𝑨 𝑪𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒐 𝑯𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝑲𝒆𝒏𝒚𝒂'𝒔 𝑫𝒊𝒂𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒂 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝑹𝒆𝒂𝒍 𝑫𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒐𝒑𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕

Kenya is a prayerful nation, but putting our faith into practice is something else. I've come to this conclusion because when I see people in churches on Sunday and leaders using the Lord's name in vain, it bothers me a great deal. Right now, the same people who came to office riding on the "born-again Christian" wave and brandishing Bibles in our faces have put them down and forgotten about them and that is the only campaign promise they've kept.

Leadership doesn't require knowing everything, but being able to bring all people together and chart a plan to make things work. We have many accomplished people who are passionate about giving their best to transform our country. As Jesus stated in the Bible (Matthew 13:57, Mark 6:4, Luke 4:24, John 4:44), a prophet is not honored in his hometown. This is very relevant in Kenya.

Kenyans in the diaspora are the largest donors to Kenya, but they're ignored because they won't dance to the tune of Kenyan politicians. That's why they're not part of the discussion on how to incorporate them into nation-building. If the leadership is honest about transforming Kenya, why can't they talk to those of us in the diaspora who have worked in organizations or governments that have developed? They could honestly seek advice on how we've helped other countries develop. We can use that knowledge to develop Kenya, instead of just standing on a car rooftop telling hungry people we're going to transform Kenya into something they know will never happen!

Kenya doesn't need to be Singapore or any other country; we can use our own people to create something unique for others to admire. I want to tell these "mis-leaders" that we have the ability. If they have short memories, let me remind them: M-Pesa is a global iconic symbol developed by a Kenyan, which they're now selling to who-knows-who.

The "Hustler narrative" is being replaced by the "Singapore Narrative," which Ruto thinks Kenyans are foolish enough to believe, so he can ride on it and create some funds here and there to borrow money at the expense of the Kenyan people. Let's start with the Hustler narrative: why haven't we been given an inventory report on who the beneficiaries are or how many mama mbogas or boda boda riders have been lifted from poverty with that fund? We can't just be campaign slogan creators with no impactful development for the people.

Diasporans are asking when they'll be given a seat at the table, or if it is now time we have to force ourselves to that table. The diaspora community is tired of empty promises and worthless talk; we keep footing the bill day in, day out. We have corporations that have been floated for sale; why can't the leadership in Kenya approach the diaspora community and ask them to invest? That's how you create a sovereign nation whose identity and dignity are respected.

Mexico has a department in the foreign ministry, in collaboration with the Treasury, which coordinates their diaspora remittances. Many other countries serious about transforming their economies do the same. Singapore is a business hub that attracts international investors because they've made corruption a zero-tolerance issue and built a business infrastructure that's very user-friendly. Those of us in the diaspora are used to that easy system. When you arrive in Kenya trying to set up a business, what you go through and the bribes you're asked for at every turn make us give up. Kenya will never be Singapore, no matter how high you shout from the rooftops.

𝑰𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒎𝒚 𝒉𝒐𝒑𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒊𝒏 2027, 𝑲𝒆𝒏𝒚𝒂𝒏𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒈𝒐𝒐𝒅𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒗𝒐𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒆-𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒓𝒔, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒓𝒐𝒈𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒗𝒆𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒑 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒑𝒂𝒔𝒕 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒓𝒅, 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒇𝒖𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒆𝒗𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒂𝒍𝒔.