Homa Bay fever or Nairobi Miracle? Evans Kidero’s call

When the question of Mr Raila Odinga’s succession in Luo politics arose after the 2013 General Election, two names competed for the top slot; thinking and experienced legislator and negotiator Dalmas Otieno and Evans Kidero, a corporate strategist and turn-around artiste who had just been elected Governor of Nairobi.

The reason Dr Kidero, a political greenhorn, shot to the top of the list was simple: that he had just become the first governor of Kenya’s capital made him, in the eyes of many, the first among Kenya’s 47 equal governors.

And, there had to be something special about a Luo who ran against a Kikuyu in Nairobi and won, no matter the calibre of the opponent.

Dr Kidero worked hard for his victory. He invested a great deal of time and resources in varied, scientific and scholarly wall-to-wall research to unpack the political economy of Nairobi.

He distilled massive findings into an economy-anchored campaign strategy before culling this further into specific and compelling campaign themes.

That is how meticulously and seriously he went about his campaign.

I was reminded of the 1988 US presidential election in which the Democrats ran Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis against incumbent Vice-President George H.W Bush on account of his state’s compelling economic performance, dubbed the Massachusetts Miracle.

If Dr Kidero delivered on his promises, he would put himself in good stead for a stab at the presidency, based on what I thought would surely be his Nairobi Miracle.

But from the outset, Dr Kidero has failed to deal with an out-and-out distraction. Born and raised in the city, he was, on becoming its governor, suddenly touted as the next Luo chieftain.

He was thrust headlong into a destructive and distractive relationship with Mr Odinga and the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM).

Now, there is one question Dr Kidero may want to consider as his governorship enters its second year, and as the people of Homa Bay County vote for a successor to departed Senator Otieno Kajwang’: What do I want Nairobians to remember me for?

IN THE HANDS OF NAIROBIANS

Dr Kidero is from Asumbi in Homa Bay County; he was elected on an ODM ticket; and he may not see eye to eye with Mr Odinga, the party leader on some issues because of principle.

But he is governor of Nairobi. His political future lies in the hands of Nairobians. He must lead the fight for his future by defining his governorship himself by leading Nairobians in witnessing, understanding and identifying with his vision.

The problem is that Dr Kidero is fighting causes far away from Nairobi and remote to Nairobians, but which attract more media play than what he is doing in Nairobi for Nairobians.

It is instructive that a book that was recently serialised in the Daily Nation referred to Dr Kidero as an overrated businessman.

The author’s remark may have its genesis in Dr Kidero’s stratospheric pre-election boardroom profile and promise, vis-à-vis his controversy-plagued, politics-dominated and oft court-constrained performance as chief executive officer of East Africa’s largest metropolis and economic barometer.

The governor has no doubt read letters to newspaper editors whose authors have sought to know the difference between the City Hall that was a mint for the motley crews of combat-happy councillors and thieving mayors and that of the County government that he leads.

WILL COUNT FOR NOTHING

The best judges of Dr Kidero’s governorship and whether or not he deserves a second term will remain the people of Nairobi, and not Homa Bay.

Whether Dr Kidero and Mr Odinga are friends or foes or whether the governor is being courted by the ruling Jubilee Alliance will count for nothing in Nairobi’s 2017 gubernatorial race.

In that election, Dr Kidero will run, and be judged, on his record and not promise.

What will count is what he will have delivered to Nairobians; how he will be rated against other governors, because the rest of Kenya looks to Nairobi for example, and what his opponents will tell Nairobians he ought to have done for them.

When Dr Kidero and ODM fight over a candidate in Homa Bay, Senator Mike Sonko’s free wedding limousine service, for example, assumes massive electoral currency in Nairobi. Armed with a money vault the size of an aircraft carrier and playing nanny, Sonko might run against Kidero in 2017.

Only a brilliant record will beat Sonko and others. Therefore, Dr Kidero must work for Nairobians to build a formidable record.

He must not be distracted into deviating from the Nairobi Miracle and into destroying a dream.

Mr Opanga is a media consultant

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