Munene, the journey...

President Kenyatta joined other African heads of state on March 21 in signing the #AfCFTA. What does this mean for Kenya? It means that Kenya's goods and services could have a broader market to sell to. It also means that locally made goods and services will face increased competition from similar products in the African market, especially if other countries have a comparative advantage. What is the projected net effect of these two sides of trade? Well, it's difficult to predict. It depends on which goods are on the schedule of reduction of tariffs both for other countries and Kenya. Pres. Kenyatta signs the AfCFTA Image courtesy of PSCU   Looking at other similar regional pacts such as North America's #NAFTA or the EU, we can see that trade between countries increases many fold. But as in the case of Mexico which saw the bankrupting of peasant farmers due to cheap corn and other agricultural produce from subsidized American farms, the aggregate effect might be po...

I first heard this saying, during my second visit to Nigeria. This time, I was in Edo State visiting my in-laws' home town. When food was served, my family, as normal asked for water to wash hands and cutlery to eat the food. Jay, my outspoken brother-in-law, laughed at the request, thinking we were joking. When Jay realized that we were serious, he casually said, while laughing, "Oga, be yourself and use your hands! 'They' are just trying to make money from you by selling anti-bacterial hand washing soap…" I later learnt that my brother Jay meant no harm. In fact, this has almost become a family quote. We use it to remind one another when any of us gets out of line and begins pretending and 'not being ourselves'. No one knows us like family, and this is the best place to be reminded of this. Authenticity in our living is that one thing that we all agree we need more of, yet no one has a generally acceptable principle on how to achieve it. We a...

Shared on a WhatsApp group, these proverbs are succint and self-explanatory. 1. The anger of a penis doesn't destroy the vagina. (Zimbabwe) 2. There's no virgin in a maternity ward. (Cameroon) 3. A child can play with it's mother's breasts but not with the father's testicles. (Ghana) 4. The man who marries a beautiful woman and the farmer who grows corn by the road side have the same problem. (Ghana) 5. When you see a woman sitting with her legs open, never tell her to close them, because u do not know her source of fresh air. (Ethiopia) 6. He who says that nothing lasts forever has never tried Hausa perfume. (Nigeria) 7. The only woman who knows where her man is every night is a widow. (Togo) 8. An erect penis has no conscience. (Uganda) 9. If you go to sleep with an itching anus, you are sure to wake up with smelly fingers. (Kenya) 10. The day a mosquito lands on your testicles is the day you will know there is a better way of resolving issues without u...

This journey called life is both sweet and sad. Days are lonely and dark and cold, at the same time cheery and rich and beautiful. It is a paradox that we struggle with daily, faltering and then getting up and marching on. Music makes the journey more bearable. In that instance when you hear a song that connects you to the infinite, in a way you cannot explain, you transcend your petty grievances against your lover, forget your self-pity. This is one of the greatest gifts from the universe, ability to return to our Source even when we do not understand the words being sung. I do not understand what these two songs say, but they are transcendent.

"You speak very good English, where did you learn?" a person I just met asks. "In Kenya, in school…" I calmly reply. "Wow! You speak English in Kenya?" He continues. "Oh yes, we do …" The conversation goes into how we do (not) live with lions as pets and how I don’t run like "all" other Kenyans they've seen on TV. If you are wondering, this is an actual conversation I have had with persons I have met here in the US. This is not to say every conversation I have had goes this way. On the contrary, in the greater Washington metropolitan area where I live, this is the exception. Any time I have to field questions about Kenya, however, I feel as if the responsibility to represent Kenya and communicate its brand is upon my shoulders. This is despite not getting any training on this aspect of my travel experience. Some other well-meaning people have said, once hearing I am from Kenya, that they visited Uganda, Rwanda, Bots...

President-Elect Trump successfully ran under the banner of making America first, reducing foreign 'interference' and trying new ways to work with partners on the international scene to solve some intractable challenges. The first tenet, in my opinion, is something that should interest African nations, because of the collective acknowledged viewpoint of making Africa work for Africans. Looking back at the powers that scrambled for Africa more than 125 years ago to present day, we see challenges that have been brought about by the fact that Africa still remains a playground for western powers. The Democratic Republic of Congo fails to move forward due to the strong interests that keep fueling violence in order to continue the parasitic extraction of the vast resources with little benefit to the people of Congo. The CFA countries of Central and West Africa still depend on precolonial arrangements with France to manage their monetary policies, stealing the initiative fro...