Quest for National Unity as Nigerian Governors Meet in Rwanda

Chuks Okocha writes on the outcome of the recent leadership retreat organized by the United Nations Development Programme For Nigerian Governors In Kigali, the Rwandan capital.

Before the euphoria and criticisms that greeted the three-day seminar organised by the United Nation Development Programme (UNDP) for the Nigerian Governors die down, there are indeed some lessons that Nigeria and indeed Nigerians could learn from the seminar that took place in Kigali.

From April to June, 1994, over 800,000 Rwandans were brutally killed in a state led genocide targeting the Tutsi ethnic group. Record has it that about 75 percent of the Tutsi population died in the mass killings.

It was a bitter genocidal war between the Hutsi and the Tutsi because of leadership struggles between the two tribal groups. What took place in Rwanda has great lessons for Nigeria because of the dominance of tribal issues between the various ethnic groups in Nigeria.

One of the banes of developments in Nigeria is tribe and religion, to the extent that it is a constant reminder in anything Nigerians do.

But the seminar organized by the UNDP has shown the Nigeria governors who are the chief executive officers in their respective states how the Tutsi and the Hutsi gradually eliminated this monster in their country.

The governor of Anambra state, Prof. Chukwu Soludo in his narrative of his participation with 18 other Governors spoke of his experience, while attending   the UNDP-NGF seminar in Kigali.

According to him, during a tour of the grave sides of the genocide in Kigali, one of the governors asked their tour guide which of the Hutsi and Tutsi tribes does he belong to

Soludo explained that the tour guide humbly replied the governor, “In Rwanda, we don’t belong to any tribe. We are simply Rwandans’”.

The former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor said he and colleagues felt a cold sweat with the answer from the tour guide. He explained that the answer should serve as a lesson to the tribal bigots in Nigeria that are always fanning the embers of war  especially during elections.

Despite cost criticisms against the seminar taking place out side Nigeria, the Anambra state governor explained that it cost all the 19 state governors not a single kobo as the cost was borne by the sponsors, UNDP, as he attended the seminar with only an aide like his colleagues.

Soludo explained that the venue of the retreat was perfect as it prevented the governors from being distracted by job seekers.

At the end of the retreat in Kigali, Rwanda, the Nigerian governors reiterated that effective leadership was in high demand in Africa.

They went further to acknowledge that Nigeria was battling a huge trust deficit, stating that there is need for dialogue to find a lasting solution to the problem.

The communiqué of the retreat signed by NGF Director of Media, Abdulrazaque-Bello Barkindo, Christabel Chanda-Ginsberg, and Michelle Mendi Muita, both of UNDP, identified Nigeria’s challenges as a complex web stressing that the governors expressed their readiness to understudy Rwanda’s post-war development programmes as a critical takeaway.

The communique said “Nigeria faces a complex web of interconnected development challenges stemming from a huge trust deficit, an economy highly dependent on oil exports, a job crisis and growing youth population, rising insecurity and separatist agitations, and a growing number of multi-dimensionally poor.”

The Director General of NGF, Asishana Okauru, in the same statement, explained that “as a non-partisan organisation and policy arm, the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, organised this gathering with the objective of fostering transformative leadership and facilitating honest, frank and open dialogue to shape the discourse on these cross-cutting themes.”

The three-day retreat, with the theme, “Re-imagining leadership in a fast-changing world,” was attended by 19 governors. They engaged in sessions that explored Rwanda’s successful investment destination, transformation in digital technology, urban planning, and socio-economic transformation, capping it with a private dialogue with President Paul Kagame.

UNDP Resident Representative in Nigeria, Mohamed Yahya, stated that the retreat “offers an opportunity to re-imagine Nigeria’s leadership to achieve transformation and nationwide sustainable development”.

According to the communiqué: “In Africa, effective leadership is in high demand, with recent political challenges and socio-economic crises continuing to adversely impact qualitative advancements toward the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the realisation of the African Union’s Agenda 2063, which aspires toward a peaceful, stable and prosperous Africa.”

Quoting the opening remarks of Director of the UNDP Regional Service Centre for Africa, Matthias Z. Naab, the communique said, “adaptability in leadership has never been so urgent, globally and in Africa.

“Adaptive leaders possess the unique ability to not only acknowledge the challenges that come their way, but to also harness them as opportunities for growth and innovation.”

Further quoting the Rwanda Development Board and the Mayor of the City of Kigali, Norrsken House, the communiqué stated that the retreat also focused on learning through dialogue – with sessions on rethinking leadership, leading systems, leading self and leading to deliver, as well as learning through observation.

It was an interactive programme exploring Rwanda’s emergence as an investment destination through visits and exchanges with the innovation hub.

In addition, the communique noted that the NGF had become a major link between government, development partners, and private organisations as they sought to reach all the 36 states in Nigeria.

It said in previous years, the level of cooperation had increased significantly as regards relations between the states and the federal government, particularly, on collaborative pathways to overcoming commonly shared development challenges.

The governor of Kaduna state, Senator Uba  Sani, in his comments after the seminar said “After a deeply insightful and engaging retreat, we were hosted to a closing dinner by the Rwandan President, Paul Kagame.

“The closing dinner afforded us the opportunity of sharing ideas with His Excellency on a wide range of issues and concerns on Africa, our developmental and security challenges, and the pathway to a prosperous future for our continent. We thank President Kagame for giving us tips on how to manage diversity in an increasingly complex and fractious world.

Sani further said, “I used the retreat to showcase and market Kaduna State to Africa and the world. I held meetings with investors and got commitments from them to prioritise Kaduna State in their investment decisions.”

The communique also quoted one of the governors, the deputy chairman of NGF, Seyi Makinde of Oyo state, as saying, “It has been an engaging retreat. I am glad a significant number of governors are here to be part of it so that, together, we can use the knowledge acquired.

“Our discussions have equipped us with adaptive leadership strategies and pathways to effective governance and nationwide sustainable development.”

The retreat was dedicated to fostering dialogue on reimagining leadership and leveraging innovative technology, drawing inspiration from Rwanda’s transformative journey.

Building on the Rwandan success story, the executive leadership retreat provided the governors with new strategies for tackling development challenges in their respective states.