{"id":153566,"date":"2015-09-25T07:05:00","date_gmt":"2015-09-25T07:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/4cd.e16.myftpupload.com\/?p=153566"},"modified":"2015-09-25T07:37:11","modified_gmt":"2015-09-25T07:37:11","slug":"franklin-badu-jnr-my-love-for-rwanda-and-kagame","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2015\/09\/franklin-badu-jnr-my-love-for-rwanda-and-kagame\/","title":{"rendered":"Franklin Badu Jnr: My love for Rwanda and Kagame"},"content":{"rendered":"
In Africa, it is difficult to select a country as a model for the development and progress of other developing countries. It is so due to the chequered history and entrenched corrupt activities of its leaders. Indeed, it is more difficult to single out an African leader who understands the challenges of his country and the confidence and knowledge of many African leaders in addressing the challenges of the continent.<\/p>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n Conditions are mostly attached to aid for many countries here in Africa due to the lack of trust and the lack of faith in our economic, social and political structures. For instance the International Monetary Fund demands certain specific economic and political changes before lending out money to developing countries. Who wants to risk giving out billions of dollars to countries with defects in its political and economic structures? But at least there is some hope. There is a Kagame and a Rwanda to learn from.<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n My three day visit to Kigali was unexpected but a trip that rekindled my confidence for the future of the continent. Rwanda may have had a gloomy past but its \u2018resurrection\u2019 defeats its tragic past and reinforces the need for African leaders to shun ethnocentrism and evil partisanship that derails the efforts of the people. Touchdown in Kigali and the first observation is the stringent security measures around. Armed police and military officers are scattered in and around the capital for the obvious reason of protecting citizens.<\/p>\n There is a similar module in Ghana but the numbers and vigilance in Kigali is enough to assure any visitor of maximum security. A friend who had visited Kigali some weeks ago felt intimidated by the tight security measures but what is the opportunity cost of not having this visible security; increased crime. Every public institution and hotel I visited had scanners and tight security.<\/p>\n A country located in the midst of the threat of Al Shabab, the security measures in place overly deals with that threat. Indeed the level of security I saw in Kigali is nowhere near what we have in Ghana where security is so relaxed with a general sense of insecurity. Nothing is screened when entering our only international airport, be it a vehicle or a traveller and the only scanners you see at public institutions signifies the presence or possible arrival of the President. With the threat of Boko Haram in the sub region, can we safely say as Ghanaians that the country is indeed secured?<\/p>\n