The road to Kigali
By Reuben Abati

I have just returned from Rwanda: a post-conflict society in transition, and I am angry with Nigeria. Fourteen years ago, Rwanda, former Belgian colony was a killing field; in the night of April 6, 1994 alone, about 800, 000 Rwandese: men, women children were killed in one of the worst genocides in recent history. Blood flowed freely on the streets of Kigali and other parts of the country. But today there is no trace of war on the streets of Rwanda except perhaps outside Kigali and may be on the walls of the parliament building at Ministeri, with bullet holes which have deliberately been left as reminders of that country's encounter with the beast in human nature.

The Rwandese have been able to hide the scars of war, and build a new society that works[b]. Twenty nine years after its own civil war, Nigeria has refused to function. It carries on as if it is still in a state of war.[/b] Nigeria is a perfect example of a failed post-conflict society, the difference between it and Rwanda is to be sought in the arena of leadership. The Hotel des Mille Collines where I stayed and all the roads leading to it and virtually every other section of Kigali from Kacyiru to Remera, to Gachuriro to Nyatarama to Nyamirando, Kimironko, Kimiurura and Kibagabaga were major battlegrounds, they were all littered with bodies that were later eaten up by dogs: broken dreams and lives. But today, the nation of a thousand hills has cleaned up the mess of war.

Hotel des Milles Collines, the same hotel in the famous film Hotel Rwanda, is undergoing renovation, its notorious swimming pool which stranded citizens turned into a source of drinking water during the war, is boarded off, across the city, there is so much serenity. A Ministry of Public Infrastructure ensures that basic necessities that constitute a source of agony in Nigeria, serve as true evidence of how well Rwanda has been able to confront its problems. There are no potholes on the roads, electricity supply is taken for granted, 24/7 all year-round, there is pipe borne water. The whole city is littered with trees and in both poor and rich neighbourhoods, there is a sense of human dignity, The use of polythene nylon is forbidden in Rwanda, and so there are no pure water sachets littering the streets. The city is so squeaky clean it is embarrassing. I looked for the mountains of dirt that dot the Nigerian landscape, I could only see heights and valleys and a disciplined and safe society where people can walk about in the dead of the night and not fear any attack. I looked forward to power outage but that did not happen. Even the market at Kimironko is so organized I dare not compare it with any of the mad quarters we call markets in Nigerian towns and cities. The rich neighbourhoods of Gachuriro and Nyaratarama are so well laid out, they make many of Nigeria's rich neighbourhoods look like slums.

And yet this is in a landlocked country of 9 million people who after independence in 1959 began to play the politics of hate that would lead to a sad explosion on April 6, 1994 shortly after the plane carrying then President Juvenal Habyarimana crashed. Habyarimana was a Hutu.


Twenty nine years after its own civil war, Nigeria is yet to recover. Rwanda is still mired in the febrile politics of the Great Lakes region but it has made much better effort at dealing with citizenship and identity questions at home.

Public officials are efficient; they do not solicit for bribe. The policemen dress smartly, and they do not harass citizens or visitors with rifles. I looked for policemen without shoes or without caps or with dirty, torn uniforms, I couldn't find any. They have okada in Rwanda too. But every okada man wears a uniform and even the helmets have contact telephone numbers inscribed on them. The motorcycles in Rwanda carry only one passenger at a time, and I did not see any passenger refusing to use the safety helmet, or anyone relieving their bowels by the roadside.

I have heard the argument that the reason Nigerians are difficult and ungovernable is because they live under harsh conditions. In Rwanda Value Added Tax is 18%, PAYE is 30%, rent is between $200 - $300 per month, for a modest three-bedroom house, a sim card (MTN or Rwanda Cell) is 1,000 FRW (N250). But the people obey the law [/b]and every evening they troop out to the many bars and restaurants in Kigali to enjoy their Mutzig (tastes like Star) or Primus (tastes like Gulder) Beer. Rwanda is something of a police state. T[b]he government does not tolerate corruption, there is a National Office of the Ombudsman which protects national integrity; misdemeanours are harshly punished, and the Tax Office, the Rwanda Revenue Authority (RRA), is super-efficient. Every Rwandese pays tax, and each one of them has a National Identity Card. Nigerians don't like to pay tax. The country's National Identity Card Scheme is the biggest scam of the decade.

Twenty nine years after Nigeria's civil war, its people are still trapped in ethnic empires and the most vicious fights are those involving primordial ethnic sentiments. Rwanda's ethnic differentiation is so easy to decipher by just looking at the people's physiognomy. The Tutsi are mostly slim, tall, with straight noses and tender features, the Hutus have typically African features, broad, squat, with flat noses, the Twa are short, like the pygmies of Congo. The government may have tried to legislate against ethnic identity but I doubt if this can erase the people's deep psychological scars. It is difficult to legislate a people's memory out of existence, under a cloak of officially sanctioned political correctness. Mr Maborukoje keeps a dog as pet, but he says the Rwandese do not have dogs in their homes: "dogs ate up the dead during their war."

Twenty nine years after its civil war, Nigeria has no museum anywhere documenting this important aspect of its national history. The Rwandese have documented their own history through three national museums. I visited the Kigali Memorial Centre, the genocide museum, where through pictures, words, images, concrete signs and mass graves containing 280, 000 unidentified victims, the Rwandese tell the story of their lives and the evil of genocide as a universal concern.

This is the major challenge that the Kagame government faces. Will Rwanda's political elite consider Rotational Presidency and a policy of Proportional Representation as they pilot their nation through a season of transition? I left Rwanda feeling despondent. When Nigerians refer to themselves as "the giants of Africa", they should take a second look at the mirror. They should visit other African countries and see how far behind we are. Rwanda proves the point that a society, no matter the problems it faces, can be made to work efficiently, by a committed and enlightened leadership. Nigeria continues to search for such leadership.

http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/editorial_opinion/article02//indexn2_html?pdate=200209&ptitle=The%20road%20to%20Kigali

This is an African country coming out of civil war, but can still get a few things right. Why can't we do this in Nigeria? 

Probably Nigeria should tow the line of Rwanda before we realize the true state of failure existing in the country?

I'm not saying that, but it seems Rwanda is getting it's act together after facing much worse problems compared to Nigeria, with a smaller resource base as well. Why can't we harness our own potentials?

TalkSmith:

Probably Nigeria should tow the line of Rwanda before we realize the true state of failure existing in the country?

Your comment shows that you dont know anything about the Biafran/nigerian civil war unlike Rwandans.

Nigeria had already towed that line but will always refuse to make the best out of anything; good or bad.
Rwanda is massively progressing cos they used the ugly side of the genocide to unite themselves, while their nigerian counterparts keep churning out lies about the genocide on Biafrans.
Even at this age, some top nigerian leaders boast publicly of how they massacred Biafrians.

Shame.

As for Abati, I dont take him seriously anymore.

nigeria has really not learned much from its past.

Even angola is progressing.

nuzo:

Your comment shows that you dont know anything about the Biafran/nigerian civil war unlike Rwandans.

Typical Nigerian! Quick to open his gob and spit out nonsense. If we had the Biafran war, what progress has it brought unto us unlike what is obtainable with Rwanda today? Has it made any lasting realization on the need for development in Nigeria?

While I share your sentiments on Reuben Abati and his penchant for land acquisition and brown envelopes, I am quick to remind myself, that it is not about the messenger, rather it is about the message. Spare yourself the same thought.

Was the message well delivered? YES!

TalkSmith:

Typical Nigerian! Quick to open his gob and spit out nonsense. If we had the Biafran war, what progress has it brought unto us unlike what is obtainable with Rwanda today? Has it made any lasting realization on the need for development in Nigeria?

This was your comment:

TalkSmith:

Probably Nigeria should tow the line of Rwanda before we realize the true state of failure existing in the country?

It was more of a question to the message than a statement. So, why blame me for commenting according to what you put down.
Maybe next time, you should try hard to convey exactly your thoughts in your comments. Im no prophet.

While I share your sentiments on Reuben Abati and his penchant for land acquisition and brown envelopes, I am quick to remind myself, that it is not about the messenger, rather it is about the message. Spare yourself the same thought.

Was the message well delivered? YES!

No doubt, the message was well delivered. Am not argueing that.

However, just like you believe in messages without regards to the messenger, thats how i believe in "he who comes to equity must come with clean hands", "he who lives in glass house must not throw stones".

I even used another paragraph to comment on his person and not his message.

Typical Nigerian! Quick to open his gob and spit out nonsense. If we had the Biafran war, what progress has it brought unto us unlike what is obtainable with Rwanda today? Has it made any lasting realization on the need for development in Nigeria?

If after the biafran war progress was not brought into nigeria what makes you think another was is going to bring progress into nigeria   More like another war will bring the eventual collapse of nigeria.

debosky:

Twenty nine years after its own civil war, Nigeria has refused to function. It carries on as if it is still in a state of war.

Wetin Abati dey yearn? No be 39years after civil war he suppose talk? Or the issue of the land don dey worry am?

My calculator says na 39years e be after civil war of 1970.

[size=14pt][center]Oh well, Mr Abati, how far with Abuja Land now?[/center][/size]

BOSS what is ur own? cant he give discount again. at least he got a discount on his land so why cant he return the favor.

@ BOSS

focus on the subject matter, not Abati.

There is something fundamentally wrong with the way we are doing things if we can't even seem to make progress given all our inherent advantages. Why can't we get things straight? The article posits that it is due to poor leadership - is that the problem?

Is poor leadership the reason why okada men in Lagos defecate by the roadside? Or is it the cause of so many people not paying tax?

debosky:

@ BOSS

focus on the subject matter, not Abati.

There is something fundamentally wrong with the way we are doing things if we can't even seem to make progress given all our inherent advantages. Why can't we get things straight? The article posits that it is due to poor leadership - is that the problem?

Is poor leadership the reason why okada men in Lagos defecate by the roadside? Or is it the cause of so many people not paying tax?

I totally agree,

but i bet some would argue that its because the 'leadership' aka government didnt provide public bathrooms thats why they do their BS by the road side. they might even go further and argue that, even if there were public bathrooms. the people are too poor to afford to pay to use them. Nonsense! always giving excuses for everything they know should not be.

asha 80:



If after the biafran war progress was not brought into nigeria what makes you think another was is going to bring progress into nigeria   More like another war will bring the eventual collapse of nigeria.

I do no think so. It is easier to destroy, than to build. If what we have on ground is not working, development is not staring at us vividly in the face, why continue with the system? Is there any point to it?

nuzo:

This was your comment: It was more of a question to the message than a statement. So, why blame me for commenting according to what you put down.
Maybe next time, you should try hard to convey exactly your thoughts in your comments. Im no prophet.

Sir, maybe next time, you should request I make clear my thoughts with my comments rather than corner my inputs into a box. I would have gladly obliged doing that. If you had paid note, I had an emoticon expressing ''an indecision'' to my statement which meant that my input was not conclusive and still a subject of deliberation within me.

Oh well!

Cheers.

I do no think so. It is easier to destroy, than to build. If what we have on ground is not working, development is not staring at us vividly in the face, why continue with the system? Is there any point to it?

Then what do you think is going to spur that development?

debosky:

@ BOSS

focus on the subject matter, not Abati.

There is something fundamentally wrong with the way we are doing things if we can't even seem to make progress given all our inherent advantages. Why can't we get things straight? The article posit that it is due to poor leadership - is that the problem?

Is poor leadership the reason why okada men in Lagos defecate by the roadside? Or is it the cause of so many people not paying tax?

@ Debosky

When it comes to taxes, I think Abati might have got this one right. In developed countries, people are forced to pay their taxes and they are well aware of the implications if they don’t. So I’ll say the messenger hit the bulls eyes with that point. I remember my dog trainer once told me that had he known earlier on, he’d had lied to the government and rather than declare his real earnings.

Disclaimer. I guess I still have every right to shoot the messenger for his lack of trust so far and refusing to speak to his readers when they need him most.

Sincerely,I'm finding it difficult to take Abati writings/opinions seriously again.
I'm also still waiting for Segun Adeniyi to end his tenure with Yar'adua and come back to criticize government on newspaper pages again

No society can be flourishing and happy, of which the greater part of the
members are poor and miserable.

@ BOSS
I hear your disclaimer loud and clear, you're fully within your rights.

Now back to the subject.

We need our tax system firmed up seriously. I believe this is one area in which we are severely lacking. When you don't think your money is involved, you won't really care. I think it could help ginger more people to care about governance.

After the civil war, I believe there was a theme 'no victor, no vanquished'. That is to say, no winners no losers. Is this the reason why there is no memorial to the Civil War? I know we have armed forces remembrance day, but nothing to remember ordinary people who would have lost their lives in the war and all that. I find it curious that you hear little about this important subject in school.

Why bury our history? Failure to learn from history only leads to it's repetition.

debosky:

@ BOSS

focus on the subject matter, not Abati.

There is something fundamentally wrong with the way we are doing things if we can't even seem to make progress given all our inherent advantages. Why can't we get things straight? The article posits that it is due to poor leadership - is that the problem?

Is poor leadership the reason why okada men in Lagos defecate by the roadside? Or is it the cause of so many people not paying tax?

lol lol i tire o,what has abati got to do with the situation in nigeria

however back to the topic, i disagree with the over used notion of poor leadership,while we are quick to blame the political leadership,when they are campaigning,we will collect billions from them before voting , so why wouldnt they get there and start looting to recover their losses?

how many of us both home and abroad obey simple traffic rules while in nigeria,throw rubbish out of the window e.t.c
how many of us are truelly patriotic without aligning with our various tribes at the hint of any debate or argument?

lastly how many of us abroad are truelly committed to seeing true change and not grandstanding all the time and patronising us including my way or the highway syndrome, they know themselves and are lurking around lol

lucabrasi:

lol lol i tire o,what has abati got to do with the situation in nigeria

however back to the topic, i disagree with the over used notion of poor leadership,while we are quick to blame the political leadership,when they are campaigning,we will collect billions from them before voting , so why wouldnt they get there and start looting to recover their losses?

how many of us both home and abroad obey simple traffic rules while in nigeria,throw rubbish out of the window e.t.c
how many of us are truelly patriotic without aligning with our various tribes at the hint of any debate or argument?

lastly how many of us abroad are truelly committed to seeing true change and not grandstanding all the time and patronising us including my way or the highway syndrome, they know themselves and are lurking around lol

name names jo!

back to topic.

You disagree with the leadership notion - what if that is the agent of 'change' causing a difference in Rwanda? Should that be disregarded?

People collecting 'billions' from candidates is a bit wide of the mark IMO, most of that money goes to the riggers/thugs, not to the electorate. In any case, doesn't it show a failure of leadership, at least in the political organs/structures/parties we have? If the candidates that keep coming out are these money seeking ones, why can't our political organs correct this and begin to produce more credible candidates like Oshiomole and Utomi?

Have we solved the problem of citizenship yet? Do our votes count?
When are we going to end the slavish dependence on oil alone?

the day we get those three right we'd be far better than Kigali.

debosky:

Is poor leadership the reason why okada men in Lagos defecate by the roadside? Or is it the cause of so many people not paying tax?

It's part of it. If the head gets infected, the foot might decay.

Nigeria's problem is a complex one.
I don't even know where to start. The natural resources we have got in Nigeria is our greatest undoing.
Over reliance on OIL has made us lazy compared to other African states who don't export oil.
Besides, our leaders are just I just can't think of any solution to that country(i am afraid).

Nigeria has really not learned much from its past.

And its still not learning anyting at all, even now

Nigeria is a sorry country. Too good Rwanda is making it and too bad she is not. Giant of Africa indeed.

Baboonic Leaders!

*Hauwa*:

Nigeria is a sorry country. Too good Rwanda is making it and too bad she is not. Giant of Africa indeed.

Baboonic Leaders!

The Tutsis and the Hutus have now pulled themselves together and things are working.
It's about time Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba follow suit but would they??
I think some people get paid with the sorry state Nigeria has found itself.

debosky:

name names jo!

back to topic.

You disagree with the leadership notion - what if that is the agent of 'change' causing a difference in Rwanda? Should that be disregarded?

People collecting 'billions' from candidates is a bit wide of the mark IMO, most of that money goes to the riggers/thugs, not to the electorate. In any case, doesn't it show a failure of leadership, at least in the political organs/structures/parties we have? If the candidates that keep coming out are these money seeking ones, why can't our political organs correct this and begin to produce more credible candidates like Oshiomole and Utomi?

dont even start any rumble in the jungle here o,they attack in packs and i dont want wahala

you are right but remember nigeria and rwanda have different sociological and pshycological issues,before we even look at the different politics,i am saying a buttom up approach will be catalytic in not only solving the problems of patriotism and real committment from us average nigerians,but been united in our resolve to fight the powers at the top.

you think so,i implore you to follow an electoral aspirant around for a week and see how much they spend on campaigns,presently now if you want to be a governor and you dont have billions,forget about it,most of the money goes to the riggers and thugs,but the 500 nairas goes to the average voter as well,they have the mind set that they want their reward here and now and not waiting for the leader to emerge,dericas of rice every week,cows,rams  e.t.c i could go on,once we start to reject this and actually vote our conscience,why would an aspirant need to do deals with the devil/godfathers when he/she know that they dont need to break the bank to contest.

there should be ibternal democracy and parties should sponsor candidates rather than candidates having to sponsor themselves,this will make them more accountable to the party members who sponsored them in like the system practised in the uk

Have we solved the problem of citizenship yet? Do our votes count?
When are we going to end the slavish dependence on oil alone?

the day we get those three right we'd be far better than Kigali.

GBAM!

.

Kigali is the capital of Rwanda, did Abati go to other areas?
I would assume Nigeria was the best place on earth if i only visited Asokoro and Gwagwalada.

tpia:

I'm sure more Rwandans would rather be Nigerians, warts and all, than the other way round. God forbid a genocide of such proportions should happen again in Nigeria or anywhere else in Africa. Same thing happened in Namibia.

Based on what? Reality of life in Nigeria or some overblown 'giant of Africa' notion? What in your opinion would make Rwandans want to be Nigerians?

Your reference to Namibia is puzzling - the only 'genocide' I know of was carried out by the Germans in 1904-1907, not by rival tribes against each other. Can you please clarify?

That kind of efficiency isnt what should be emulated. Rwanda has always been an efficient country- thats how they were able to differentiate themselves into Hutu and Tutsi and effect the killings so ruthlessly like nazis. They were reading out victims names on the radio and listing the ones still at large, during the killing spree. Encouraging others to hunt them down. And even if you didnt want to be a part of the killings, you had to, because they kept very detailed lists of everyone in each neighborhood and noted if they got involved or not. If you insisted you didnt want to murder, then you were murdered as well.

and the peace there has always been cyclical anyway.

Are you implying that the country will still fall into another cycle of violence? If your assertion that they have always been efficient is true, at least that energy is being channelled into achieving an orderly society. Tribal references are also being toned down to achieve unity. Why can't we do likewise?

@ David

I suspect that might be the great flaw in Abati's analysis, but he does make it clear that a lot of it is in relation to Kigali.

Now speaking about Abuja, I don't agree - Policemen still accept bribe in Abuja and power outages happen as well. Okadas might be banned, but I'm sure some idiots still defecate in public in Abuja

must_a_far:

but i bet some would argue that its because the 'leadership' aka government didnt provide public bathrooms thats why they do their BS by the road side. they might even go further and argue that, even if there were public bathrooms. the people are too poor to afford to pay to use them. Nonsense! always giving excuses for everything they know should not be.

If the government is working Okada man will not act that way believe me. The Govt, can make law but they don't  enforce it. People litter the street even in the west but if they are caught they will be fined. Who catches them? not fellow street users but Govt agents(might be paid officers or Camera). Who will catch okada man when he acts nobody. So the govt failed to put in place what with check those acts thats why they take the blame.

Nigerian problem is too complex that nobody knows where to start addressing it. If we can correct the citadel of justice first we might have a chance to correct other areas. Who will correct it will be the next question that comes to mind. Again we cannot achieve anything without UNITY. We have been skipping that for a long time, we all shout One Nigeria which we know within ourselves that such doesn't exist. If we can do things by merit and quota we might as well have a chance of meeting up with other countries like Rwanda(pathetic we are trying to be like Rwanda) again can we take the line of merit? not in the near future.

Since we cannot vote them in we cannot question them. Until our votes starts to count we haven't got a chance to move ahead.