Key unity lessons from Groove Awards winner

His focus is sending the cohesion message to the youth; he is a living testimony of changing the naming system in order to fight tribalism. This is an ideology that Market Talk has supported in the past.

Dydda officially changed his name to Emmanuel Eko Dydda so as not to be associated with any tribe and has named his child Keepitreal Dydda.

From a marketing perspective, there are lessons on naming new brands that fit with the prevailing environment and rebranding to blend with the times.

He says that he swore an affidavit to change his name and asks many Kenyans to follow his steps so as to address the tribalism problem.

The fact that the youth voted him as the best Gospel male artiste of the year also indicates that they are listening.

This reminds me of the naming system in Ghana where people are named based on the day of the week, say Koffi was born on Friday.

We need to continuously adopt such systems as we say No to tribalism.

Names like Sony or Toyota sound the same in different markets and it is hard for you to remember that the brands are Japanese.

Dydda also came up with an interesting initiative to help Kenyans live as one people and wears a T-shirt reading, “mimi si mtribal, mi ni mtribe all” (I am not tribal, but belong to all communities).

Dydda also advocates for intermarriages and people buying land in different areas regardless of where they were born.

Some people have advocated for intermarriages across East African countries in order to strengthen the East African Community.

Another interesting case in point is Tanzania where Julius Nyerere ensured that people from different tribes were allocated land in the same locations in different parts of the country which maybe one of the reasons Tanzania doesn’t have that tribalism problem.

In Rwanda, referring to someone by their tribe is banned. Kenyan can learn from these cases.

Dydda also sends the message of hope and optimism to the youth. He is a living testimony on appreciative inquiry whose focus is on the best ways to solve pressing problems using what already is in an organisation or community, and finding ways of enhancing the same to pursue dreams and possibilities.

Positive image

Having grown up in the Mathare slums he is on a mission to build a positive image of slums based on the adage, ‘every cloud has a silver lining’.

He credits the slums as his source of “Higher education” or what is normally referred to as the University of Hard Knock.

His hit single, Niko na Reason (I have a reason) that brought him into the limelight sends a strong message of optimism. The key words in the song are, “Niko na reason ya ku clap” (I have a reason to clap — to celebrate) inspires you to focus on what is working in your life and forget your sorrows and misfortunes.

Let us take the hint from this young man and focus on our strengths, the good news stories found within us, and in our organisations.

Ngahu is the marketing director of SBO Research. E-mail: [email protected]