Tunu na Mlango: The value of entry

 

In the previous post, we looked at infiltration as a factor of colonialism. What follows is more elaboration on the prized value of a portal of entry since that’s what infiltration is all about. In Kiswahili these two concepts are not combined, which could be a manifestation of the general mindset of Indigenous African societies. They end up being haploid instead of diploid hence vulnerable to infiltration.

tunu – 1. gift/valuable fit; 2. rarity:

tunuka – 1. set one’s heart on, value sth; 2. award.

tunukiwa – be awarded.

tunuku - award.

mlango¹ – 1. door, gate; 2. portal; 3. goal, mouth

mlango² - clan, family.

mlango wa bahari - sea channel

 

Meaning of value

The quality (positive or negative) that renders something desirable or valuable.

Etymology

From Middle English valew, value, from Old French value, feminine past participle of valoir, from Latin valēre (“be strong, be worth”), from Proto-Italic *walēō, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂welh₁- (“to be strong”).

Meaning of prize 

1.     That which is taken from another; something captured; a thing seized by force, stratagem, or superior power. 

Etymology

From Middle English prise, from Old French prise (“a taking, capture, a seizure, a thing seized, a prize, booty, also hold, purchase”), past participle of prendre (“to take, to capture”), from Latin prendere (“to take, seize”)

Value is mostly created through rarity and scarcity. The controller of supply becomes the definer and controller of value.

Bottlenecking as strategy of value creation

1.    Transportation (the seas)

Source: George Lauriat, 2021

An interesting thing is that seven out of eight of these primary chokepoints are controlled by Britain in one form or another through an Anglo-influenced client state. The only exception being Bab-el-Mandeb (Djibouti) where pretty much most big global powers have military bases.

Chokepoint	British Client-state
Panama Canal	Panama (anglo-american)
Strait of Gibraltar	British Gibraltar
Cape of good hope	South Africa
Bosphorous strait	Turkey
Suez Canal	Egypt
Strait of Hormuz	Oman
Straits of Malacca	Singapore

 

We shall look at one example – strait of Hormuz – which is controlled through exclaves of a long-standing British client-state Oman, ruled by the long favorite dynasty of the British known as 'house of Busaid' who were the principal slave traders and slave owners in Zanzibar.

“Oman is a British client state welcoming major British intelligence and military operations whose principal economic asset - oil - is controlled by Anglo-Dutch company, Shell. Files leaked by Edward Snowden show that Britain has a network of three GCHQ spy bases in Oman - codenamed 'Timpani', 'Guitar' and 'Clarinet' - which tap into various undersea cables passing through the Strait of Hormuz into the Arabian Gulf. These bases intercept and process vast quantities of emails, telephone calls and web traffic, which information is then shared with the National Security Agency in the United States.”
Curtis, M. (2016). Britain's Dangerous and Ignored Special Relationship with Oman. Huffingtonpost.

2.    Virtual networks (the internet)

With the growth of information technology and 3-D printing, many supply chains for goods are likely to shift from the sea to the internet. In this sphere, nations have also been racing to establish bottlenecks in the system to make themselves the most valuable node in the chain.

According to Jacobides, M.G. et al 2006, - Successful, agile companies do not just compete within their own sectors; they seek to actively redefine and reshape those sectors. The most successful companies become the “bottleneck” in their sectors through a strategy of forging alliances, changing the rules of the game, establishing webs of dependencies, and knowing when and where to compete, or not. Identifying the core values that a company brings to its sector is key to this approach. Companies need to identify bottlenecks, use them to create architectural advantages, and finally make architectural thinking a part of their organizational fabric if they are to achieve sustainable success in the new business dynamics.

(Industry Architectures describe the rules and roles that pertain to the division of labor in a sector; they define the templates and standards through which companies cooperate and compete within a sector.)

Most fast-moving companies, whose value has increased substantially over time (e.g., Apple, Google, or IKEA), have something in common. They do not just compete within the confines of their industry, but they try to change its very definition. They understand that competition is primarily about shaping the structure of a sector.

For instance, Apple redefined the mobile music device sector by keeping a hold on the music format, selectively outsourcing hardware production, and carefully managing co-specialized companies such as Toshiba or Foxconn providing complementary products and services. Similarly, IKEA redefined furniture retail by reshaping roles in its sector: final assembly is done by consumers in their own houses; production by subcontractors; logistics by external providers; and retail by franchisors.

These companies encouraged competition by complementary parties in sectors where they did not have a presence and changed the rules of the game. They understood that making money is about structuring a set of relationships around them to become the bottleneck within their industry (the most valuable part of a complex system, where the value accrues), i.e. controlling without owning.

Today, effective organizations leverage far more than their own actions in order to both create and capture value. They shape the rules and roles of their sector, aiming to become a bottleneck and “rule without owning” – that is, leveraging the skills and energy of others. Companies sticking to traditional sector definitions often fail to see how profits migrate from their own, narrow part of the industry to other parts of the sector as the result of changes in the “rules of the game” around them. Without a change in worldview, they might find that their position becomes untenable.

Bottomline: A company becomes a “bottleneck” in a sector by forging alliances, changing the rules of the game and establishing webs of dependencies.

The word “port”:

An interesting thing about this word is that even the myriad of mere anagrams create words with close meanings and connotations to ‘port/portal’. A portal functions as a bottleneck.

Etymology

Latin ‘Portus’ from Proto-Italic *portus, from Proto-Indo-European *pértus (“crossing”). Cognates include Northern Kurdish pir (“bridge”), Russian пере́ть (perétʹ, “push forward”), Old Norse fjǫrðr (“firth, fjord”) and Old English ford (English ford).

Some derivations and anagrams:

Portal, Port, Troop, Trooper, Troupe, Tropical, Trope, Torp, Torpedo, Porter, Airport, Fort, Report, Deport, Export, Import, Potus, Portable, Transport, Praetor, Pilot, Proto, Pro-, Prorate, Pre-, Prevent

The general meanings from the above-listed derivations and anagrams is: “before/first/opening/gateway/leading/turn/change/push/lead/command/divide/group/soldier/settlement”

Port and harbor are synonyms. Harbor also has its own derivations.

Etymology of harbor

From Middle English herberwe, herber, from Old English herebeorg (“shelter, lodgings, quarters”), from Proto-West Germanic *harjabergu (“army shelter, refuge”) (compare West Frisian herberch (“inn”), Dutch herberg (“inn”), German Herberge), from *harjaz (“army”) + *bergō (“protection”), equivalent to Old English here (“army, host”) + beorg (“defense, protection, refuge”). Cognate with Old Norse herbergi (“a harbour; a room”) (whence Icelandic herbergi), Dutch herberg, German Herberge (“inn, hostel, shelter”), Swedish härbärge. Compare also French auberge (“hostel”).

Verb

harbor

(slang) to appropriate another person's property.

 

References

Curtis, M. (2016). Britain's Dangerous and Ignored Special Relationship with Oman. Huffingtonpost. Retrieved 16^th June 2023 from https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/mark-curtis/britain-oman_b_11426144.html

George Lauriat (2021). Global maritime choke points. American Journal of Transportation. Published in Issue 724 on page 8

Michael G. Jacobides, Thorbjorn Knudsen and Mie Augier, (2006). Benefiting from Innovation: Value Creation, Value Appropriation and the Role of Industry Architectures, Research Policy, pp. 1200-21, Vol. 35, and ibid (2006), Who does What and Who takes What: Benefiting from Innovation, AIM Management Briefing.

TUKI (2001), Kamusi Ya Kiswahili-Kiingereza; Swahili-English Dictionary. Published by Taasisi ya Uchunguzi wa Kiswahili (TUKI), Chuo Kikuu cha Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.