The peace and security dividends

A lifetime lesson on my part, so far, is that, peace and security is better than gold and silver; when you invest in security, it unlocks opportunities and enhances productivity among the populace as they invest with confidence that their wealth is safe. The young Rwandan generation has the luxury to compare and contrast the pre- and post-Genocide Rwanda which underlines the core significance of what instability can do to the true potential of any country. Rwanda’s lesson is an African lesson. The political maladministration that bred hatred and divisionism among Rwandans and climaxed in the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi only depleted the little resources we had as a country then. One of the biggest losses from the Genocide is human resource related; even after 20 years, we are yet to really recover from that loss. Actually, present day Rwanda, with all the prosperity we are witnessing; the country hasn’t increased in size or discovered new vast gold or diamond deposits. We are still the same geographically small, landlocked African country with no major natural resources to talk about, the same case as it was 21 years ago. So how did we even get where we are today? They say wealth creates wealth, but where did we get the wealth to create what we have today? The only wealth we ever had, and one we still have, is us Rwandans; we are all that we have. In the past, we used our strength against us; today, we have used our strength for us and the result is what we have today: prosperity for all. When people work together, they prosper together. And, without a doubt, we are prospering. Everyone can testify to the growth our country is experiencing, But this prosperity is just an effect; that you’re better off than you were twenty-one years ago is an effect of something that has enabled you to actually make it. So what’s the cause? It is security. Whatever you have been up to in the last twenty-one years, it’s the political stability and security that has enabled you to consistently be productive and progressively get where you are today. I have friends in neighboring countries whose conflict-ridden history has similarities to Rwanda; but they haven’t had the luxury of peace, security and stability as we do and, currently, many of them are living as refugees in camps for the third time in less than 15 years. Many Rwandans have lived refugee lives before, the memories live with us. When the thoughts of our past linger through our minds, it’s really easy to see why Rwandans are insisting on retaining the man who gave them the luxury of peace, security and stability. Rwandans haven’t used their new-found peace and stability to merely sleep soundly and make merry, we have been at work, improving ourselves, through education, forming partnerships with foreigners and learning from the best, and our collective sum of efforts has gotten us to where we are today. Have we done our best? Absolutely not. I think we can do more, I think we can stretch further; I think we can be much better; in fact we can be among the best of the best. If you could ask for one thing in life after the 1994 Genocide against Tutsi in Rwanda, what would it be? Wealth? To have gold and silver or to be famous? No, you wouldn’t have been entirely wrong but peace and security were much more valuable than anything else. Security is the source of economic growth that has led to millions of Rwandans being lifted out of poverty following the Genocide; it has permitted the ease of doing business and investment because people feel their money is safe if they invest in Rwanda. So what do we need to stretch ourselves further? I am a sports journalist so I will borrow a few metaphors from a field I know better; what we need is to renew the contract of a coach that has proven himself and led us to the current success. Team Rwanda is really playing well together, the coach has united all the players and the stability in the team right now is not something you want to interrupt. In my sports reporting career, I haven’t met a club that wanted to change a successful coach and winning team. Where successful coaches have left clubs, it’s only because they have received better offers from rival clubs. The coach of Team Rwanda, I am sure, can get great offers in retirement but his team still needs his expertise to win more trophies; so as Rwandans, we should do everything in our capacity to secure President Paul Kagame’s contract for next season. The writer is a sports journalist pkamasa@gmail.com

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The peace and security dividends