Former Zairean President, Mobutu Sese Seko, had a knack of making bombastic speeches full of chest thumping aimed at giving his subjects something to cling to and forget their woes.

He managed to hypnotise his people for 32 years as they wallowed in lethargy as he amassed a fortune.

One of his famous phrases was that Africa was shaped like a revolver, and Zaire was the trigger. He, for once, wasn’t far off the mark.

Mobutu’s talents,– or lack of them for that matter, seems to have rubbed off his successors. Instead of addressing the country’s problems, they create more to camouflage their inefficiency in the hope of getting another scapegoat for their shortcomings.

Political problems have haunted the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) since independence, Mobuto changed his country’s name to Zaire, as if it would wish them away, but they instead took root.

The issue of upheavals in the Kivu region dates back to the 60s, the most famous being the Mulele uprising. It was followed by the Katanga secession, Ituri and the ever present tensions in Katanga. Therefore, Congo’s issues are not new, they are just recycled.

If the Congo leadership truly wants peace and has the interests of its people at heart, it would make the right choice by sincerely addressing them instead of finger pointingevery time its shortcomings force it into a tight corner. An armed solution has failed in the past, it is not today that it will succeed.

The greatest favour the international community can do on behalf of that troubled country is to trace, on DRC’s behalf, a roadmap towards a peaceful settlement and make sure it keeps the course.