While living in Uganda years ago I was told a story about how one popular musician became rich and famous. Recounting the ‘true’ tale, a friend informed me that the artist had gone, and I’m trying to quote from memory, “under Lake Victoria, where with other members of the Illuminati, he met Lucifer. The Devil promised to make him a pop star of note if he worshipped him. He duly did so and, lo behold, every song he did following his trip below the waves was a bona-fide hit.” I then, of course, burst into laughter. It was a hilarious tale, wasn’t it? One that anyone with a grain of good sense would take with a pinch of salt, right? Unfortunately not. Tales of children and people born with albinism being kidnapped and murdered for parts are not uncommon in our region, especially in our neighboring countries to the north and east. Some would say that these acts of barbarity are mindless. I beg to differ. I remember years ago, fresh out of university, penning a column where I wondered how in the world I would be able to purchase a house while mortgage interest rates remained over 16%. While that article was about renting vs purchasing a house by getting a mortgage loan (I went on the side of renting), it was really about one question, ‘how in the world will I, a recent graduate, actually be able to afford the good things in life? A house, a car and a nice piece of farm land i.e. ‘The Rwandan Dream?’ Thankfully, I am well on my way to attaining ‘The Dream’ (almost a decade and a half later) but the pathway has been a long, arduous one full of good fortune and lucky breaks. My farming career is one such story. I’ve been extremely fortunate to be able to realize my passion in agriculture and I would go so far as to say that some would call me a successful farmer, worthy of being emulated. My push back to this has always been, just because it looks like I am doing well doesn’t mean that I am. I’m constantly being challenged by the vagaries of disease, weather and the costs of agribusiness (fuel, fertilizers, labor, chemicals etc.) and for every two steps forward I make, it often feels like I take one step back. The only thing that keeps me going is the confidence I have in the business of food. I mean, at the end of the day, we all need three square meals and my theory is that whoever is able to provide crops will never go out of business. So, whenever someone asks me about my business I ask them how much time they have. I then give as detailed an account of my journey as I can. Often, by the time I’m done, the person, who previously wanted to go gung-ho into the business, is left pondering about water sources, typography, starting capital, mechanization, food inflation and other essential questions that any farmer must answer. I don’t do this to dissuade potential farmers, I do this to be a service to them. I didn’t receive any such help at the start of my journey and as a result I, to use a football metaphor, scored many own goals. Now, let’s go beyond my small farming business. It is my belief that one of the most frustrating things that young people deal with is trying to unravel the mystery of how older people make money and/or climb the corporate/public sector ladder and become people of note. They are left wondering, 'what is the pathway?' 'Who should I emulate?' Those are fair questions to me. If being a general in the Rwanda Defence Forces is the ambition, how exactly does someone get there? How about a Member of Parliament? How does someone become Miss Rwanda? How about a steward/stewardess or pilot for Rwandair? Or even the head of Rwandair? Or RDB? The Republic itself? What training must they do? What subjects in school should they concentrate on? Where should they seek internships? How do they get those internships? It is my worry that if young people are not given a clear and honest pathway to their life goals, they will try to figure it out themselves and that, I feel, will be doing them a disservice. It’s already hard enough being them, let’s not make their paths any harder than they ought to be. So what can be done? I believe that it starts with honest storytelling and mentoring by those who are in those positions of admiration. Furthermore, at a systemic level, there needs to be more transparency about how young people can get onto the first rungs of the political and corporate ladder. Let us remove the mystery by becoming truth tellers. Be honest, acknowledge that you were able to access a bank loan at a good interest rate. Talk about the cold nights sitting in a small cubicle in Huye trying to finalise your doctoral thesis. Share the legal loopholes that you used to get out of paying a hefty tax bill. Share where you get good seeds and greenhouse construction material. Share your knowledge and life experience. And if you don’t have a good story to share, don’t lie and say that you do. You didn't become a success because of only good luck (and a prayerful mindset), there were a series of events and life choices you made to get where you are today. I know that it wasn't the Illuminati that made you successful, share with us what did. The writer is a socio-political commentator.
