“At my level, sometimes I care, but it’s a lesson I learned a long time ago, I rejected it a long time ago, I even rebelled. I tell anyone who thinks they are going to tell me what to do, how this country should be, I tell them to go to hell…”
The President of the Republic of Rwanda Paul Kagame continued his testimony, in a speech he addressed to the participants of the annual prayers to pray for the country and praise God, which took place this Sunday, January 14, 2024.
“Go to hell” in Kinyarwanda is an expression used by a person who refuses to accept what you ask and is angry.
President Kagame said that being used or being led is based on the fact that he realized that you cannot change the direction of your life.
He said that where Rwanda has reached after 30 years of building and facing great dangers and lack of help, is based on the choices of Rwandans, not the decisions of anyone else.
He came back to the fact that countries in the Global South are poor and have a lot of wealth, while those in the Global North have few natural resources and are rich.
“[…] That is the choice I was talking about. You have to make a choice, whether you want to live as a slave or as a worthless person. So what attitude should we have to seduce, whether you believe it or not we are seduced before God, why don’t you have a real choice?”
He asked everyone to reject it even if it is necessary to rebel when there are those who try to dictate how he should live his life, but he reminded me that working with others and understanding with them constructively is important.
President Kagame continued: “I keep saying this regardless of where you are from, but if you have a good idea that is different from mine, I will listen. Where we can have a conversation but I will never take orders from anyone, I will go by what they think is better than the rest of us.”
President Kagame continued to express that his desire is that everyone should live without accepting inequality and injustice, and learn to listen to those who have constructive ideas different from his and he does not accept being pushed into the middle.
He managed to show that above all, fighting for peace is the most important thing and that everyone needs it and should choose to work for it.
He said, “Peace cannot be found between us and our equals. So that means we need it very much, we have to do it. Doing it yourself is the right choice. It’s about being strong, being at home and knowing how to respond. It is working and using what we have, using what we can get from others, and then refusing to be worked on or used.”
In that message, President Kagame emphasized that the young people should listen to these tips because they will be the leaders in the future.
He said, “When you are the ones at the top, you will show that our history, the lessons that were in that history, were not wasted. You have learned something, so others who will come after you will also be the education you will give them. It is not right to live in a cowardly way.
He said that God’s intention in creating people was not for some to be superior to others, so he should not accept inequality and injustice of any kind.
These annual prayers are attended by leaders from different sectors, religious leaders and churches and guests from different parts of the world.
Among the guests from outside Rwanda are those from Benin, Botswana, Ethiopia, Gabon, Kenya, Nigeria, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, the United States of America (USA) and Zimbabwe.