I have
seen pictures of Sonko circulating in the social media showing him shopping for
Fire engine somewhere in Dubai. His acts of “charity” has enabled him to acquire
massive grass root support across the political divide. However, I believe his
model of development and assistance is not the right one. As a matter of fact,
it’s a catapult to the dependency syndrome that we are working hard to
eliminate. The middle class seen him as an attention seeker but a psychologist
will tell you that in his earlier for life he probably had self-esteem issues. That’s
why I wouldn’t criticize him harshly despite his ridiculous antics.
That
aside, if he is really interested in helping people then he should empower them
to fend for themselves instead giving handouts. With his deep pockets, he can
begin with establishing a factory/ industry, a fertilizer manufacturing plant
for instance. We don’t have one despite the fact that our economy is anchored
by the agricultural sector. The industries will have multiplier effect besides
creating sustainable jobs for the ever increasing jobless graduates. On the
whole, I am not sure whether the ‘philanthropy’ is only meant to hoodwink people
to vote him the next governor for the lovely people of Nairobi. Will it stop
once he becomes the governor? I guess time will tell.
