Tag: Rwanda

When Rwanda erupted into one of the most appalling cases of mass murder the world has ever witnessed in 1994, many thought that may be the end of that country. Many of the majority Hutu turned on their Tutsi and moderate Hutu neighbours, killing an estimated 800,000 people. It didn’t end there; it also created a huge refugee crisis when the Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF) troops entered Kigali, the capital. Hundreds of thousands, if not millions – mainly Hutus – fled to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), creating another crisis that lasted for years.

So, how was Rwanda able to turn the tide under twenty years? The answer lies in character education. For even the most casual of observers, there are striking similarities about what happened in Rwanda in most African countries including Nigeria. So, how Rwanda made it is today a case study on how it is now one of the choice tourism destinations in Africa

A number of measures were adopted. Rwanda consciously embarked on national integration and orientation rather than focus on reprisal attacks and vengeance. The British Guardian – during the commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the genocide – put it this way: “Born in the years since the genocide, children are educated in schools that are strongly encouraged to desist from using potentially divisive labels. Pupils are discouraged from identifying themselves as Hutu or Tutsi and are instead asked to focus on building the future of a common Rwanda. To this end, in 2001, the government unveiled a new flag and national anthem.”

Next was the establishment of special village courts called gacacas. With strong encouragement from the government, survivors across the country then accepted the perpetrators back into their communities. There are unbelievable stories – by African standards – where perpetrators and their victims now live side by side in peace and harmony. This is complemented by the practice of doing regular community work, which was grounded in the Rwandan tradition of ‘umuganda.’

This was reintroduced not only as part of the effort to rebuild the country, but as a way to foster a community spirit. Once a month, Rwandans are called upon to perform communal tasks such as building a house for the needy, laying a road and other activities that bind people together.

My intervention today is on the need for character education. Again, even the most casual observer knows that we have deep seated problems in Nigeria. Most of these problems are self-inflicted, endemic and systemic. Both the leadership and the led are guilty. Take a look around and tell me if you’re not embarrassed by some of the people elected, who now parade themselves as leaders.

I love what one church in Nigeria is doing. Knowing that it is most times difficult to change the views and perspective of full grown adults, it focuses instead on teenagers and young adults. It deploys huge resources in letting them know always that what they see around them daily is an aberration and not the norm. The church sometimes takes them on excursions to organised societies for them to have a practical sense of what they are being taught and encouraged to believe in. This, to me, is one of the best forms of character education.

Character education is a learning process that enables students and adults in a school community to understand, care about and take action on core ethical values such as respect, justice, civic virtue, citizenship, and responsibility for self and others. Upon such core values, attitudes and actions are formed, which then serve as the hallmark of safe, healthy and informed communities.

Character education lessons include universally accepted character traits or core values such as respect, honesty, responsibility, and fairness. Think of how you would want to be treated by others, and there’s a good chance those actions are part of a character education lesson. It is more than slogans as it strives to assist children to truly understand what good character traits are, and must help them think through how to live a life based on good traits. It equally focuses on teaching kids how to make good choices when faced with difficult situations.

Our nation is gradually falling apart because of gross character deficiency. Can we honestly say the majority are trustworthy, have respect for authority and each other, take responsibility, act fairly, are caring, and are good citizens of the country? We all know the answer. But these are the superstructure or pillar, which progressive societies rest upon. In essence, character education focuses on trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness/equity, caring and good citizenship.

These six pillars of character education include topics about being honest, doing what you say you will do, respect for others, using self-control, being accountable, playing by the rules, treating people fairly, forgiving others, and more.

We have a growing youth population whose world view are systematically being shaped by pervasive meaninglessness and twisted logic of crass materialism and demented social values. This should not be surprising because we have chosen the road of less resistance as we continually nurture anti-intellectual environment that glorifies everything, but learning. Even where we learn, some products of these learning are an apology. It was not the case two decades ago.

I believe that the moral and ethical challenge we have today can be effectively tackled through character education to save succeeding generations. We should imbibe character education because of the positive impact it would have toward a child’s emotional, moral, and intellectual development. I came across a research which indicated that schools that teach character education in one of the western countries report higher academic performance, improved attendance, reduced violence, fewer disciplinary issues, reduction in substance abuse, and less vandalism.

The research indicated further that students’ who attend character education schools report feeling safer because they know their fellow students value respect, responsibility, compassion and hard work. From a practical perspective, it’s simply easier to teach children who can exercise patience, self-control, and diligence than adults whose views and perspectives have been shaped and fixed.

It needs to be pointed out that no one is born with good character; it’s not a hereditary trait. And it is not determined by a single noble act. Character is established by conscientious adherence to moral values, not by lofty rhetoric or good intentions. Another way of saying that is, character is ethics in action.

In essence, character is both formed and revealed by how one deals with everyday situations as well as extraordinary pressures and temptations. Like a well-made tower, character is built stone by stone, decision by decision.

The way we treat people we think cannot help or hurt us – like housekeepers, waiters, and secretaries – tells more about our character than how we treat people we think are important. How we behave when we think no one is looking or when we do not think we will get caught more accurately portrays our character than what we say or do in service of our reputations.

Of course, our assessment of a person’s character is an opinion and it is not always right. Abraham Lincoln recognised an important difference between character and reputation. “Character,” he said “is like a tree and reputation like its shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.”

Because the shape of a shadow is determined by the angle of light and the perspective of the observer, it’s not a perfect image of the tree. In the same way, reputation is not always an accurate reflection of character. Oscar Wilde once said: “Sincerity is one of the most important qualities in a person. And once you can fake that you have it made.” This cynical quip explains why some people are able to create a much better reputation than they deserve. By the same token, there are others, who deserve better reputations than they have.

Though reputation is merely a perception it still has very significant real impact. Reputation is not only the result of what people think of us, it often determines what people, who do not know us think about us, treat us and whether we are held in high or low esteem.

A good reputation for integrity, for instance, is a primary determinant of credibility and trust, two very marketable assets.