Lessons from Rwanda Day London

After Chicago, Paris and Boston, London was the next stop for the Rwanda Day; a day of plotting for the country’s future, a day of sharing and celebrating what it means to be Rwandan. The London meet was about Agaciro - delivering prosperity. How appropriate. Rwandans and friends of Rwanda turned up, as usual in their thousands. The applause received by the chief guest, President Paul Kagame was simply deafening. Deserved, I should say. It is not everyday that you will find a President travelling across oceans to meet fellow countrymen to deliberate on how to move the country forward. After all was said and done, the London meet left us with a few lessons to ponder. That Agaciro (dignity) should be the guiding star for all Rwandans. Nothing can be rivals with the drive to live a dignified life. Dignity is not given, it is fought for. In most post-colonial countries in Africa, it was not uncommon to see statues of liberators erected in their cities. What we need in Rwanda are not statues but the spirit of Agaciro, a sense of purpose to drive Rwandans in their daily activities, in their different stations in life. Let the statues of the yesteryears stand, and firmly so, in our hearts and spirit. Rwandans are the most important resource the country has, as repeatedly echoed by the President. The enthusiasm with which Rwanda Day activities are held should translate into the love for work and zeal to rebuild a country against all odds. The fact that state cannot provide jobs to all Rwandans cannot be over emphasized. Citizens have to develop an entrepreneurial mindset wherever they may be in the world. The streets of Europe and America are not lined with gold, as kindergarten fairly tales made us believe, and like some still brazenly believe today. The dream of many youth in Rwanda is to fly to Europe and America to live a ‘good’ life as portrayed in the celebrity world. Some Rwandans during the event were brave enough to admit that life was indeed unbearable in the European capitals. One requested to be assisted. During a short stay in the UK, I happened to travel to Wimbledon for a tennis event with a British friend. Like any other hospitable host, he bought me lunch. But what I found distasteful was his constant reminder that the meal cost him an arm and a leg! He begged me not to leave any crumbs. Well, I wouldn’t treat my guest the same here. It later dawned on me that it wasn’t a lack of courtesy on the part of my host. His behavior was a consequence of hard times in the Queen’s land. The important lesson to our youth is that with the proper mindset and determination, you can make it. Searching for knowledge and the necessary capital – mainly human capital – from these countries is welcome but you don’t have to sell your inheritance just to travel abroad in the hope of making a kill. That self reliance is the only sure way to attain Agaciro as a people. The message from the President was brave and clear; ‘the world owes us nothing.’ This is not to minimise the important role played by development partners. What this means is that even without this support Rwandans should strive to fend for themselves. That we need to build internal capacity to absorb investment. Rwandans abroad are investing back home but it becomes a big concern when they don’t find the much needed expertise for their investments to thrive. Capacity development efforts have to be scaled up. The second phase of the EDPRS, which kicks off soon, among others, focuses on skills development, mainly in the manufacturing industry. Its implementation will be critical to narrowing the skills gap in the country. The scaling up of the mandate of the Public Sector Capacity Building Secretariat to give it a national outlook with a focus on the private and public sector is a step in the right direction. That the youth need not have to waste time politicking. One young man, during the meet explained how he was enrolled into clandestine political organizations only to realize that the people behind the organizations had no clear development plan for the country. The youth cannot afford such distractions, time is running and running very fast. That the old savor every moment they are in Rwanda or hear about Rwanda. Nothing beats the feeling of belonging to a country that holds its people with the highest esteem. The young ones should learn from Mzee Yunus wa Maridadi; he couldn’t have put his appreciation of the big strides the country has taken any better. Apart from impeccable mastery of Kinyarwanda, something unexpected of a man of colour, his was a true hearty feeling for the country. That 2017 is four years away. Rwanda is work in progress; work which will surely not end in 2017. The debate about what happens after 2017 is healthy but it should not distract people from their daily grind of ‘building the nation.’ And the last lesson to our Congolese brothers on the streets of London; why throw eggs when you need them for food!

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Lessons from Rwanda Day London