It is impressive that whenever you are on TV or reading a newspaper, you will at least find someone commending Rwanda for its development in IT, gender equality, education and the fight against HIV/AIDS. I personally feel glad to hear all that, but my question is; do these people look at the factors that have led to all this? Let us not praise the beauty of the pot and forget the one who molded it. The only reason as to why Rwanda is making tremendous change is the good leadership of this country-something that all the African countries should pick a leaf from. Africans have to learn to differentiate between leaders and politicians. Leaders, like those in Rwanda, work for the next generation. Leaders do and don’t simply promise to put a bridge where there is no water body; instead they promise what they will deliver. Leaders inspire the people to emulate them by their exemplary acts rather than merely saying impossibilities.On the contrary, politicians work for the next election and are self centered. To them it’s today that matters and tomorrow will take care of itself. Their motto is; “For God and my stomach and every man for himself and May the Devil take the hindmost”. They act when elections are close and immediately they are voted to power that’s the end of everything. They act on the Machiavellian principle of ‘the end justifies the means’. With such an attitude, Africa is heading nowhere and having only one country doing the right thing is not enough as well. We need to develop as a whole, not in parts; for what affects one country catches another like a cancer. Therefore, African leaders should help each other solve their problems as a continent and develop a spirit of working for their future generation and sacrificing their current pleasures for the future. Also we, as citizens ,of our countries should have a role to play in supporting our leaders rather than sitting home with three maids- one for cleaning and the others for the baby and cooking, while complaining the government has not done this and hasn’t done that. First ask yourselves what you have done for your countries and then weigh what the government has done against your contribution. Together we can build Africa to the level we have always wanted it to be at; its got to be us, Africans, who do this not any other person. And above all, let us develop a spirit of ‘Africanism’ and work for any country we live in. kaboyojules@yahoo.com The author is a teacher in Musanze
