Watching the Commonwealth Games last week was
a bit of a surreal experience. No, it is not because David Rudisha lost the 800
metres final (he is coming off injury, and he is a class act, so there’s
nothing to fear for the future). It is not even because we were pipped at the
line in the 10,000 metres final (Josphat Bett forgot to dip; Uganda’s Moses
Kipsiro wasn’t so careless). It wasn’t even because Ezekiel Kemboi was
dethroned in the steeplechase (that is truly the end of an era). It is because
there was a woman with blue lips and a leopard-pattern tattoo in the sprints,
running for Nigeria. Not just that; there was also a man named Mark Jelks
lining up for Nigeria in the 100 metres final. Now, Jelks is not a surname
typical of Nigeria. Neither, incidentally, is the name Dominique Duncan – for
that is what the blue-lipped lady is called.
This was remarkably curious, and so I did
what any curious person does nowadays, and rushed off to the Internet to find
out more. It turns out that Jelks, who once ran for the United States, is an
athlete with a drug-related question mark next to his name. He failed to
account for his whereabouts on three different occasions around 2010, and for
that he received a suspension that lasted until 2012 (World Anti-Doping Agency
rules are pretty strict on this). Duncan’s story is not as interesting as her
appearance. She also tried out for the American track and field team, but was
simply unable to break into what is an extremely competitive team. In her
words, ‘I'm not the best, but I'm definitely not the worst’.
The interesting thing about all this is not
necessarily that second-rate athletes have defected from the United States to
Nigeria. It is in the fact that Africa has now become an attractive destination
for people to showcase their talents, when opportunities in their home markets
become limited.
It is not a new phenomenon, and it is not
even restricted to sports. Once you begin to think about it, you’ll realise
that you have been thinking about the ‘brain drain’ phenomenon all wrong. For
the longest time, the complaint has been that the West takes all the best
people from places like Africa, and leaves Africa the net loser.
Think back to the dawn of colonialism,
especially in settler colonies like Kenya, Rhodesia and Algeria. History books
will tell you that much of the stock of settlers that came in to establish livelihoods
– the Delameres, Rhodeses and their ilk – were the English equivalent of the
Africans of the last few decades. Young (mostly) men with lots of energy and
ideas, but with the stifling realisation that they would not make the most of
their ambitions in their home countries. They came here to try their luck. In
the usual, bell curve way, many succeeded, some wildly, while a few fell by the
wayside and had to declare failure.
More recently is the curious phenomenon of
executives from multinationals who have been posted to Kenya to head up
operations here. At the end of their tenures, many have opted to not go back to
their home countries. They are happy to buy ranches in Laikipia, set up second
careers here, and, in some interesting cases, even marry Kenyan wives. Call it
going native if you want to be unfriendly, but it is a perfectly understandable
phenomenon.
Even on the other end, when it comes to
Kenyans leaving these shores and making their fames and fortunes in distant lands,
it is no longer as simple as Kenya (or Africa) losing doctors, nurses and
teachers and enriching other countries. Take the example of the Ochieng’
brothers. Milton and Fred Ochieng’ are young doctors, who studied at Vanderbilt
University in the United States, and are now practising in the eastern United
States. Their story is not simply one of Kenya losing two doctors, and America
gaining a couple. They come from Lwala Village in Siaya County. Their parents died of AIDS, and the village
raised funds to educate them, first at Alliance, and then in the United States.
Since then (and even before they graduated), they set up a clinic, which has
now grown to be a significant non-profit agency, which provides more than
30,000 patient visits a year. (Disclosure: I have met the brothers on numerous
occasions, and deeply admire their work).
There is also the now-common phenomenon of
Kenyans who are neither local nor diaspora. These are people who take
opportunities as they come. They may spend a few years in Western countries
getting an education and working in senior positions. They then relocate back
home for a couple of years, only to leave again as their careers develop. They
may be posted back to the West, but typically now head up African operations,
or establish businesses of their own which have continental footprints.
What is clear is that, even as Jelks and
Duncan became two of the only Americans to participate in the Commonwealth
Games, they simply illuminated an interesting, now common phenomenon. In all
its blue-lipped glory.
Also published in the Business Daily on August 5, 2014, at http://www.businessdailyafrica.com/Opinion-and-Analysis/Talent-has-higher-chance-of-finding-niche-in-our-world/-/539548/2408334/-/item/0/-/3t2dqkz/-/index.html
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