The thing that truly distinguishes Nairobi city, in a way that most people find it to be both disgraceful and rather disgusting, is its Kibera slum.
The slum residential area is not only the largest in Africa but is also most probably the residential are that has the most intelligent and creative minds ever.
Quite a number of people hate slums but they equally have their many supporters who view them as affordable transit points for entrepreneurial people looking to make a decent life out the populous city.
Besides, middle-class life is possible in Nairobi city because of the cheap labour: home gardeners, kitchen cooks, nannies, family drivers, security guards from the slum areas who are paid a pittance. It is very uncomfortable for the middle-class households to confront this reality, but it can’t make the fact fade away.
Just two years ago, the Economist magazine had a really remarkable article on the creativity stories and dynamism in Kibera slums.
It painted a picture of a residential area that is a filter and conveyor of great ideas. When these ideas meet the lower middle and higher working class youthful energies in the city estates, it sparks off a cloud of innovation that gives the Nairobi city its smartness.