For every nation there’s a culture and for every people there’s a way of life. As for Rwanda, Ubutore has been and still needs to be a signifying part of the lifestyle for the people of Rwanda. Ubutore compound a collection of Rwanda’s core values. Our founding fathers conceived, held in high honour, and up-borne these values from Rwandanness – nationalism to patriotism; from integrity to bravery; from intrepidity to self-sacrifice; and from hard-work and quality service to self-worth. “Itorero” served as a national channel to pass on these values from generation to generation. Rwanda, with Ubutore, bred a society of bonded and stoical citizens who solidly defended the sovereignty of their treasured land and their common weal. The nation remained unified, gathered manifold greatness, and kept the wolf from the door for a pile of centuries. Nonetheless, the glories of Rwanda mercilessly fell prey to the wolf in sheep’s clothing – the invasion of the temerarious colonialist and supercilious messenger of civilization. This was followed by several decades of serialized disunity, uncalled-for pauperism and mendacity, degrading refugee-hood, and the appalling genocide ideology instigated by the colonialists and heralded by the dawn of so called Independence and spurious “Social Revolution”. Year in, year out, every decision, every action by the spiteful regimes, drummed hovering malignance into ears of the ill-fated victims in absolute denial. Subsequently, in April 1994, Rwanda stepped out of the common run in the eyes of an entire human race that stood idly by and beheld dear Rwanda being racked with one of the worst yet, lamentably, most stoppable cataclysms the world has ever known: The Genocide against the Tutsi. Pivotal role of leadership Honestly, how much could have been expected of the post-Genocide leadership? Incontestably, I dare say, it’s with Paul Kagame’s ascension to power that Rwanda’s phenomenal resurge started to kick off. Before the Parliament by default voted him in office in 2000, he was viewed by many of us as a war-hardened army commander and an unprecedented military strategist; but not quite much of a worldly and phonily sweet-mouthed African politician. However, the RPF-led campaign against sectarianism and, ultimately, the invaluable act of stopping the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, the subtle Congo wars that ended and returned home the genocidaires’ massive human shield from the boondocks of former Zaïre, and the swift restoration of statehood and order, did win Kagame not just fame but the irresistible tide of the hard-to-gain trust of Rwandans. The costly stock in Kagame and the RPF could have been so facilely abused, far from it. His tenure in office has toned up the confidence of us Rwandans and Africans in light of our undeniable and irrevocable right to deciding our destiny. He has boldly challenged the infamous mantra about North-South relationship as elucidated by Amin Maalouf, the famous Arab-French writer: “l’Occident ne veut pas qu’on lui ressemble, il veut seulement qu’on lui obéisse.” Loosely: “what the West wants of us is only obedience but not resemblance.”–The very heart of the self-assured Western hubris that has even engulfed countless of endeared children of Africa. Neglect of Rwanda’s core set of virtues and sui generis wouldn’t have made Kagame a better leader. But delving into the uniqueness of Rwanda, revitalizing our very mettle, reconciling and restoring unity and “Agaciro” of Rwandanshas set him apart. Truth be told, he has perfectly captured the zeitgeist of Rwanda’s post-Genocide epoch. A leader par excellence, the linchpin of Rwanda’s renaissance, indeed he is, and we are yet to celebrate him. Ubutore and entrepreneurship For a new Rwanda, Ubutore and entrepreneurship had to be intertwined. Rwanda did need both to claim its place in history. Kenneth Stampp put it very clearly: “History is an article of faith that shows knowledge of the past as the key to understanding the present and foreseeing the future.” Rwandans of all walks of life have been attending “Itorero” over the last couple years. It was particularly startling to see over 2,500 private business pperators from across Rwanda, at their own request, in separate cohorts, attending “Itorero” to ruminate on the Rwandan Promise and the undying values that kept Rwandans together for centuries and centuries even before the invasion of the colonialist. Itorero hasn’t been about attending a mere civic training programme; it’s been rather about the firm and resolute commitment to leading whole new ways of living that seek the best out of ourselves, finding the best in others, and embracing the prevailing spirit of “Rwandanness”. Attending Itorero has helped several and multi-sector business men and women from across all districts of Rwanda to embark on big and life-changing local collective investment ventures; needless to mention how many of them in the City of Kigali and elsewhere in the country are incontestably coming to a palatable fruition. With all the gilt-edged progress achieved over the last 21 years, Rwanda will still need to foster an up-to-it private sector that is ready to embark on renewed and sustainable fashion of doing business, and to invest in more lucratively transformative and smarter business processes. The blend of Ubutore and entrepreneurship, by all means, will be that unequivocal driving force needed to achieve inclusive and sustainable development Rwanda hankers after. The writer is the Head of Training and Development at Private Sector Federation
