Trauma, Lessons, Motivations Behind 1994 Rwanda Genocide, by Tunmise Ajeigbe

As a kid, while growing up I was privileged to watch the move “Hotel Rwanda” in 2005. In the this era I know nothing about the concept behind film making, all I know was people were massively murdered and I also remember everyone’s emotion becomes double triggered whenever this movie pops up on TV screen.

 Hotel Rwanda portrays the 1994 Rwandan Genocide, focusing on Paul Rusesabagina, a hotel manager who saved over 1,200 Tutsi refugees. The film also highlights the indifference of foreign nationals and international bodies, who evacuated their own citizens but largely ignored the plight of Rwandans, exacerbating the horrors of the genocide.

 Rwanda is one the smallest countries in Africa naturally blessed with friendly environment colonized by Germany and Belgium. Geographical features like plateau, mountains, lakes, rivers, forest reserves and more make the nation more attractive for the westerners. Westerners find the country conducive to preside over, even when the nation gained independence the Westerners still continue to live with the Rwandans.

During their stay in Rwanda before independence, the only mistake the Rwanda people made was to allow the Westerners to used their ill power to give them identity. They divided the Rwanda people into two ethnic categories; the Hutu and Tutsi. The Hutu the majority mostly from the Northern Rwanda with strong passion for Agriculture and Tutsi with are known for knowledge seeking and creativity. This ethnicity identity was designed majorly for dominance with a specific agenda of separation.

In 1994, a problem loomed and the Majority Hutu tribe turned against their Tusti siblings in a brutal way resulting to massive killings. It was sad that the Rwandas are killing themselves over power in the present of Colonial masters. The Westerners assumed to do nothing for over 80 days of this crisis living over Eight hundred thousand lives paying for sins committed by the Westerners. In the midst of the uproar, the United Nations peacekeeping mission forces with meaningful resources to quench the fire of war absconded and the genocide grownup wings living the country people in a devastated situation.

Up till today, the country is not balanced from trauma and agony. They only crime the Rwandas committed was allowing the Westerners in their home land. Now, if any African nation rejects the offerings from the West, such nations are considered stupid and uncivilized. Same stories played out in Uganda and Libya and the end story buried the pride in us as Africans. Even In Nigeria as giant and massive as it is, the civil war that lingered for three years with over three million people murdered has a baseless reason and the Westerners fold their hand watching us killing ourselves.

The story of Rwanda has been documented in several ways, the top most is a journalistic reporting by a Nigerian veteran journalist m, Dele Olojede in 2004, with this investigative report, he earned himself a Pulitzer Prize award, the highest award in journalism for digging about the impact contributed by the Belgium government and Germany government and United Nations during the 1994 Rwanda genocide. He remained first African to have reached this peak in Journalism career. Some films like Hotel Rwanda, Sometimes in April and a Netflix movie Trees of peace and a Netflix series Black Earth rising tell the sad chronicles undergone during the horrific event.

Fast-forward to this present year, Rwanda is running a fast-rising economy in Africa. The government has consistently been doing well in making policy decisions that centered on growing Rwanda. One of this is Tourism, the present Rwanda government has refurbished the image Rwanda from a war zone to a peaceful country that attracts thousands of people abroad in their country for tourism purposes, and with this alone, Rwanda government had stroke several multibillion dollars deals with foreign nationals and multinationals firms across the globe.

In Africa, please let’s keep learning from our past mistakes and turn them to experiences that will enhance growth and development for generations to come. Rwanda has proven to us all African nations can triumph if they utilize their uniqueness as source for improving their economic growth. If small Rwanda can do it, Nigeria can do extreme better.

This is my Sunday motivation

Happy Sunday.

PS:  Tunmise Ajeigbe is a Nigerian journalist and, a public affairs analyst.

He is a PhD student at Cyprus International University.

He can be reached via ajeigbetunmise1996@gmail.com and +234 814 610 9636