Personal Finance

Tough times in Kenya may be blessing in disguise

karatina

University students head home after lecturers went on strike. Crises such as downing of tools by the dons and doctors could be a blessing in disguise for those who look beyond them. PHOTO | FILE

I came across an interesting account of farming in southern United States. Just about one century ago, their economy revolved entirely around one crop: cotton. It so happened that around the same time, a boll-weevil epidemic erupted and started spreading from Mexico into Texas.

It was definitely coming their way. And as surely as night turns into day, it reached Alabama in 1915. The whole of that year’s crop was destroyed and the region slid into an economic depression.

However, one farmer came forward to propose a solution. According to The History of the Boll Weevil in Coffee County, Mr Sessions, an enterprising businessman felt that peanuts would fare well in the region.

Mr Sessions offered Mr Baston, a fellow farmer, peanuts to plant, someone to harvest them, and $1 per bushel. Mr Baston, whose cotton had been severely damaged by the boll weevil, took him up on his offer.

Mr Baston’s crop of peanuts did so well in its first year that he was able to pay off his debts and still have some money in the bank. He produced 8,000 bushels of peanuts in his first year.

His great success prompted many other struggling farmers to become interested in peanuts. Mr Baston’s bushels were used as seed for the other local farmers who were eager to get into the peanut business.

The long and short of it is that diversification was good for the soil. The soil had been depleted by years of cotton farming . It was only by looking back that the residents of Coffee County were able to recognise that the boll-weevil epidemic had been one of the best things to ever happen to their economy. So much so that they built a monument of the boll weevil.

I have thought much about the Alabama farmers as I watch the situation unfold in our country. In the last two months, the doctors’ strike has come to a head and no one seems ready to blink. The collateral damage has been high and we continue to count.

At the same time, our public universities have not been functioning because the lecturers are on strike. No one seems to be talking about it anymore. Maybe we are too caught up in the doctors’ situation. Yet, when we look back at history, we discover that it is laden with examples similar to what we find ourselves in.

One that comes to mind is Singapore’s split from the Malaysian Federation in 1965 and how the handling of their joint Malaysia-Singapore Airlines needed to be managed.

With lots of determination and hard work, Singapore Airlines took to the skies seven years later in 1972. However, just like any startup, they had to face lots of storms as they went through the learning curve. The culmination of this was in the 1980s when a dispute between its pilots and management led to the pilots going on strike.

Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, took a personal interest in the process. He was very categorical that he would not allow anyone to endanger Singapore Airlines. The clip that quotes him verbatim has been shared several times on YouTube.

In his own words, “Both management and unions, you play this game, there are going to be broken heads.”

To cut a long story short, as I write this, Singapore Airlines is famed as one of the world’s top airlines, and Changi Airport is consistently voted one of the most efficient airports on earth.

As unconventional as it may seem, the boll weevil monument is actually a source of inspiration to me. It represents people who were open minded enough to recognise that a disaster in their midst could turn into a blessing.

They simply changed their paradigm to see the boll weevil as a friend in disguise.

What is my point? When chaos checks into our lives, it is natural to feel persecuted. The temptation to give up is high.

We can easily convince ourselves that there is no way to surmount the obstacles we face. But there is a third option.

We can actually use our tribulations for our good. Just like Lee Kuan Yew did, we can embrace the essence of his spirit that “This is a job that has to be finished and I’ll finish it.”

In times like these, what we need to do is to cut through the fluff. We must set no-nonsense targets. And above all, we must leave no room for doubt that any “games” will be tolerated - other than the ones we have decided are in Kenya’s best interests. I hope you are with me.