Why outsiders wish they were Rwandan: it has to do with our choices

A few days ago, two men expressed their wish with regard to Rwanda. The two could not have been more different. One man in Dubai said he wished he was a voter in Rwanda for then he would do what millions of Rwandans have been doing and wish to do again. He said he would, without any reservations whatsoever, vote to have President Paul Kagame continue to lead the country because he wishes to see progress already registered continue. This wish from the man in Dubai is not idle talk. He is not just any man. He is Mohamed Al Shaibani, CEO of Investment Corporation of Dubai, and knows what he is talking about. And Dubai is not just any other place. It knows what progress means, what it takes, and the choices you have to make to get there. He is not alone. Other people outside Rwanda have expressed a similar wish. Some wish they lived here and enjoyed the benefits they see. Others wish that they were citizens of this country and be part of a successful project. Yet more would wish to have President Kagame as their leader. The wish of the CEO of Investment Corporation of Dubai and of many ordinary people from across the world is recognition of the reality in Rwanda today. It is also appreciation of, and confidence in Rwanda’s leadership and the direction the country is taking. The other wish, disguised as a comment, was a tweet by a one Kenneth Roth (he of Human Rights Watch and who cannot hide his anger every time this country takes a step forward). He tweeted: Rwanda reportedly inflames things in Burundi by recruiting a militia from among refugees. Now, everyone knows there is no truth in this. Even Mr Roth knows it, but wishes it were true. Why should he harbour such a strange wish? It is not new. He has always had it and has been flogging Rwanda for the last twenty one years (without much success, it must be said, beyond being a nuisance). Still, he needs a sound pretext to stoke his antipathy towards Rwanda. He seems to have forgotten that not so long ago, and throughout his career, President Kagame said that managing extremism (as is obviously the case in Burundi and other countries where terrorism is rife) requires level-headedness and sobriety, not rash action. In a strange way, Mr Roth’s wish is also a form of appreciation of the progress this country has made. Grudging, yes, but recognition of the reality nonetheless. He is unhappy that Rwanda is not a failed state, crawling with murderers and terrorists, and therefore the perfect excuse for the big boys to pound it into oblivion. Strangely, I have not heard Mr Roth condemn the daily murders in Burundi with the same vehemence he talks about Rwanda. Nor have I heard him denounce the security clampdown in Brussels and the state of emergency in France as too draconian, or the demonization of immigrants and other minorities as extreme injustice. Obviously he has a different standard for them. Mr Roth is also not alone in his strange wishes. There are many others who recognise the reality in Rwanda but wish it were different and so distort it to fit their wishes. The authors of Rwanda: the untold story and the inventors of a story about manipulation of poverty figures fall in this category. The point about the differing wishes of the CEO in Dubai and Ken Roth is that those who appreciate and the ones who denigrate the reality in Rwanda do so as a way of recognising that this country is doing a lot of things right. It is succeeding, not failing. The list of things being done right is long. Only last week we read that Rwanda is one of the best places in the world to be a woman (we knew that) – just behind Iceland, three Nordic countries and Ireland, and way ahead of some of the most advanced countries. This country is constantly ranked high as an investment destination and good place to do business, one of the top competitive economies globally, and among the least corrupt, and so on. The economy has been growing at an average of eight percent for over ten years and in the last twenty one year per capita income has tripled. There has been a considerable reduction in poverty, a rise in personal incomes of the rural population and remarkable advances in health and education. As a result, Rwandans now live longer. Citizens have high confidence in the leadership and the country’s institutions, and have greater participation in their own governance. This progress that admirers and detractors both acknowledge in their different ways is not accidental. It is the product of deliberate, conscious choices that Rwandans have made. This country has had its own extremists and terrorists. In fact they all but destroyed it and still want to do so. They failed and will not succeed in any future attempts. The reason for this is not because Rwanda is some sort of super power with the means to bomb them to submission or annihilation. The magic lies elsewhere. It started with the conscious choice to liberate the country from extremists, political bunglers, opportunists prepared to pawn their birthright for a few comforts, and give it back to all its citizens. This was followed by setting up an inclusive political system that accommodates everyone; one that reconciles, not alienates, that unites, not separates. The story so far involves following a development path that answers the needs of citizens, ensures self-reliance and promotes their dignity. All this is possible because of a leadership that serves the national interest and is accountable to citizens, not to some external interests. This has been Rwanda’s secret and the reason for non-Rwandans wishing they were citizens. It is why this country is not a failed state and a hotbed of terrorism. jorwagatare@yahoo.co.uk

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Why outsiders wish they were Rwandan: it has to do with our choices