Nairobi, Jan. 8 -- This new year is fraught with dangers but also opportunities in the Greater East African region. The region has been dealing with protracted crises, terrorism, difficult transitions and elections, but also a cocktail of interconnected hot button issues: High cost of living, a financing crisis, a growth crisis and a climate crisis.

More recently, global competition has crept up on the region via middle powers, in particular Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Turkey, and Qatar, eager to secure ports, food, security, energy and minerals at any cost.

In a world where international law means nothing, the powerful's push to impose their realities could even redesign our borders and plunge the continent into a maj...