Independence without Liberation is meaningless

Today 4th July, marks the day the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) entered Kigali bringing about the end of genocide while the whole world looked on in silence. Genocide took place in 100 days while the world watched and up to today some people are denying that genocide ever took place! Thursday 1st of July was Rwanda’s ‘Independence Day’. Saying that we are independent without being liberated is a mere fallacy. We can’t be independent and therefore be liberated before we recognize that we are poor, diseased and ignorant plus segregation stinking terminologies. This is what Bob Marley referred to as “mental slavery” .We need to be liberated from mental slavery first, before we acquire ‘full’ liberation and independence. We can’t also speak of independence, if poverty, disease and ignorance still persist in our much loved motherland because they are major stumbling blocks for any kind of liberation or independence. 4th July should be a day when all Rwandans east, west, south and north should reflect our past, present and the future instead of playing the blame games that intend to destroy what has been so far achieved and throw us back to our stinking history. It is high time we recognized that we are all the same; we all want our children to be in good schools, have good health and live in a healthy and peaceful environment. There is no nation which can be great, whose people are narrow in thought or in action. The difficult times we had in the past, should always help us to avoid difficult times in the future. Rwandans should also know that it takes time to achieve a fundamental goal. For example the US which is often given as a democratic nation became independent in 1776 on this same day. I think building and transforming Rwanda is not only President Paul Kagame’s job. All of us are stakeholders of this nation. There is a great need for the spirit of hard work and dedication in whatever field or work we are involved in. Fighting poverty and illiteracy needs a combined effort from each one of us marking hisher number like the team of football players during a football match in a tight competition. Imagine what would happen if the players left out their strategic positions and began running at each other, the opponents would have a field day streaming in the goals. Whenever there is a disagreement, let us always remind ourselves that there is no situation which is permanent in time and space. Our country needs more volunteers and soldiers of freedom who without praise or rewards will serve Rwandans even unto death. If we are to be fully liberated and independent, we have to do away with divisionism, hatred, violence and lawlessness. What we want now, is love, wisdom and compassion towards one another. “We are all Rwandans”, should always ring in our minds. As some of us continue wasting time trying to become addictive pessimists, we should always remember 1994 and the Genocide against the Tutsi as the ‘mighty’ nations watched. Have we forgotten names that are always given to us like, ‘third world, and dark, underdeveloped, substandard’ and all the insults thrown at us by the developed countries? Are we pleased with that? Instead of fighting that bad and stinking image, why do we continue fighting amongst ourselves? Countries which were previously classified as third world, today they have rapidly developing economies because of hard work, unity, good governance and purpose. For example, it is well known that Singapore used to be much poorer than our East African countries but today it is one of the leading economies of the world! Now why not our own country, Rwanda? We should not be led away by our enemies and setting low standards for ourselves. It’s high time we set our standards high, enrol in leadership courses, acquire discipline, good training and stop making excuses and involving ourselves in unnecessary conflicts. Rwanda has potential to cease being referred to as a “third world, dark…substandard”, and fully be liberated and independent if we become wise enough to identify and towards achieving our priorities. In today’s economy, the consumer does not care about sob stories but only about the quality and competitiveness of the product. Today is the ripe time for all of us, to revisit our history and look forward with our eyes 100m ahead, work hard and solve our differences as quickly as possible. Though some people think that speed kills, I wish to remind them that, it all depends on the driver’s skill and experience. We need to be skilled and experienced drivers of our much loved motherland if we are to be fully liberated and independent. Happy liberation day! Ndungutse.apollo@yahoo.com