When you take a walk in the Nairobi city centre (along the Kenyatta Avenue and Kimathi Street axis), you enter a time warp. You fast forward to what Nigeria’s Isale Eko and Marina could be with constant electricity and law & order.
In the city centre, multilevel shopping complexes, Bureau De Change offices, fast food restaurants, and people fill the streets — including the requisite “area boys” and beggars that dot many African cities.
Nairobi thrives as a hub of commerce and enterprise, yet it’s accessible to both the rich and the not-so-rich. You can rent a shop for the equivalent of N5,000 a month. A flat that would cost N20m in Lagos goes for N6m in Nairobi. You can also raise capital and credit through the entrenched cooperative financial system. (My guide explained that to own one or two commercial buses in Kenya, you must go through the cooperative system. You’re only allowed to self-finance a fleet.)
I spent a few days in Nairobi and wondered why no one smoked on the streets. My guide explained that the fine for public indulgence was $500. While smoking doesn’t seem to be a Kenyan habit, drinking and a lifelong love for BBQ meat (Nyama Choma) definitely are.
Like other African nations that were colonised, Nairobi blends foreigners — Europeans, Indians, and Arabs — with native citizens. Tolerance exists here, but so does fear and religious extremism. Kenya has suffered terrorist attacks, prompting the government to curtail some freedoms. Certain areas now prohibit photography.
The Police are well-trained and polite. They request permission before searching your car, and there’s a mobile app for citizens and tourists to report police aggression instantly.
I noticed the African family factor in Kenya — the families of the ruling class embed themselves deeply in business and commerce, without a hint of irony.
Kenya treats tourism seriously. Some tourist areas ban commercial photography (with zoom lens, tripod, etc.) but allow personal phone photos for social media. (How this policy will survive the increasing pixel power of mobile phones is beyond me.)
While in Nairobi, I visited the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust’s Elephant Orphans Project, where staff rehabilitate vulnerable and abandoned baby elephants from Reserves until they’re about 3 years old, then reintroduce them to the wild. After re-introduction, elephants may take up to five years to bond with and get adopted by wild herds. During that time, the orphanage continues providing support.
Each baby elephant drinks up to 24 litres of human baby formula daily. I did the quick math and wondered who had the milk supply contract.
The work of the late Daphne Sheldrick, the Kenyan-British founder of the orphanage, reminded me of Nigeria’s Susanne Wenger (Adunni Olorisha). It’s amazing what people dedicate their lives to and the enduring legacies they build.
I visited The African Fund for Endangered Wildlife Giraffe Park. If you’re not squeamish, you can feed the giraffes mouth-to-mouth — their mouths are surprisingly antiseptic.
At the Nairobi National Park, located in the middle of the city, I saw zebras staying safe in packs, though one stubborn male always wanders off and becomes lion prey. I watched impalas, whose males run a two-week dominance cycle, mating with up to 40 females before another male takes over. I saw warthogs, and my group instantly thought of Pumbaa from The Lion King.
I wonder how long the park will survive, with commercial projects crowding the horizon. Yet there’s something achingly beautiful about watching animals roam free so close to modern development. The Reserve could anchor Nairobi, reminding the city of its tourist roots and its connection to nature.
We stopped at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre to view the city from the rooftop.
Carnivore, the famed meat restaurant, was next. I tried ostrich for the first time — absolutely delightful — and sampled a local cocktail, Dawa.
Le Palanka Pan African Restaurant also impressed. The Nigerian chef prepared our jollof rice and stewed goat meat to Nigerian taste. We left deliciously satisfied.
In the downtown area, along Kimathi Street near GTBank, you’ll find plenty of options — from KFC to coffee shops to local restaurants. I tried Kilimanjaro Restaurant.
Leaving Kenya is a process: you can’t just arrive at the airport. Your vehicle passes through a truck scanner, and passengers go through a body scanner about 2km away. You then collect a parking ticket from an unmanned machine about 1km away.
My trip to Nairobi was unsettling. Traveling makes you notice small details — like how impossible it is to deploy large-scale tech in Nigeria without steady electricity.
You may view photos from my Nairobi trip here.
For more, read My Trip to Morocco
Nairobi is a thriving hub of commerce & enterprise. It's accessible to both the rich and the not-so-rich. Share on X