Small (/smɔːl/) adjective, Definition: 1. Of a size that is less than normal or usual. 2. Insignificant; unimportant.
Rwanda is, by all geographical metrics, a ‘small country’. In fact, with a land area of approximately 26,338 square kilometers, Rwanda is not only one of the smaller countries on the African continent (with only Eswatini, The Gambia, and Djibouti being smaller), it is literally the 149th largest country in the world, ‘beating’ only 46 other countries in the race to be the smallest.
However, and thankfully so, although Rwanda is as small as a district (as some of our neighbors joke), no one with an iota of sense would call it ‘insignificant or unimportant’.
In fact, despite its geographical size and demography, it is both a significant and important country. From as far west as Jamaica and as far east as East Timor, aspects of the Rwandan governance model are studied and copied.
If you doubt this, just visit the Kacyiru office of the Rwanda Cooperation Initiative (RCI). On most days, you’ll hear at least two African languages being spoken in the corridors; some will be from Southern Africa, some from West Africa.
In addition to being a place where people come to learn from and share experiences, Rwanda’s security forces are taking the country’s no-nonsense approach to security beyond its borders. In the Central African Republic and Mozambique, our police and army are playing their part in bringing peace to areas that had none.
On a media trip to the Mozambican province of Cabo Delgado that I was part of, I was able to see, with my own eyes, just how the RDF (Rwanda Defence Forces) and RNP (Rwanda National Police), working with the local Mozambican forces, helped bring a semblance of normalcy to places such as the town of Palma, which had been besieged by jihadists.
While it is tempting to think that our global ‘significance’ is directly correlated to RCI, RNP, or RDF, coming to that conclusion is a mistake. What makes us ‘important’ is the fact that we crawled out of the hole we’d found ourselves in due to our history.
Instead of becoming a ‘failed’ state, as had been expected, Rwanda became a ‘viable’ state. A state that developed itself and its people in a manner that best suited it. An independent state.
Rwanda was not supposed to be this independent, growing state. But due to the singular focus of its leadership after 1994, with President Paul Kagame at its helm (first as vice president and then as president from 2000), Rwanda became more than what people expected. For friends and allies, this became a good thing.
They’ve come to appreciate President Kagame, the RPF-led government he heads, and the Rwandan people who’ve voted for the President and his party since 2003.
Likewise, those who would have preferred Rwanda staying dependent, small, and developmentally retarded, have come to loathe President Kagame, the RPF, and the Rwandan people.
That is why they spend millions of dollars on media campaigns such as the Rwanda Classified nonsense, and why US universities like Clemson publish reports complaining that Rwandans use Artificial Intelligence (and then have the temerity to call notorious genocide denier Judi Rever an RPF and Kagame "critic”).
Today, there are many powerful foreign interests that are being affected by our existence and choices. Interestingly enough, many of these interests have been up in arms against the RPF since 1990.
They put soldiers on the ground to stop the RPF/A’s advance, they’ve blocked financial aid, they’ve refused to accredit our diplomats, they’ve driven wedges between Rwanda and other African states, and have tried, on multiple occasions, to peg us back.
Where we are today is proof that they have failed to arrest our progress. And guess what? I don’t see them ever succeeding. Why? Because Rwandans have been stronger and more confident every time they’ve hurdled a challenge. They’ve become more resilient and surer of themselves and their choices.
Rwandans have become, as President Paul Kagame said while addressing close to half a million people in Nyamirambo, an "army of lions. And, as he said amid cheers, lions give birth to other lions. We know we have a legacy of young lions, boys, and girls.
The lions that have been birthed, both figuratively and literally, since 1994 are a different breed; being led by a lion like President Kagame will do that to you. These lions are not small. And they will not be muzzled.
The author is a socio-political commentator