We are the same and yet so different. The nature versus nurture debate seems to have been settled. Whereas genes dictate our bodily features, both physical and physiological, it is the environment in which we are brought up that facilitates the expression and/or repression of most of the characteristics we are capable of. Sociologists have referred to the process of learning or unlearning behaviour from our environment as socialization. Notable sociologist Emile Durkheim described as social integration the process by which members can learn new norms that end up becoming part of their identity. Members of the Kikuyu community do not possess a unique gene that predisposes them to succeed in business yet they continue to dominate the country’s economy right from the basic wealth building activities such as selling toothpicks and tomatoes to significant sectors such as banking, manufacturing, and academia. “Necessity is the mother of invention,” it has been stated, and tough economic conditions occasioned by declining land portions have led to the Israel Effect. The Israelis, having found themselves in a hostile environment with unfriendly neighbours and uninhabitable land, have been pushed to a point where they have become adept at invention and innovation, features of culture that have led to their tremendous success both militarily and economically.
The second president of the republic tried as much as possible to curtail the economic dominance of the Kikuyus but failed, and here is why.
The first explanation for Moi’s failure was the absence of a replacement from outside the Kikuyu community. Kikuyus had ventured into nearly all major sectors of the economy shortly after independence. With ever-present demand, the only way Moi would have flipped the coin on Mt. Kenya businesses was to establish alternative lines of supply so that the Kikuyu businesses would be weeded out of the supply chain. But Moi focused on crushing the existing manufacturers and service providers who ended up getting replaced by new ones from the same region. Why were the other communities not eager to jump in and fill the quota? The answer lies in socialization. Some communities, especially from Western Kenya, strongly believe that the best path to a comfortable life is securing a job with a monthly salary. Therefore, venturing into the uncertain world of self-employment through business is too wild a pursuit. Even as Moi’s actions created a huge void other communities would have easily covered, it is the Kikuyus who moved in. To them it was a tested venture that they had already trusted. Sons and daughters had grown to see their parents run businesses with confidence, standing the risk, and generating enormous wealth.
The situation has not changed much. It is only the Kisiis and Kambas who, through the Israel Effect, have embraced business and can now boast of having substantial numbers of their members in various sectors of the economy. Kisiis suffer lack of land whereby an exploding population can no longer fit in a tiny spot. This has made them move to other parts of the country where they are engaged in all sorts of economic activities as a way of creating wealth. Kambaland is semi-arid, and the only way the Kamba people can survive is by thinking outside the box which includes venturing into non-farming investments.
Another reason why Moi would not kill Kikuyu economic dominance is that the culture of business was already deeply entrenched in Kikuyuland, such that neutering it proved tough. Since business had helped Mt. Kenya people in general and Kikuyus in particular to assume control of the economy, the number of people with substantial amounts of money among the Kikuyu was higher compared to other communities. Therefore, when Moi targeted specific individuals, others would quickly rise and replace the fallen ones. The nature of established wealth communities is that they are often noticeably resilient. The resilience is based on rescue networks that spring into action to bail out those whose capital gets decimated through occurrences such as arson, natural phenomena such as floods and droughts, and in some cases, economic terrorism like what Moi was trying to do. A businessperson whose capital is negatively affected through government action can collect new capital from other members of his community and get back into business. This is only possible when the numbers of people already in business and controlling sufficient capital do exist. This was the case with the Kikuyu, a reality that is in existence even today.
A case in point is when the country has presidential elections, whereby Kikuyu businesspeople initiate a fundraising dubbed a million a plate and numerous tycoons from Mt. Kenya show up and raise hundreds of millions of shillings for their candidate. Such a venture has never been replicated by any community.
Even as Moi was working hard to crush Kikuyu businesses, he did little to inculcate in his own people the culture of business. His inner circle was composed of “faux entrepreneurs.” These are men and women who opened and operated several shell companies that engaged in zero business yet had active balance sheets that handled money swindled from government coffers. The clique of not more than fifty men and women from his Kalenjin community did not pursue any realistic business venture be it manufacturing or service provision. Their preoccupation was embezzlement of public money.
Lastly, Moi failed to kill Kikuyu domination of the economy because of a fierce fightback from leaders of the community. As President Moi pursued his agenda, Kenneth Matiba, Charles Rubia, Ngugi wa Thiong’o, and Mukaru Ng’ang’a among other Kikuyu leaders stuck their chests out and spoke on behalf of the community. They pointed out Moi’s agenda and fearlessly mounted an opposition to his government. Most of these leaders paid a price for their bravery with Professor Ngugi wa Thiong’o being forced to go to exile. Others such as Kenneth Matiba would later be injected with toxic substances that forever interfered with their physiological systems. Nevertheless, their fight was instrumental in limiting the damage Moi’s anti-Kikuyu agenda would have inflicted on the community’s economic footprint.
Culture takes time to develop, and when it does, erasing it requires strategic planning and patience. It is not by accident that one can hardly encounter Kikuyu watchmen. They instinctively know that engaging in a small business is better than being employed, guarding a door from dawn to dusk for peanuts. Yet communities from Western Kenya happily engage in such jobs that limit movement, clog the mind, feed the mill of poverty, and retard other areas of life. There is a lot of talk on how Kikuyus have a stranglehold on the economy. Yes, they do, and yes, they have earned it. Trying to destroy that hold is retrogressive and detrimental to us all. The best way forward is for the rest of the country to learn and join the wealth creation community. It can be done. You cannot have a strong compound by pulling down your younger brother’s nicely built house. You learn from him and build an even better house.
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