Very powerful messages came out during the just concluded celebrations to mark the 20th liberation anniversary, but one stood out above the rest: It was time to stop dwelling in the past as we forge an even brig++er future.

President Paul Kagame’s advice not to blame our failures to our traumatic past won the day. Indeed we should use the lessons learned to be even stronger and more focused on the road ahead.

What Rwanda went through would have brought many a nation on its knees, but Rwanda resisted the urge to pull it down and defied the odds.

Building a united nation that the country is today was no mean feat in the wake of a genocide that cost over a million people, but unifying and reconciling the nation was the priority.

It rose above hate, segregation and ethnic profiling that had been the hallmark of previous regimes and put all its nationals on equal footing.

Today we are no longer victims; we have transcended above hopelessness and even given hope to countries torn apart by political upheavals through participation in peacekeeping missions on two continents.

This inner strength should be transmitted to the youth, the guardians of our future. They have a firm foundation from where they can continue to drive their country forward, and a legacy of the founding fathers to guide them.