Don’t Think Of Nigeria’s Break-Up, Rwandan High Commissioner Warns Confab As deliberation continues today in the ongoing national conference, Rwanda has advised the delegates to desist from any act that may worsen the country’s security situation. Speaking at a press briefing at the weekend in Abuja in commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda during which one million people were massacred in the crisis, the High Commissioner of Rwanda to Nigeria, Joseph Habineza, urged Nigerians to learn from his country’s ugly experience. The crisis in Rwanda also led to the assassination of the then Rwandan President, Juvenal Habyarimana, on the evening of April 6, 1994, when the air plane carrying him with the Burundian President, Cyprien Ntanyamira, and others, was shot down as it prepared to land in Kigali, Rwanda, setting in motion some of the bloodiest events of the late 20th century. This year’s celebration, which will take place on April 13, is entitled: “Remember-Unite-Renew.” However, while fielding questions from journalists, Habineza said the ongoing national conference would be a welcome development to finding lasting solution to the country’s plethora of problems if the delegates would eschew act of greediness. According to him, the first disease Nigeria has “is greediness; people are greedy, so selfish.” “The ongoing national conference is a good thing. But first of all, individually, the delegates should have self-transformation, because you can be in the conference and from there you go and call your friend who is a member of Boko Haram to attack. So, nothing is going to come out from there if you are not committed to the peace of your country,” he said. Habineza said whether as a Christian or a Muslim, everyone should realise that the two religions were adopted, not their own. “These are manipulation of the politicians. So, our tragic history should be a lesson for Nigeria. Why should somebody be killed on what he believes in? So, this celebration should not only be for Rwandans but for the whole world that division, segregation and bad leadership can lead to killings, genocide,” he remarked. The high commissioner said it was disheartening that in spite of the abundant resources Nigeria is endowed with, inordinate ambition of the politicians and many political office holders to amass wealth has continued to hamper the country’s economic growth. “The fact is there are bad politicians and there are good politicians, but the bad ones are so evil; they can use all means to get what they want,” he added. He advised those who are calling for secession to have a re-orientation as those who called for war were often being the first victims. “Coming to our experience, a week before the tragedy, I met somebody who was an adviser to the late president, a former ambassador to Germany. He was a very close friend to my parents and we were discussing politics. The president was supposed to implement the Arusha Agreement. So, I met this adviser and I said Your Excellency, uncle, why don’t you advise the president to implement the Arusha Agreement? “He said my son, in politics, it is like a tug-of-war, which if it is cut, you fall. You see, it can’t be cut because we are the majority… But he doesn’t know that if you think like that, you can be the first victim and your family members too may be killed. If you are thinking of bringing the war, you can be the first victim. But you know what happens, that ambassador, unfortunately, died in the plane with the president,” he said. Habineza warned the delegates and other Nigerians in position of authority to see their present status as an opportunity to serve the people and not to serve themselves. “I think politicians should remember they are civil servants because once you are serving, you are rendering service, and not that you are serving yourself,” he stated. According to him, with the resources available in the country, every Nigerian should have access to decent and affordable house if these are productively used. “Nigerians should have a nice house, water; just what you have here. Look at your land, so fertile, and you import tomatoes; the oil, the gas, minerals that people even do not know. You focus on that and make it productive. So, they should think about the people, not about themselves, the delegates who are there; not talking about how much we are getting from here,” he said. Habineza, who recalled the 1994 crisis of his country, attributed it to the manipulation of the colonial power on the one hand and the country’s politicians on the other hand. “This kind of indoctrination, brainwashing, mixed with poverty brought Rwanda to that end. We have to blame ourselves and the colonials also. The agenda then was to divide the country because they found it difficult to believe that a society can be well structured and organised like Rwanda. This is our past and we have learnt from it. It is a lesson to the whole world,” he said. Daily Newswatch.
Posted on: Mon, 31 Mar 2014 11:56:47 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015