President Paul Kagame has called on the African youth to step up to the plate and tackle the problems facing the continent, saying nothing is insurmountable, especially where there is unity of purpose.

The President was yesterday addressing more than 50 youths drawn from across the continent during an interactive session with the community of Global Shapers on the second day of the World Economic Forum on Africa in Abuja, Nigeria.

He told the youth to believe in their ability to solve Africa’s challenges.

"Collectively, there is no insurmountable problem for a particular country or the continent as a whole. We need to think big. We need to stop blaming each other over nothing.

"We need to build strength for the improvement of all of us. It is you who should try to make things better than we were able to. You can do it. So do it.”

Describing Rwanda’s experience with reconciliation, the President pointed to the need to acknowledge responsibility.                     

"We started by being brutally honest with ourselves. This is our problem. This is our creation. It is something we participated in. Everyone was a loser. Even those of us who fought wars and defeated those who committed Genocide, we are losers because we lost our own people in the Genocide. The killers and the victims, we were all losers.”

He added that Rwanda had no other choice but to work towards achieving unity. "All of us can only be on one side, the winning side. At the end of the day, we are Rwandans. At the end of the day, I need you and you need me. Let’s work together for the common good.”

President Kagame also shared his perspective on the situation in Central African Republic emphasising the need for leaders to unite rather than divide citizens.                                               

"Central Africans should turn against poverty not against each other. We need leaders who don’t play politics of division.”