This column breaks the tradition to go politics again this Sunday, because politics, is well, just politics. So what really is politics? Aristotle wrote his Ta Politika, translating politika – Greek for politics into “Affairs of the State”. The word was later Latinized “Polettiques” then it became “politics” in Middle English c. 1520s. The singular “politic” first coined in English 1430 and comes from Middle French “politique”, in turn from Latin “politicus”, which is the Romanization of the Greek politikos, meaning amongst others “of, for, or relating to citizens”, “civil”, “civic”, “belonging to the state”, in turn from polites, “citizen” and that from polis, “city” – blame my etymological genius on Wikipedia. So it thus goes that politics is not just about governance but also about the state, for or of others and relating to (all) citizens.It is thus no surprise that ‘seven years’ in the phrase on every person’s lips and minds this week. It can be seen on the faces of the young men and women sprucing up Kigali’s avenues, these enthusiastic tone of small business people who seem to have a new lease of life, the same who are usually said to be the engine of the economy. It is surprising how this thing called politics can motivate people, even those who haven’t done much in their over two decades of living life. You can see it in their zeal. My friend likes to say, ‘if we don’t be rich in the next seven years, then we might just never be rich.’ He says with a final note of certainty as if it was some sought of prophesy this seven years thing.This, among other things, is what makes Rwanda a unique country in my view. In many countries, people want to make a killing during political campaigns because politicians are flush with ‘bribe’ money for voters. In Rwanda, people are eager to make use of the time and space between elections. Paul Wellstone, a former US senator perhaps had a grip on why seven years would be so important as he said, “Politics isn’t about big money or power games; it’s about the improvement of people’s lives” politics has earned itself a bad name in history, many times, over and over again. It is thus surprising that there are still some people that give leave some honor to politics to the extent that even those citizens who are as apolitical as anyone could be and never in their wildest dreams anticipate to understand anything political, now talk seven years. Aristotle was spot on when he said, ‘Man is by nature a political animal.’ In Rwanda, it cannot be any less true especially in the last few months.Tomorrow, by the way is a presidential inauguration, a once in seven years event, which for the unacquainted explains the seven years euphoria. It will peak tomorrow as citizens get down to the business of using their opportunities to become better, wealthier, more beneficial individuals. People will go about living life, knowing that they have the peace and quiet, space and opportunity to prosper.Otherwise, I wish you a politically aware Sunday.kelviod@yahoo.com
