet as they search for a better quality of life. Kenya is one of the preferred destinations.

Let us learn to guard what we have instead of the outside world telling it to us all the time. But we appreciate them telling us that life can go on without our tribalistic tendencies. The economy is tribeless.

It's high time we became Kenyans first before becoming villagers. But as the year comes to a close, remember that Nairobi is just for work and Christmas belongs to the village. Let's keep our Kenya safe.