Kigali – On March 27, 2020, the President of Rwanda addressed the nation on the coronavirus. While reflecting on his remarks, I felt a very profound sense of gratitude towards this selfless and visionary public servant, who has, once again, proven his unparalleled leadership skills since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic and its devastating impacts, globally. Though we still have a long way to go before claiming victory over this unprecedented pandemic, we, Rwandans, must draw energy from the fact that, we are led by “one of the few Heads of State on the planet that truly cares about the well-being of his fellow citizens,” as the American Josh Ruxin once wrote. Though the road ahead remains uncertain, what is certain is that, in order to eradicate the novel Coronavirus once and for all, the world needs the Inkotanyi’s unconquerable spirit translated by the unparalleled discipline, unity, solidarity, and the will to make necessary sacrifices for the greater cause. It is that spirit that has enabled Rwandans to stay at home even when we do not have the bread of the day, and the days ahead, for ourselves and our families. It is the Inkotanyi’s kind of solidarity that has led ordinary Rwandans to dig deep in our almost empty pockets in order to provide the needed assistance to our neighbors with deepest needs. It is Inkotanyi’s kind of resolve that can keep the world so steadfast in the face of these lifetime challenges, unique in recorded history. Having kissed death in all its forms 26 years ago, Rwanda can serve as a source of deepest resilience needed to milk the greatness out of the grey. To kick it off, the international community needs to unite, carefully take stock of and build on the small but encouraging developments recorded so far in the fight against this modern time pandemic. Let each citizen of the world own the World Health Organisation’s prevention measures against the pandemic as we lend support to empowering and inspiring leaders such as H.E. Paul Kagame, the President of Rwanda; Dr Tedros A. Ghebreyesus, the Director-General of the World Health Organisation, and other public servants, opinion leaders and the commendable selfless men and women in public health uniforms who are working around the clock to alleviate the COVID-19 burden and its already devastating socio-economic impacts around the globe. To victoriously counter-attack the novel coronavirus, each sovereign nation is called to honor its responsibility in vowing to protect its population, as effectively and proactively as possible, and all nations to work together in mobilizing the needed resources to flatten the COVID-19’s contagious curve and find a durable cure. As we breathe in the grey sky, let the drops water our collective vision to the blue skies of 2030, 2050, 2063 and beyond. For now, the future of the world will be forged by the safe hands of those who stay at home while observing the set requirements for self-isolation and social distancing. Let the memory of Rwanda’s extraordinary past strengthen not just Rwandans, but the International Community’s unity in this fight, and our collective resolve to restore and renew the world free of Coronavirus and beyond. The views expressed in this article are of the author.
