Some people have the gift of reading between the lines in order to decipher the true nature of the underlying message. At the ongoing YouthConnekt summit taking place in Kigali, it did not need to dig hard to realise that the thousands of youth in the meeting expect too much from President Kagame. From the questions directed towards him, they expected him to wave a magic wand to solve their questions; be they about corruption, governments that don’t listen to the youth and another one lobbying for their country to be recognized. It was not difficult to understand why they felt he had answers at his fingertips; they had just experienced a country that works. It is not blowing this country’s trumpet, but the young people have a chance to experience firsthand a success story in a sea of chaos. They can for example learn that Rwanda was not as it is one or a decade or so ago. It took a lot of efforts and sacrifices and in the middle of all the hustle and bustle, was the youth. They were the engines of change. That is the only lesson they can expect to go back home with; the youth hold the key and only they can force change. But that would mean breaking away from the old ways inherited by successful administrations. Sometimes change is painful and will be resisted at every step, but it is the prospect of building a brighter future that gives someone the courage to bite the bullet. And bright futures don’t just fall from the sky, they are pursued relentlessly.
