Raila Odinga is an icon of progress, and it's proven by history

Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Presidential Candidate Raila Odinga with his Running Mate Martha Karua during a rally in Dagoreti, Nairobi on July 16, 2022. [Boniface Okendo, Standard]

With just about three weeks to the August 9 General Election, let’s try to demystify opposition leader Raila Amolo Odinga. What distinguishes Raila as an icon of progress and democracy? Partly, it is his modus of reinvention. He is not the kind of man to be swept along by tides of time or currents of politics.

His inventiveness in life and in politics often result in a fascinating synthesis of progress. If the current of the river of politics is the thesis, Raila will often provide a studied anti-thesis which challenges the prevailing discourse. He knows how to read the zeitgeist - the spirit of the times.

He then goes one step further: instead of rushing to adapt himself to the spirit of the times, he will influence the design of the discourse - the path of the river.

From the late 1980s, Raila has been a key player in influencing the design of our model of democracy. He is recognised as a second liberation hero, because of how his efforts led to an expansion of the democratic space, allowing Kenyans to enjoy a higher quality of rights and freedoms.

During his time as Prime Minister we got a new Constitution, whose cornerstone and crowning jewel is the devolved system of government. Raila had for long agitated for return to majimbo system. This anti-thesis motivated the synthesis that emerged as our current devolution system, to help realise more equitable distribution of wealth and resources.

National identity

This demonstrates what we should expect from his rule - a president likely to accommodate dissenting voices. Studies have shown that part of the basic usefulness of hearing more ideas is that better decisions emerge from a diverse group. The pluralism under the Azimio la Umoja coalition reflects this accommodation, which may offer the path to crafting a lasting common national identity – through unity in diversity.

History will look kindly on what Raila has stood for. Yet, however illustrious the past inclines towards bestowing glory to this man, the question is what the future portends, and why the enigma of Kenyan politics remains our best bet for progress.

How will he secure a third liberation - an economic one at that? Chief among them is that he is one of the custodians of the vision of Kenya. His hands are best suited for taming the leviathan of state and steering us toward an optimal realisation of our collective hopes and aspirations.

Whatever changes an incoming administration may introduce, a modicum of continuity is needed. A leader who recognises this fact is a safe pair of hands.

President Uhuru Kenyatta recognised this while coming into office. He has built more than six times the length of tarmac roads that President Kibaki did, and more than double all previous administrations combined. And even as he
embarked on new road projects, he said that, his first priority, and I quote, was “to complete the road works commenced by President Kibaki’s administration”.

A responsible government recognizes the place of continuity. So what does this have to do with the Right Honourable Prime
Minister? It has a lot to do with Vision 2030 and African Union’s Agenda 2063, and Raila’s understanding of both. The fact that he is the African Union’s High Representative for Infrastructure Development in Africa only strengthens the case.

The Nairobi Expressway, for instance, was designed by Raila. He recognises its value because he had custody of the vision for the Northern Corridor at inception.

Both the Nairobi expressway, and the upcoming Rironi-Nakuru-Mau Summit road, are two parts of one road, that form the Northern Corridor which is the busiest and most important transport corridor in East and Central Africa. It is a major artery for our economy.

Raila dreamed and planned the Nairobi Expressway, and so it stands to reason that he will proceed to implement the planned Rironi-Nakuru-Mau Summit road.
Another example will suffice.

The Lamu Port was commissioned by Kibaki and Raila in 2012, and this was after they received the feasibility study report and masterplan, jointly in 2011. The port is critical for the blue economy agenda which will catapult our GDP. The global maritime trade value is worth $14 trillion. Some 40 per cent of it passes through the East Coast of Africa.

This means Kenya will for the first time have the chance of accessing $5.6 trillion of the trade that plies along the East Coast of Africa. The Northern Corridor and the blue economy agenda in fact epitomises the continuity of stable government. The realisation of this will largely be dependent on whether Kenyans come out to vote Raila and his running mate Martha Karua into office. Time will remain the bearer of truth.

In the final analysis, we must recall that legacy is about what others who come after you, are able to build on the foundation you have left.