For years, Kenyans (mostly the youth) spent billions on the betting industry. Betting was lauded by many as a get-rich-quick scheme and many became “professional” sports pundits. Predicting matches on a daily basis.
The dedication and time investment was unmatched. Everywhere I turned, I would find many people discussing a sure-bet, multi-bet and other things I could not fathom.
The effects of the gambling craze were unpleasant. Many found themselves in poverty while others neglected family responsibilities hoping that the sure-bet was really sure.
It is unfortunate to depend on the skills of a footballer in England to pay for your rent in Shinyalu. To add insult to injury, out of every shilling, 70 cents would be repatriated overseas.
The betting firms then spared a little change to sponsor some of our football teams. Yet most of the money was sent overseas to support western sports and the less than 50 million spent on Kenyan sports teams. Would we rather have Sh50 million given to our teams or billions raised in taxes? The math speaks for itself.
Then suddenly, the betting firms took flight.
In my mind there is no doubt that the exit of gambling firms is a blessing in disguise. Those who are worried about sponsoring our teams should realise that if they attended matches and paid for the tickets, our sports teams would do just fine. Sports in general is paid for by fans, not by the earnings of the poor people lost in betting apps.
That said, there portends a bigger problem for our country. What should we do for the millions of unemployed youths who now have a gap in their lives? What should a poor man, with Sh100 in his pocket do to change his fortunes and those of his kin?
There is a constant call that government should create jobs. In fact, a certain legislator even suggested that government should lower the retirement age so as to hire more youth.
All these are the calls that are premised on the outdated thinking that civil service should employ more Kenyans than the private sector. The truth is totally different. Across the world, governments are becoming leaner.
Kenyans have to find their own jobs. We have to innovate or perish. Herein lies the hope, if a Kenyan could tell how a hamstring injury on Ronaldo would affect a match in which he has a bet then the same Kenyan should be able to read and understand how the price of tea affects him.
Not that simple, but then that is how it is. Our eternal focus on 2022 and betting has robbed us from seeing opportunities that are right in front of our eyes.
As we uproot our tea and coffee bushes, we forget that the problem is neither the tea nor the lack of market, it is the lack of leadership in the tea trade. Instead of uprooting tea bushes, we should be uprooting corrupt leaders that make tea trade unprofitable.
Weirdly, we uproot the tea bush and leave those who mess up things in office and dance for them when they come to see us.
Our youth should put their analytical mind and answer the questions of value addition to our tea and access to the markets beyond the tea auctions that fetch low prices for our prized tea.
Through gambling, we have shown our capacity to take risks, we should also begin to think of the business opportunities we have ignored in the past.
AGOA, for example, offers Kenyans tariff-free access to the US market. We can take advantage of this market especially now as President Donald Trump and China are engaged in a trade war.
With five years left, AGOA remains largely unexplored either because we don’t care, we don’t know what it is about or we are too busy betting.
Betting is not a business opportunity and will never be for ordinary people. Kenyans need to realise that unless we bet on ourselves, our skills and talents we will always lose.
As betting slowly exits the centre of the stage, I hope the punters will now turn their extraordinary skills and predict the future and bet their cash for capital, their sweat for equity and win big for self and country.
The African free trade agreement offers vast opportunities for Kenyans both in terms of business or simply selling our services to other African nations.
With higher education and more exposure, Kenyans stand a better chance of taking advantage of the free trade area than most other nations. That is our sure bet.
For example, chicken farmers should know that most West African countries import chicken from France.
Believe you me, Kenyan chicken tastes better and will be cheaper. Forget betting on football - let us bet on ourselves, it is a bet we can’t lose.
Mr Bichachi is a communication consultant. bichachi@gmail.com
