Terrorism: Rwandan envoy warns Nigeria

Innocent Odoh

The High Commissioner of the Republic of Rwanda to Nigeria, Ambassador Joseph Habineza, has advised terrorists and their sponsors in Nigeria to desist from such acts as they are capable of plunging Nigeria into an uncertain future.
The envoy gave this warning while delivering his speech during events marking the end a week-long mourning period which started on April 7 to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Rwandan genocide, held at the High Commission on Sunday in Abuja.

He said “The lessons that the world should learn from our tragedy are many and essentially, I implore my friends and brothers- Nigerians to take notice. Nobody is born a killer, manipulations, brainwashing and bad leadership lead to genocide. I want the politicians of this country to put the country first than their own interests.
“Those who are backing terrorist groups should think twice. You know when you start those activities but you may not know how and when it will end. Why should people die due to religion, after all Islam and Christianity are not Nigerian inventions. Focus on what you have in common than the differences you have,” he said.
He charged Nigerians to resolve their problems using dialogue and putting the national interest first.

The said that at the end of the 100 days of the genocide, perpetrated by the Hutu power mongers, which killed over a million  Tutsis and moderate Hutus, it took the resilience and the never say die of the Rwandans to build a new Rwanda that everybody is celebrating today.
He added that Rwanda has made achievements in business, ICT house sector, agriculture, women empowerment, good governance, security to mention a few.

Nigeria’s former Representative to the United Nations, Ibrahim Gambari, who was recognized for his role in alerting the world on the unfolding genocide in 1994, told newsmen that Rwanda has made tremendous progress in renewal of unity, reconciliation, and reconstruction after the genocide.
He admonished Nigerians to learn from the Rwanda genocide citing some incidences of violence in Nigeria. He said “we cannot say it cannot happen here, it is already happening, so we must unite, we must stop the kind of situation we are facing in our country Nigeria, must learn from Rwanda,” he said.