Africa-Press – Rwanda. <\/strong><\/span>Last Monday morning, a fellow \u201cGagool\u201d and I stopped in our tracks at the Village to give way to \u2018kids\u2019 who were hurriedly streaming by. Some acquaintances gave us a quick, polite hug as they muttered excuses of \u201ca meeting\u201d, but otherwise darted off with the rest who did not know us.<\/p>\n\u2018Kids\u2019 to us \u201cGagools\u201d in this sense, by the way, denotes anybody in their twenties and thirties.<\/p>\n
The interesting thing is that the \u2018kids\u2019 are holders of high political and corporate positions, hoping that qualifying their positions as \u201chigh\u201d does not offend them. See, they are the kind who are loath to be associated with high-sounding titles. Of course, there are exceptions. A few are happy to push their weight around, much as few feel it. But there are sundry sterling stalwarts of no-bluster.<\/p>\n
They may be CEOs, COOs, CFOs, whatever abbreviations they use these days, of this or that institution or organisation, but among them, they are just \u201cguys\u201d, be they male or female.<\/p>\n
A puzzle to us \u201cGagools\u201d. When we first came in contact with the term, it meant a tough cookie who brooked no nonsense and could grind any challenger into a pulp. \u201cGuys\u201d those days were necessarily strong males. Today, the word \u201cguy\u201d applies to all and serves to level everybody.<\/p>\n
And while on explanations, that term \u201cGagool\u201d. In this case, it\u2019s used to mean long in the tooth, hoary, aged; knowing little of what\u2019s new in the world. It\u2019s taken from the name of a character in the fabled \u201cKing Solomon\u2019s Mines\u201d, if you\u2019ve read the novel or seen the movie, all of it is misinformation on Africa. In taking the name, however, we are strictly on the age and ignoring the fact of the character being the terrifying King\u2019s prophetess.<\/p>\n
But, as usual, I digress….<\/p>\n
We were talking about our \u2018kids\u2019. Whatever meeting they were going for, search me. Just allow my imagination to run away with me.<\/p>\n
So, I imagine these \u2018kids\u2019 were using this main Gate2 of the Village to go for their meeting with the leader of this country. It\u2019d have been an interesting assembly. Some would have their suggestions and answers at their fingertips when asked for an opinion or quizzed on something or other. But the twists and turns that the alternative suggestions and questions would\u2019ve involved would\u2019ve left others scratching their heads hairless.<\/p>\n
All the same, the assembly would\u2019ve ended in bonne humeur as the country\u2019s leader would\u2019ve guided them around a common understanding of how to serve the citizenry and the country.<\/p>\n
In the end, it\u2019d have been laughter all around.<\/p>\n
Not, though, without apprehension. Because, laughter or none, deep down the \u2018kids\u2019 know that any point agreed upon on their service would be followed to the letter. Or else, a misstep or report of failure when queried before a citizens\u2019 gathering or officials\u2019 congress would be like being pushed through a furnace.<\/p>\n
Interestingly, what\u2019s usually the case is that these \u2018kids\u2019 hold their own in such gatherings as regards their responsibilities better than, say, their seniors, who are cabinet ministers. These, too, use the same Gate2 for communion with their president.<\/p>\n
And, who, themselves, apart from being senior in positions, are not necessarily out of the \u2018kid-age\u2019 range bracket. You don\u2019t need a \u2018finger-complete\u2019 hand to count those beyond 40 on your fingers.<\/p>\n
Well, we are reporting the above-mentioned throng of visitors to the Village through Gate 2, without forgetting a plethora of visitors from foreign climes.<\/p>\n
However, we cannot forget to report that there is always a bigger throng (in person or in the mail) of visitors to the Village opposite Gate 1. These will be shooting in the littlest complaint on what\u2019s not well from the smallest nook of the country. The president is privy to many other sources of information, understandably.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s how in their meetings with their boss, the \u201cguys\u201d (\u2018kids\u2019 and their seniors) will find that they have no wriggling room when it comes to finding a gamble of a suggestion or an answer to a question. Their boss\u2019s folder on his desk which he hardly consults will be packed with every point from Gate 1 of the Village. Not forgetting that his head alone carries memories of his lifetime.<\/p>\n
Memories are a living testimony of whatever is happening in the country and elsewhere, the world over. And memories mixed with immediate life experience, carrying which, serve to keep him level-headed and denigrating of priggishness, hubris, and airs.<\/p>\n
And so in Rwanda you will not find a president who welcomes visitors to their office that\u2019s called Palais Pre\u0301sidentiel, Presidential Palace, White House, or whatever other colour. We can go on.<\/p>\n
Rwanda is a country where when you want a long life in leadership, you must embrace humility. The life-long crave from President Paul Kagame is that humility rules this land. (No, my imagination is not running away with me, as it did about last Monday\u2019s meeting!)<\/p>\n
Leadership here demands disassociation from pomposity. Marry it and in no time you\u2019ll fall like a sack of tin!<\/p>\n
Source: The New Times<\/b><\/p>\n
For More News And Analysis About Rwanda<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Pan Butamire Africa-Press – Rwanda. Last Monday morning, a fellow \u201cGagool\u201d and I stopped in our tracks at the Village to give way to \u2018kids\u2019 who were hurriedly streaming by. Some acquaintances gave us a quick, polite hug as they muttered excuses of \u201ca meeting\u201d, but otherwise darted off with the rest who did not […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":42380,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,761],"tags":[760,763,758],"class_list":["post-42382","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-files","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-rwanda","tag-rwanda"],"yoast_head":"\n
Want to meet President Kagame? Welcome to Village Urugwiro! - Rwanda<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Last Monday morning, a fellow \u201cGagool\u201d and I stopped in our tracks at the Village to give way to \u2018kids\u2019 who were hurried ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/want-to-meet-president-kagame-welcome-to-village-urugwiro\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Want to meet President Kagame? Welcome to Village Urugwiro!\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Last Monday morning, a fellow \u201cGagool\u201d and I stopped in our tracks at the Village to give way to \u2018kids\u2019 who were hurried ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/want-to-meet-president-kagame-welcome-to-village-urugwiro\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Rwanda\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-05-20T17:45:49+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-05-20T18:08:04+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2023\/05\/sm_1684593405.361383.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"649\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/want-to-meet-president-kagame-welcome-to-village-urugwiro#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/want-to-meet-president-kagame-welcome-to-village-urugwiro\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Want to meet President Kagame? Welcome to Village Urugwiro!\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-05-20T17:45:49+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-05-20T18:08:04+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/want-to-meet-president-kagame-welcome-to-village-urugwiro\"},\"wordCount\":891,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/want-to-meet-president-kagame-welcome-to-village-urugwiro#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2023\/05\/sm_1684593405.361383.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Africa Press\",\"Africa Press-Rwanda\",\"Rwanda\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"files\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/want-to-meet-president-kagame-welcome-to-village-urugwiro#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/want-to-meet-president-kagame-welcome-to-village-urugwiro\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/want-to-meet-president-kagame-welcome-to-village-urugwiro\",\"name\":\"Want to meet President Kagame? Welcome to Village Urugwiro! - Rwanda\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/want-to-meet-president-kagame-welcome-to-village-urugwiro#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/want-to-meet-president-kagame-welcome-to-village-urugwiro#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2023\/05\/sm_1684593405.361383.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-05-20T17:45:49+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-05-20T18:08:04+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"description\":\"Last Monday morning, a fellow \u201cGagool\u201d and I stopped in our tracks at the Village to give way to \u2018kids\u2019 who were hurried ...\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/want-to-meet-president-kagame-welcome-to-village-urugwiro#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/want-to-meet-president-kagame-welcome-to-village-urugwiro\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/want-to-meet-president-kagame-welcome-to-village-urugwiro#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2023\/05\/sm_1684593405.361383.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2023\/05\/sm_1684593405.361383.jpg\",\"width\":1000,\"height\":649,\"caption\":\"Want to meet President Kagame? Welcome to Village Urugwiro!\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/want-to-meet-president-kagame-welcome-to-village-urugwiro#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Want to meet President Kagame? Welcome to Village Urugwiro!\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/\",\"name\":\"Rwanda\",\"description\":\"Just another Africa News Agency Sites site\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\",\"name\":\"cfeditoren\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Want to meet President Kagame? Welcome to Village Urugwiro! - Rwanda","description":"Last Monday morning, a fellow \u201cGagool\u201d and I stopped in our tracks at the Village to give way to \u2018kids\u2019 who were hurried ...","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/want-to-meet-president-kagame-welcome-to-village-urugwiro","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Want to meet President Kagame? Welcome to Village Urugwiro!","og_description":"Last Monday morning, a fellow \u201cGagool\u201d and I stopped in our tracks at the Village to give way to \u2018kids\u2019 who were hurried ...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/want-to-meet-president-kagame-welcome-to-village-urugwiro","og_site_name":"Rwanda","article_published_time":"2023-05-20T17:45:49+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-05-20T18:08:04+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1000,"height":649,"url":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2023\/05\/sm_1684593405.361383.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"cfeditoren","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"cfeditoren","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/want-to-meet-president-kagame-welcome-to-village-urugwiro#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/want-to-meet-president-kagame-welcome-to-village-urugwiro"},"author":{"name":"cfeditoren","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"headline":"Want to meet President Kagame? Welcome to Village Urugwiro!","datePublished":"2023-05-20T17:45:49+00:00","dateModified":"2023-05-20T18:08:04+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/want-to-meet-president-kagame-welcome-to-village-urugwiro"},"wordCount":891,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/want-to-meet-president-kagame-welcome-to-village-urugwiro#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2023\/05\/sm_1684593405.361383.jpg","keywords":["Africa Press","Africa Press-Rwanda","Rwanda"],"articleSection":["all news","files"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/want-to-meet-president-kagame-welcome-to-village-urugwiro#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/want-to-meet-president-kagame-welcome-to-village-urugwiro","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/want-to-meet-president-kagame-welcome-to-village-urugwiro","name":"Want to meet President Kagame? Welcome to Village Urugwiro! - Rwanda","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/want-to-meet-president-kagame-welcome-to-village-urugwiro#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/want-to-meet-president-kagame-welcome-to-village-urugwiro#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2023\/05\/sm_1684593405.361383.jpg","datePublished":"2023-05-20T17:45:49+00:00","dateModified":"2023-05-20T18:08:04+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"description":"Last Monday morning, a fellow \u201cGagool\u201d and I stopped in our tracks at the Village to give way to \u2018kids\u2019 who were hurried ...","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/want-to-meet-president-kagame-welcome-to-village-urugwiro#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/want-to-meet-president-kagame-welcome-to-village-urugwiro"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/want-to-meet-president-kagame-welcome-to-village-urugwiro#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2023\/05\/sm_1684593405.361383.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2023\/05\/sm_1684593405.361383.jpg","width":1000,"height":649,"caption":"Want to meet President Kagame? Welcome to Village Urugwiro!"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/want-to-meet-president-kagame-welcome-to-village-urugwiro#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Want to meet President Kagame? Welcome to Village Urugwiro!"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/","name":"Rwanda","description":"Just another Africa News Agency Sites site","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb","name":"cfeditoren"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42382","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/84"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42382"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42382\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/42380"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42382"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42382"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42382"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}