African leaders need tolerance courses
By Ivan Ashaba
Letters-Daily Monitor
Ankara-Turkey
Friday, June 4 2010
Contact:
ashaivan@gmail.com
I read Rwandan President Paul Kagame’s interview in Daily Monitor where he accused Lt. Gen. Kayumba Nyamwasa (former chief of staff) and Col. Patrick Karegeya (intelligence chief) of failing accountability in Rwanda.
Good enough, Gen. Nyamwasa in a statement e-mailed to this paper gave his side of the story as to why he fell out with President Kagame. This gives the readers a good opportunity to assess and establish who is fooling who and why?
The truth of the matter is that all African leaders are excellent Machiavelli scholars. Nicollo Machiavelli, a political philosopher in one of his classic books, The Prince, wrote that - a good leader (prince) should be both cunning and brave. Cunning as a fox so as to understand his enemies’ tricks and brave as a lion to defend himself when attacked.
This is exactly what is happening in almost all African dictatorships.
The fact that Col. Karegeya and Gen. Nyamwasa chose to have differrent views from President Kagame doesn’t make them terrorists and enemies of Rwanda given the hard times they went through serving their country.
If it was in the Ugandan context, they would in fact be labelled unpatriotic officers.
However, the million dollar question stands: Does differences in opnion and perception make one a traitor? Or why do African leaders hate criticism?
Unless we Africans style up and embrace tolerance especially in the political arena, Africa will continue to lag behind for many, many more years to come.
posted by Mamadou Kouyate @ 10:34 AM
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