Lessons for the EAC from our Arab brothers

Is it not amazingly weird that for every single day of the year, there is enough news to fill a newspaper? At a restaurant it is possible to be informed that the food listed on the menu is finished but not in the news business. In fact, at times the news seems to be ‘too much’ and some of us news geeks, find a problem consuming the huge news meal on offer. Just take a look at this month alone. The year has just began but we have had to deal with the Ivorian impasse, the Tunisia revolt, Mandela’s hospital check, Kenya’s ICC turn around, Tanzania’s crack down on opposition demonstrations, the Sudan referendum, the crisis in Egypt and so much more. Here in Rwanda, the great exploits of the Under 17 football team easily outdid the tired line of the exiled fugitives and their attempts to destabilise Rwanda and earning themselves prison sentences even before they could write their party’s manifesto. On Friday, I personally experienced the onslaught of too much news when I realised that Al Jazeera was for hours screening live footage of the riots in Egypt’s major cities of Cairo, Alexandria and Suez. I found myself confined to the TV for hours fearing even to go for a short call just in case Hosni Mubarak fled while I was away. The events in Egypt simply brought light to the statement, “the revolution will be televised.” The events in Egypt are said to be a continuation of the Tunisian revolt, that saw their leader of 23yrs, Zine al-Abdine Ben Ali and his wife Leila fleeing like the proverbial chicken thieves. Of course after ousting a leader who had been at the helm for 23 years, it meant that Hosni Mubarak who is counting 30 years in power was in trouble and so are the leaders of Yemen, Jordan and other Arab nations. Although many political commentators clearly stated that Egypt was next, some doubted that the Tunisian flames would cross over to Egypt or at least that soon. As events unfold in Egypt and the Arab world in general there are very many lessons to learn for the East African Community. The good thing to note, though, is that some countries in the region are already aware of these lessons and have for ages been doing the right thing. The riots in Tunisia were sparked off by the brave act of self immolation by Mohammed Bouaziz, a disgruntled university graduate who set himself on fire in the town of Sidi Bouzid on 17 December. Bouaziz was frustrated by the fact that even with his university degree, he could not find a decent job and yet the authorities were also keen on stopping him from selling fruits to support his mother and siblings. The key lesson in all these events is that a growing young population that is unemployed is simply a time bomb waiting to go off. Institutionalised corruption serves like the fuel that compels the youth to take to the streets to express their distaste for the establishment. Coupled with poverty and the leaders losing touch with the populace, then you have a disaster in waiting. Therefore, much as the Jasmine revolution of Tunisia may sound romantic to political analysts, it is not that difficult to avoid. For example the government of Rwanda has done so much to fight corruption at all levels and for a long time. On the contrary the Tunisian leaders had spent years robbing the country. Actually the first lady Leila Trabelsi is said to have fled with bars of gold! The general feeling therefore, is that the government here is working for the people and understands their plight. Efforts to improve the lives of the citizens like the current campaign against grass-thatched housing popularly referred to as “Nyakatsi” is one clear example of what I am talking about. The other key lesson is for governments not to keep a distance from the ordinary people. This is why it is always nice to see President Kagame in the stadium watching football with other Rwandans or in the countryside, listening to ordinary people telling him their problems instead of waiting for reports from advisers and local leaders. The other important lesson that people could learn from all this, is that the time for governments being overthrown by rebels hiding in neighbouring countries is a little outdated. As Tunisia and Egypt have demonstrated, people know what they want and they will speak out without waiting for a saviour in the form of a Che Guevara from outside. ssenyonga@gmail.com