Malaika (not Heike) - Should she be jumping for us

“Should she be jumping for us – not Germany. No?” tweeted Hon @JMakamba on 12 October 2019 following the nomination as European athlete of the year of Malaika Mihambo.  On 6 October 2019 Malaika, representing Germany, had won the gold medal for long jump gold at the athletics world championships in Doha with a leap (7.30 m) just one centimetre shy of the all-time top ten jumps by women.

Success at long jump for Germany is not new – Heike Dreschler, a former world record holder, ranks third on the all-time list – but what is new is a German star with a name such as Malaika and not Heike! Born of a Tanzanian father (from Zanzibar) and German mother, and born and brought up in Germany, it is not a surprise that Malaika jumps for Germany rather than Tanzania.  But even if she wished to represent Tanzania this would be problematic given Tanzania’s bar on dual citizenship, which would require her to forfeit her German citizenship, as well as potentially German law which only allows dual citizenship in limited circumstances.  By contrast many other developed countries (including UK, US, France, Spain) and African countries (including Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Uganda, South Africa) do permit it (albeit sometimes subject to certain conditions).

Of course, we should leverage home grown talent to the maximum, but where there is also talent of Tanzanian origin overseas (whether sporting, artistic or professional) should we not also use it to our competitive advantage?  A common challenge for CEOs globally is to ensure their companies have the right human resource – with reference typically made to “the war on talent”.  It is no different for countries, whose ability to attract top talent is key to maintaining competitive advantage.  Nigeria certainly understand the power of their diaspora – so much so that the Federal Government recently declared 25 July of every year as Diaspora Day in recognition of the contributions of Nigerians living outside the country to national development.

Lupita Nyong’o is a great ambassador for Kenya, and yet although a Kenyan citizen she is also a citizen of Mexico (where she was born).  But football examples perhaps resonate more, and the football squads of many African countries are these days peppered with dual nationals; this year Nigeria’s squad has included Aina, Ajayi, Aribo, Balogun, Ebuehi, Iwobi, Okoye and Troost-Ekong, and for Gabon there is Arsenal’s Aubameyang.  The story of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is pertinent – the son of former Gabon captain Pierre Aubameyang, he has the right to Gabonese citizenship notwithstanding his citizenship of France (where he was born and brought up) and Spain (his mother’s country).  Of course, the choice remains with the individual – witness the Boateng brothers, one of whom (Jerome) opted to play for Germany and the other (Kevin-Prince) for Ghana – but at least do not close off the options.

Entertainment and sport are easy to highlight but the question is a broader one about access to talent.  For the professional diaspora a highlight this year was the 2019 Black Engineer of the Year Award (BEYA) in the US given to George Jonas, a US resident Tanzanian working with Boeing for many years.  Unlike Aubameyang his children would not be able to maintain the citizenship of their country of birth (US), as well as the country from where their parents originate; and yet, should we not be seeking to keep the connection to such sources of potential future talent?

Tanzania’s National Investment Promotion Policy (NIPP) 1996 is currently undergoing a review, and an updated policy would ideally explicitly recognise the role that the diaspora could play – and articulate the likely policy changes required to enable this.    India is an interesting case study in this regard as, in response to diaspora demands for dual citizenship, it introduced the Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI), an immigration status permitting a foreign citizen of Indian origin to live and work in India indefinitely.  With a fast-growing Tanzanian diaspora, the demands for a change to the current regulatory position will only increase; but if there is no change, ultimately the loss will not be just for the affected individuals, but (in a world at war for talent) the country as well.

Long jump and Malaika Mihambo may seem a bit esoteric for Tanzanian sports lovers, whose primary sporting love is football.  But there is a similar example in football, by way of a Danish footballer named not Jesper nor Jurgen but Yussuf - in particular, Yussuf Poulsen, born to a Tanzanian father and Danish mother, and who is a top player in the Bundesliga (playing for RB Leipzig) and the Danish national team.  So, to turn the tweeted question around: “Should he be kicking for us – not Denmark. No?”

By David Tarimo, Country Senior Partner - PwC Kenya.