Wisdom from Kagame’s Experience – A Model for Other Potential African Leaders By Akinbode A. Adedeji

 Wisdom from Kagame’s Experience – A Model for Other Potential African Leaders

I am not sure how many Nigerians know Paul Kagame - he is the president of Rwanda who just got re-elected with 99% of the vote cast for a third term. He was a former warlord that led the rebels to defeat the genocidal government in Rwanda in 1994. He was first a vice president from 1994 - 2000, and he has ruled Rwanda as president since 2000. He is praised by the international community for leading the effort to rebuild and reconcile Rwanda after the 1994 genocide that saw more than 1 million Rwandans, mostly of Tutsi tribe (Kagame's tribe) killed by their compatriots. Under Kagame, Rwanda is ranked as one of the fastest growing economies in the world - Rwanda does not have petroleum, he has diversified Rwanda's economy from just agriculture alone toward human capital base development, without neglecting agricultural production that is responsible for 44% of Rwanda’s GDP as of 2010. His government has completed over 2,300 km of tarred roads within Rwanda. Tourism is growing, and he has the vision to transform Rwanda into Africa’s ICT hub by 2020. Rwanda is ranked the 8th country on the Ease of Doing Business Index in 2012 from 158th in 2005. It is reported that private schools are closing in Rwanda because the quality of public schools exceeds those of some private schools. Rwanda has free education up to secondary school level, and Kagame has improved tertiary education offering by overseeing the establishment of 28 new universities since he became president in 2000 from just ONE they had previously. Literacy rate from age 15 above is 71% as of 2009.

He is modeling his developmental effort toward that of Singapore. Under Kagame, Rwanda's GDP rose from about $1.78 billion in 2000 to over $8.4 billion in 2017, and the GDP  per capita increased from about $201 in the year 2000 to almost $765 in 2017 (https://tradingeconomics.com/rwanda/gdp-per-capita). In response to shortages in medical practitioners, Rwanda launched a $152 million effort to train medical professionals. What can Nigeria and Nigerians learn from Rwanda's experience under Kagame?

1.      You cannot lead if you are not willing to jettison ethnic bigotry. Kagame had every reason to witch-hunt the Hutu majority that killed more than 1 million Tutsi, his kinsmen in one of the most terrible conflicts of the 20th century. He has led the effort to reconcile his country and it is flourishing. In spite of the 1994 genocide, Rwanda is one of the leading tourist attraction in Central Africa. Kagame has not been perfect in this process though – there are accusations of opposition suppression, Rwanda is a one-party state, but he has been praised for making a sincere effort to develop and reconcile Rwanda. One of the signs was that he abolished the death penalty, which he could have used to kill his "enemies".

2.      It really does not matter how long a leader stays in office, so long as he is delivering to his people, it might be ok. The US used to have more than 2 terms for its president. Franklin D. Roosevelt of America served 4 terms from 1933 - 1945 before the law was changed. Roosevelt led America to stardom during the second world war. Kagame has the overwhelming support of his people because he delivering on every front and keep voting yes to have him lead.

3.      There is something about youthfulness in leadership. Kagame became the president of Rwanda as a young 43 years old man, having served as vice president from age 37. Nigeria needs young people to lead. We do not need any more of these old men who have no record of outstanding achievement in office. Why should we be considering people like Atiku (who cannot explain the source of his wealth) or El-Rufai (a man who condoned genocide and his only solution is to appease criminals with tax payers money; scars of his leadership as FCT Abuja Minister is still there - landed properties for his family members is alleged) or Bukola Saraki (who we know is a green snake under the green grass with so many baggages like Savanah bank bankruptcy, destruction of Intercontinental bank, forgery allegation on house rule that enthroned him as Senate President, lack of will to support the anti-corruption effort of Buhari because of his own personal skeleton, etc.), when we have the likes of former governor Peter Obi of Anambra state who turned the fortune of Anambra state around, Fashola of Lagos state, Nuhu Ribadu – a man with impeccable record of fight against corruption and a sound lawyer (in spite of his political prostitution: PDP to ACN [now APC] to PDP), Fashola of Lagos state or Pat Utomi, a man who has predicted more than 20 years ago with almost pinpoint accuracy what will become of us economically if certain measures were not taken or Ben Murray Bruce or even Madam Gele-Okonjo Iweala in spite of her not so stellar performance under GEJ – she led Nigeria’s economic team under the watchful eye of OBJ to complete payment of our national debt that had become a burden for decades, foreign reserve increased, Nigeria flourished at $50/barrel of petroleum sale or Madam “#bringbackourgirls” –Ezekwezili, etc. Most of these men and women are between 40 and 60 years. There are many more rising stars in the public and private sectors that we need to discover or emerge. Nigeria must get it right in 2019 for it not to disintegrate and become the laughing stock we already are, because “judgment day” is coming for a nation that would not take advantage of vast resources it has, top of which is its people. Nigerians are stars all over the world – especially here in America but our nation decay because we have not had leaders with vision, capacity, will and discipline to lead.

4.      Rwanda’s growth is not based on foreign aids, it is based on concerted effort, devoid of bias to grow a nation to what it should be. They have looked inward and partnered with the right countries who truly want to help them grow, and the results are there to see because Rwanda is growing. Rwanda is a landlocked country with a population of just 11 million people, yet they are powerful economically, politically and military – Kagame was the one that led the effort that toppled Mobutu of Zaire and later Kabila before he struck peace with Kabila. They are so small in number and land area, yet they are powerful (https://www.google.com/maps/place/Rwanda/@-2.7610697,25.6554157,6z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x19c29654e73840e3:0x7490b026cbcca103!8m2!3d-1.940278!4d29.873888). Their might is in their head, their belief in God’s given capacity to turn what they have into what they need.

5.      You do not need a Harvard education to lead – all you need is to be able to read and write, and develop the right passion to grow your intellectual capacity. From what I read from my research on Kagame, he only had a high school education but he has taught himself in life many lessons through hard work and dedication. He was a brilliant student though he became rebellious after the death of his father when he was just 16. He did not lose his vision of leading his people though. His elementary education started in a refugee camp in Uganda and all his education were in the same country Uganda. We need people who have Ph.D. in life education, those who have spent the time to study their country to understand its dynamic to lead effectively. We no longer need Ph.D. holders who cannot answer simple elementary questions to lead, we do not need retired uneducated military generals whose only goal is to lead by all means, who have no plan nor understand Nigeria – rather they seek power to perpetuate what divides us and are not pursuing things that can unite us to be the country we should be.

Kagame has not been a perfect leader for Rwanda but he is a STAR in Africa, before the international community and majority of his people. We need to enthrone our own Kagame in Nigeria so the good days we yawn for can come upon us quickly before it is too late.

Selected Sources:

1. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/aug/05/paul-kagame-secures-third-term-in-rwanda-presidential-election
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Kagame
3.  http://www.statistics.gov.rw/statistical-publications/subject/gross-domestic-product-%28gdp%29
4. https://tradingeconomics.com/rwanda/gdp
5. https://tradingeconomics.com/rwanda/gdp-per-capita