JAMILA'S MEMO: Do leaders ever listen?

There is something I have been thinking about this week. Do leaders actually listen? Or do they simply wait for their turn to speak?

I have listened to many speeches this week. Campaign speeches. Development speeches. Political speeches.

Promises are made. Big promises. Economic transformation. Industrialisation. Mega projects.

And as I listened, one question kept coming back to me: Is that really what the people are asking for? Maybe. Maybe not.

Sometimes, I think leaders answer questions that nobody asked. You arrive in a village with a billion-shilling vision. The mother sitting in front of you is wondering where tomorrow's meal will come from. You are talking about economic transformation. She is thinking about the nearby hospital that has no medicine.

You are talking about regional trade. The young man is wondering where he will get a job. You are talking about digital innovation. The farmer wants fertiliser. You are talking about exports. The livestock farmer wants a functioning cattle dip. Someone else simply wants water. Or electricity. Street lights. Better security.

These may not sound like grand ideas, but to the people living there, they are the things that change lives.

Then I watch our politics. The huge convoy arrives. The music plays. Leaders climb on top of their vehicles. The microphones come out.

Blah... blah... blah...

"Sindio?"

"Ndio!"

"Sindio?"

"Ndio!"

And I find myself wondering: Ndio to what? Has anyone actually asked the people what they need? Because listening is different from hearing applause.

Listening requires questions. It requires patience and humility. You may not have all the answers, and that is okay. But surely leadership begins by asking the right questions and listening.

Questions like: If I solved only one problem for this community, what should it be?

I don't think those are difficult questions. The difficult part is making time to listen to the answers. Most leaders do not really speak with citizens; they speak at them, or over them.

Then they move on to the next rally, the next church service, the next funeral, the next roadside stop, the next microphone. More promises. More speeches.

And sometimes I wonder: don't all these meetings eventually start sounding the same? Maana hawa viongozi hujirudia sana. Perhaps that is why some promises end up sounding disconnected from people's realities.

Because if you do not listen, how will you know what needs fixing? The people usually know what they need. In fact, they have probably been telling us all along.