Smarting from the 1994 genocide that killed millions and attracted worldwide outcry, Rwanda is rebuilding and has so much to teach Nigeria, reports Sunday Oguntola, who visited the capital city of Kigali, recently.
The eerie feeling is so unmistakable. It is palpable right from the expansive entrance. Visitors from around the globe have always felt much the same with each trip. This Wednesday afternoon, they walked quietly into the facility, pondering over the incident that preceded its erection.
Everyone was engrossed, struggling hard to take in the ugly incident. Welcome to the Kigali Genocide Memorial Park where over 250,000 Rwandans were given a mass burial following the 1994 genocide that consumed over two million Tutsis.
The park, located at the heart of Kigali Business District, represents, in so many ways, the grass-to-grace story of Rwanda. Opened in 1999, the centre finally took off in 2004 to stand as a memorial for the dark years of the East African nation and pass on a strong message to generations unborn never to allow such tragedy to repeat itself.
While many Rwandans are reluctant to discuss details of the genocide, the memorial stands as a constant reminder, chronicling the history of the nation and how colonial powers planted the seed of ethnicity that eventually led to the 1994 genocide saga. The children section is arguably the most chilling with records of kids massacred during the incident.
Echoes of genocide
Rwandans are embarrassed, even scandalised, by the incident. This explains why they are reluctant to recall the details. Kantengwa Francoise, whose father was killed during the three-month madness, stated that it was an episode that happened to their utter shame. “We wished it never happened,” she began. “We often wonder how we ever got there. It makes us ashamed that we treated ourselves as animals, leading to needless deaths.” At the height of the killings, she was smuggled through Congo Brazzaville to Belgium where she remained until 2000.
Sam Karara, a clearing and forwarding agent, said the incident was most regrettable and nerve-wrecking. But painful as it was, he is indisposed to recalling the chilling experience. “There is absolutely no need to go back there. It is better forgotten. Some things are just what they are. It (genocide) was an experience we should forget and move on,” he said.
Like him, most Rwandans are in a hurry to move beyond the incident. But hard as they try, the record is always there for everyone to see. An incident that accounted for the death of millions with mass burials in different parts of the country cannot just be wished away. That is what the memorial park sees to.
The brutal killings continue to reverberate throughout the world. They were more chilling considering how many kids were massacred. David Mugiranza was a buoyant 10-year-old whose dream was to be a doctor. He was butchered to death in his native village. His recorded last word was “The UN Army will come for us.” The United Nations army never came until death came knocking.
A grenade was thrown into the building where Irene Umutomi, 6, and her parents were killed. Shortly before her death, she was reported to have said: “A militia man came up to kill me. I was astonished because he was a friend. He was working for my father and was always coming every day to eat. I asked why he wanted to kill me but he hit me with a big stick.”
According to the park guide, who simply identified himself as Dennis, “people had no other work or preoccupation for the three months other than killing”. When the dust settled, millions of Tutsis had been wiped out. The nooks and crannies of Rwanda were simply reeking of blood. Million others became refugees, making the country one of the biggest contributors to the refugee crisis in those years.
Never again
Video records at the memorial park showed many awful and inhuman methods of extermination adopted by Hutu extremists during the genocide. But despite the monumental harvest of deaths and devastations, Rwanda is rising again. The nation is rebuilding massively to the envy of the international community. It is shedding the toga of genocide and media stereotype of a war-torn nation.
This is all evident from the Kigali International Airport. Visitors are welcomed to a sweet aroma oozing from the well-kept facility. Though small by every standard of an international airport, services at the airport are most satisfying and stress-free. Officials went out of their way to leave a lasting impression of a lovely country in the hearts of travellers. At a time when national carriers are giving way to private investors, Rwand Air is a shining example of a national business that works. The airline is expanding its continental and international flights, winning incredible traffic to the country.
Rwand Air recently added the Boeing 737-700NG to its expanding fleet. There are plans to also add bigger airplanes, an indication that business is looking up for the fledging national carrier. The story of Rwand Air is a constant feature in the former war-torn nation. Industries and companies are springing up, especially from the Middle East, bringing millions of dollars to the import-driven economy.
Away with tribalism and ethnicity
The 1994 genocide was caused by well-oiled machinery that thrived on tribal sentiments and resentment. This had been the bane of Rwanda, an otherwise homogenous nation. This deep-seated tribalism is one challenge Rwanda has been addressing right from the root.
To make administration of the country convenient, the Belgian colonialists introduced a deadly system of divide-and-rule that pitched Rwandans against one another. The seed of discords was consolidated in 1932 when the colonial authorities introduced a national identity card based on ethnic standings. The classification was as artificial as callous. Rwandans had always been one and the same people. They all speak Kinyarwanda, proving there was no distinction among them.
But all these changed when the colonialists created tribal divisions among an otherwise homogenous people. Those who owned up to 10 cows were marked as Tutsis while those with less than 10 cows were classified as Hutu.
This social stratification deepened in 1932 when the first population counting indirectly recorded the Tutsis as constituting just 15 percent as against the 84 percent allocated to the Hutus. The Twa were just a meagre 1percent, according to the exercise.
This created the seed of tribal suspicion and acrimony that led to the genocide after years of bitter bickering. To redress such deep-seated tribal sentiments and allegiance, the government has embarked on massive reorientation to take a stand against organised killing of any form throughout Rwanda.
Every Rwandan has bought into the message that genocide or organised killings must never be recorded again in the nation of a thousand hills, as the country is widely known. It is a message that resonates and strikes the right chord in an average Rwandan. “We are all resolute no such killings will take place in any part of Rwanda again,” Karara stated.
It is a resolution that is backed with appropriate actions and policies. In Rwanda of today, ethnic discrimination and racial imbalances have been totally eradicated. It is a direction charted by the government through stringent legislations. The government has criminalised genocide ideology, which can include intimidation, defamatory speeches, genocide denial and mocking of victims. It is a law in principle and practice.
For example, it is highly punishable to refer to anybody as Tutsi or Hutu. Such comments are condemned as tribal and deadly. “If you are reported and found to have made such ethnic remarks, you are in serious troubles,” Patrick Nkubana stated.
That is obliterating all tribal sentiments among Rwandans. Increasingly, they are seeing one another as one and relating as such. There is a collective resolve to get rid of every toga of tribalism among Rwandans.
Perhaps the most commendable measure taken against tribalism in Rwanda is the expulsion of the place of origin slot from the constitution. It is the equivalent of the state of origin classification highly entrenched in Nigeria.
“Rwandans are not Tutsi, Hutu or Twa. We are simply Rwandans. We are not interested in the province or district where anyone of us originates from. What matters is that we are Rwandans,” Sam Kwizera, a journalist, maintained.
He is on the same page with many Rwandans. It has become not only illegal but also punishable to demand the origin of any Rwandan prior to employment, enrolment or enjoyment of any social infrastructure. For them, the Federal Character or Quota System holds no waters. They just consider themselves as Rwandans.
This orientation has helped to reintegrate survivors of the deadly genocide into the mainstream society. Refugees are returning in droves almost every day without fear of molestation or discrimination. Perpetrators of genocide and hate sponsors are being prosecuted to deafening applause from the populace.
To reassure Rwandans of his commitment to preventing future occurrence of the genocide President Paul Kagame visits the memorial every year to commemorate the event. He delivers inspiring speeches and puts up the burning flame as a mark of respect to the memories of the departed.
All of these measures are reinvigorating confidence in the country. “We are on our way to the top again,” Kwizera stressed. This nationalistic spirit is uniting the people and lifting the nation out of the doldrums. Though industrialisation is far from impressive, infrastructural upgrade is moving at a remarkable pace. This is attracting firms and encouraging trading.
Infrastructural upgrade
With well-tarred and maintained road networks, the city of Kigali is a beauty to behold. Traffic move freely, saving manpower and labour hours. At nights, street lights enable vehicles to drive without headlamps. The 1.1 million residents of Kigali move around at night without fear or hindrance. This allows businesses to run round the clock and provide services to expanding clients.
The power situation is almost impeccable. For over a week, the reporter observed only an incidence of outage that lasted for less than an hour. Businesses operate without generators, drastically reducing production costs. More cottage industries are opening up and are run by the many fresh graduates in the country.
While Nigeria is vacillating on pre-paid metres, Rwandans have been enjoying the facility for years. Electricity consumers are on pay-as-you-use basis, eliminating corruption and other sharp practices prevalent in Nigeria’s power sector.
Owing to constant power supply, the hospitality sector is simply soaring with hotels and other recreation centres opening up the city. Nearly every corner in Kigali has at least a hotel, though many are not of international standard.
Fortified and secured
Tourists and visitors are flocking to the East African nation, especially during summer. Memorial parks and monuments are heavily managed to attract international tourists. But all of these would have been counter-productive had security remained a mirage. Taught a hard lesson during the genocide and the preceding years, the Rwanda government has tightened security around the country to prevent internal and external aggression.
Strategic locations in the hilly capital city are manned by soldiers strictly preoccupied by providing security as against harassing unarmed citizens. They stand day and night with arms to assure citizens of their impenetrable security dragnets. The citizenry enjoy a robust relationship with the operatives, even exchanging pleasantries with them at the slightest opportunity.
Community policing advocated by a section of Nigerians has become entrenched in Rwanda. Members of the local vigilance groups are easily seen at nights with only sticks as their weapons. They traverse every community, making sure every insecurity threat is nipped in the bud. This arrangement has reduced armed robberies to near zero. Rwandans boast no armed robber can survive a five-minute operation in any part of Kigali without being caught. This allows them to sleep with their eyes closed, completely unafraid.
Dealing with corruption
In Rwanda, corruption is never treated with kid’s gloves. Penultimate weekend, President Kagame pardoned several former cabinet members who were sacked for corrupt practice. Most public office holders sit up and avoid corruption charges like a plague.
The Transparency International ranked Rwanda as the eighth cleanest out of 47 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa and 66th cleanest out of 178 in the world in 2010. Rwandans have a simple process of lodging corruption charges against office holders. A simple complaint, written or verbal, to the powerful Ombudsman, will not only elicit comprehensive investigations but most likely prosecution in the country.
In terms of cleanliness, Kigali scores a big mark. From the Kigali International airport, one is welcomed by a fresh, reinvigorating, clean air difficult to find in many urban cities. From Kicukiro to Gikondo and other parts of the city, it is cleanliness all the way. It is hard to find dirt and wastes on the road. Drainages are free of blockages, partly because nylon packages are not allowed in Rwanda.
All of these strides are attributable to the strong leadership offered by Kagame. The president, a former Rwandan Patriotic Force (RPF) leader, was re-elected for another seven-year term in 2010. He won by a landslide, a huge testimony to his wide popularity and acceptance by Rwandans.
Many of them who spoke with the reporter described the President in glowing terms. “We love him with our lives,” Karara stressed. They said his ability to steer the nation away from tribal killings to rapid development stands him out as a leader par excellence. The giant stride Rwanda is taking confirms they are not far from the truth.
Though a tiny country with just over 12 million people with only tea and coffee as export products, Rwanda indeed has so much to teach big brother Nigeria.
