Visit Rwanda.

Just like many, I first saw this phrase on the sleeve of the Arsenal FC jersey and then I wondered, what is it about Rwanda that would attract tourists?

I grew up with the mindset of Rwanda being synonymous to `Genocide’. I remember a few flashes of the movie ‘Hotel Rwanda’ and it didn’t help the notion I had about the country.

Recently, a few friends visited Kigali and were only full of praise for the ‘Land of a Thousand Hills.'

Truly, the mental image imprinted on my mind as they narrated their experience in the capital city and the country at large, did not in any way reflect a country with such a sordid history like a genocide, barely three decades ago.

Their account gave an idea of a new country that sprang out of nowhere, and why visiting the place was a necessity in one’s lifetime.

I began to nurse the desire to visit the country one day, but since there were no funds to embark on such a trip on the interim, it was only but a dream. 

That dream came through, out of the blue, as the Kwibuka T20 Cricket tournament was ongoing in June 2022. 

As the tournament went on, I followed it via social media and was doing my part of bringing it to the front burner of sporting discussion as a journalist.

Never did I envisage at that time that I would really 'Visit Rwanda' soon.

Thanks to the Rwanda Cricket Association who appreciated the effort I was making at the time to cover the tournament from my base in Nigeria, and in their benevolence, felt I could offer more by being present at the Kwibuka.

So on the 16th of June 2022, I found myself at the Kigali International Airport via RwandAir.

The journalists took part in different session of the concluded CHOGM that took place in Kigali in June. / Courtesy

I felt ‘my moment is here.' For me, Rwanda was everything and more.

From its neatness and serenity to hospitality, infrastructure, sports development, organisation of CHOGM, it was an experience I would relive 10-times over.

On arrival, I was headed for a hotel in Nyamata, which was about an hour drive from Kigali, and since I didn’t want to perturb my host about logistics to the hotel, I decided to get a cab myself. 

Now this is the other side. The taxi driver I first approached to take me to my destination charged me fifty (50) US dollars for the hour trip.

 As a 'sharp Nigerian babe' (as we say in our local parlance), I quickly checked the exchange rate in Nigerian Naira, and it was N32,250 at the time. Wow! this is enough to take one for an hour trip via air in Nigeria a few months ago. 

While I was still bargaining with the cab driver over the fare, my host called and told me he had sent someone to pick me, to my utmost relief.

Anyways, I later realised that the cab driver was trying to make a quick one on me as a 'JJC' (refers to a person new in a place and commonly used in Nigeria to mean, 'Journey Just Come’).

Who else has once heard that Kigali is one of the tidiest cities in the world?

My friends had told me that earlier and so I didn’t expect less when I arrived, but what was distinct for me was visiting other provinces and districts in Rwanda and it was the same story.

I was at Nyamata, Gahanga, Kimironko etc---locations quite far from Kigali’s Central Business District and they were really tidy, peaceful and safe. 

The local markets were not left out as well. I remember having to show my Covid-19 test result once I entered Gahanga market. It appeared a bit awkward to me at the time having not seen such done in an open market, from where I came from, even at the heat of Covid, but on a second thought, I saw the merit of it all.

For a market of that nature, there were no littered waste anywhere. None I could see.

For me, I could only deduce the intentionality of everyone trying to do the right thing. Being patriotic without being coerced, or forced. 

In fact, walking through the streets, the serenity literally screamed, ‘just do the right thing’! 

Certainly, this was part of a value system.

The road network around Rwanda, not just in Kigali, is typical of what anyone can find in countries in Europe and America.

Just enjoy a great ride!

Yes, a great ride that is monitored by traffic cameras. This is one of the most fascinating parts of my experience, having visited from Nigeria where such is missing, even on the streets of Abuja, the capital city.

While Rwandan drivers try to keep to the traffic rules by not exceeding the speed limit of about 60km/h, I saw a different level of patient people when I visited a banking hall and an office of one of their telecommunication service providers.

I give you an instance. On my visit to the telecommunication service provider's office at Nyamata to acquire a local sim, I spent over five hours there.

It was a tiring and frustrating experience for me, but surprisingly it wasn't for the locals, or at least they didn't show it.

Imagine spending hours on a queue standing, just to be attended to by a service provider, whose staff were obviously slow in attending to customers, it was amazing to see that there wasn’t an atom of grumbling from the customers.  This can hardly happen in Nigeria. 

Everybody felt cool with the situation that I almost felt out of place. 

Nigerian music is one of the country’s greatest exports and it was great listening to a few of them away in Rwanda, but it was a Rwandan artiste, Bwiza, who lit my mood all the time with her song ‘Ready.'

If you don’t want to get addicted to the music like me, don’t listen to it.

I tried lots of Rwandan recipes but the one that was frequent was ‘Pilau’. It looks like the Nigerian Jollof and when I first saw it on the menu, I hurriedly went for it. It tastes good though but it was not Nigerian Jollof, not as spicy as Nigerian Jollof. 

Aside the Rwandan recipes, the Gahanga cricket stadium was a sight to behold. It's a facility that every cricket enthusiast should visit when you 'Visit Rwanda'.

The facility of course hosted the KwibukaT20 tournament as well as CHOGM 2022 exhibition game —where top players from across the globe participated, with an electrifying ambience. 

I was not fortunate to visit some cricket hubs in Rwanda but photos I saw showed how kids are engaged in the game of cricket as well as a platform to improve their socio-economic wellbeing.

 Another opportunity came for me to experience Rwanda more and that was my participation at CHOGM.

While in Nigeria, I knew Kigali would host CHOGM 2022 and since I wasn’t certain of going to Rwanda, it didn’t interest me. But at the airport, the whole country appears to lit up for CHOGM and I began to nurse a feeling of experiencing it better.

Fortunately, I got a late accreditation for it and I had opportunities of attending meetings, interacting with people from around the globe and all works of life, reporting the event as a journalist. In fact, the experience was awesome.

Just like many guests, I had the opportunity of visiting the Kigali Genocide Memorial.

Ijeoma Okigbo also visited Kigali Genocide Memorial to pay tribute to the victims of the Genocide against the Tutsi. / Courtesy

It was fascinating to see how much Rwanda documented the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi and how they are intentional about correcting the ills and healing the wounds following the aftermath of the genocide. More amazing is how Rwanda has evolved greatly, barely 28 years after.

Rwanda is such a beauty to behold, but I still have some reservations on this maiden visit as I wonder if the hosting of the CHOGM event influenced my experience.

However, I intend to visit the country again anytime soon; this time without the razzmatazz of organizing a world event like CHOGM, just to compare the experience and see what an everyday life of a Rwandan or tourist would look like.

In the meantime, Visit Rwanda. Yeah, you should!

Let me be the first to tell you ‘Murakeza neza’, which means welcome in Kinyarwanda.

The writer is a Nigerian sports journalist.