KIGALI – President Paul Kagame believes Rwanda’s next greatest threat may not come from across its borders, but from within, the moment Rwandans convince themselves that the country’s hardest battles have already been won.
Speaking at the closure of a dialogue of Unity Club members on Saturday evening, Kagame cautioned that complacency has a way of creating new problems just when old ones appear to have been overcome.
One of the recent examples for him was the re-emergence of discussions around clans, long after Rwanda had spent decades confronting the far more destructive divisions based on ethnicity and regional divisionism.
“Some of you are here or may have heard that recently people have moved beyond ethnicity and started talking about clans, Abakono and all that….. for me, that’s complacency,” he observed.
To the Head of State, this is not harmless social debate. It reflects what happens when societies become comfortable enough to invent new ways that separate people.
Having worked to overcome divisions based on ethnicity, he argued, Rwanda cannot afford to replace them with different identities that ultimately lead to the same destination.
“The other day it was Hutu and Tutsi. Before that, it was regions. Maybe next it will be religions. We are tired of this divisionism because we have already seen where it leads. It has never brought anything good,” he sternly warned.
Staying Ahead of History
President Paul Kagame speaking at the closure of a dialogue of Unity Club members.
Throughout his remarks, Kagame repeatedly returned to the principle that Rwanda’s greatest responsibility is to remain ahead of the forces that threaten its stability. That means refusing to wait until division has already taken root.
“You cannot achieve development while you still believe in divisionism. There are no two ways about it,” he noted.
The warning was directed not only at ordinary citizens but also at leaders, young people and older generations alike, each of whom, he said, carries responsibility for protecting the country’s unity.
“I know even those who do wrong most likely know it before they proceed. We just have to keep reminding ourselves. Everyone, whether young or old, has an important contribution to make,” Kagame remarked.
The Discipline of Ignoring Distraction
Kagame also urged Rwandans to stop exhausting themselves responding to critics who dismiss or belittle the country’s progress.
“There are people who will never appreciate what we have achieved and do not waste your energy fighting those who abuse or disrespect you. Our response should continue to be measured through results rather than arguments,” he said.
The philosophy, he suggested, has defined Rwanda’s recovery over the past three decades choosing steady progress over endless confrontation especially with its neighbours.
Traditionally, multiple armed groups and foreign forces have assembled near Rwanda’s borders in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) especially Goma with the intention of destabilizing the country.
But recently, Rwanda’s defence forces succeeded not only in protecting the country but even allowed their adversaries including European mercenaries and South African soldiers an opportunity to leave the battlefield.
External enemies may threaten Rwanda’s borders, but complacency threatens the values that allowed the country to rebuild after the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.
Divisionism, greed, disrespect and political intolerance usually begin quietly, often disguised as harmless conversations or misplaced confidence that the nation has become immune to the mistakes of its past.
But for a country whose history has repeatedly shown how small divisions can grow into national tragedies, protecting unity is not a task that ended in 1994. It is a responsibility that begins again every day.
