Like Kipchoge, Kenya is on verge of greatness

Kenya is known mostly for two things around the world: Fast runners and the spirit of hakuna matata. This, it has been noted, is a strange combination. After all, how can we be so fast in one area of life and so slow, even laidback in another? If you watched Eliud Kipchoge’s awe-inspiring race, and then came to Nairobi you would be appalled by our not so fast pace of life.

Here we don’t race, and it seems like no one is in a real rush. We sit in traffic jams waiting for the lights to change or for the police to “pull our lane” as they say, but people rarely honk or complain. We are calm and patient, long term thinkers rather than racers.

The Jamaicans are known for being fast sprinters. The Kenyans are known for distance running. After two marathon world records were shattered in a single weekend by Brigid Koskei and Eliud Kipchoge, it is apparent to me that the sport for which we are known best symbolises much more than athletics. Distance running is a symbol of perseverance, patience, determination and calmness. 

Seeing the two compatriots smash records was a moment of great pride for all Kenyans. It was truly inspirational. We were united across the (usually nauseating) political and tribal divides. We were one country strong and united.

While it is true that not all Kenyans possess the great physical stamina of Koskei and Kipchoge, we do collectively have a great deal of mental endurance. As a country, we have the ability to withstand difficult occurrences - that would ordinarily break others- without throwing up our hands in exasperation.

Terrorist attacks

In our collective history, we were subject to difficult and long periods of colonialism and misrule. More recently, we were all touched by the post-election violence in 2007/08 and a handful of terrorist attacks in the past decade.

But despite it all, we stand strong today as one of the most powerful and prosperous countries on the continent with an impressive average GDP growth of 5 per cent- one of the highest rates. In terms of international relations, our participation in AMISOM leads the fights against terrorism in Somalia, and foreign businesses are increasingly seeing Kenya as the gateway to the rest of Africa.

Domestically, our state is safe from the inner turbulence that plagues many of our neighbouring countries. The level of sophistication is impressive. And the standards of living are continuously on the rise, in part as a result of more access to electricity, a good education, wide internet penetration, and a good business environment.

Is this resilience inherent or carefully developed overtime? It is a mix of both. Our Kenyan marathoners might be fast to begin with, but to achieve the awe-inspiring results for which we are so proud, they needed to work for it. They needed to work a lot, continuously, without giving up, for years and years.

Great pianist 

The simple fact is that it is a typical Kenyan characteristic. We might be blessed with fertile land and athletic prowess, but these gifts have been cultivated.

Just like becoming a great pianist, a visionary artist, or the fastest runner in the world is not something that one stumbles into overnight, nor can an economy transition from low to medium income in the blink of an eye.

The industrialisation process in the modern era occurs much faster than during the Industrial Revolution of the 18th-19th centuries. But that is because low income countries are able to build on the technological innovations of other countries that already have developed manufacturing industries.

Turning Kenya into a prosperous country might seem like a slow process. We could complain that we are not there already, but that argument is weak because we are running an endurance marathon, not a quick sprint. We have laid down the building blocks for the next great steps.

There will always be further to go, and technological innovations from China and the Silicon Valley might sometimes make us feel a little behind. But Kenya is quickly catching up.

The Silicon Savannah is an actor on the global technology stage in its own right. Think about the revolutionary M-Pesa and such technological inventions like Ushahidi, Jumia and others where needs are met every second of the hour.

These, if nothing else, is testimony that slowly, but surely Kenya is rising.

The steady pace at which we are moving forward ensures that we will not have to stop for a rest because we are out of breath. Real development is a constant process, and we are on the right path.

Ms Munuhe is an international relations student at University of Nairobi.