As we are approaching the end of 2019 and expecting a smooth landing into 2020, it is necessary to beam our searchlight to East Africa – in particular this country known as Burundi. This man, Nkrunziza, has been in Bujumbura Government House since 2005 in a country which provided for a two-term tenure for the Presidency. In 2015, the man bluntly refused to relinquish power despite entreaties from well-meaning world leaders both within and without Sub-Saharan Africa. When Pa Robert Mugabe, the then African Union (AU) Chairman, wanted to make peace, Nkrunziza did not waste time in reminding the old man of the provision in the 1963 OAU Charter which prohibits INTERFERENCE in the internal affairs of member-states. Needless to say, many lives were lost, many were displaced, and thousands became refuges in neighbouring Rwanda, Congo DR and other countries. Nkrunziza eventually had his way but with a promise that he would leave his Bujumbura Government House after one more term! An important reason that necessitates this writeup is the need for PEACE in that East Africa. Since the mid-80s, the country has witnessed one type of political turmoil or the other. As it has been clearly demonstrated in the neighbouring Rwanda, there is an inseparable link between PEACE and HUMAN PROGRESS and the time to achieve that is NOW. It is on the basis of this that we are appealing to our brother (he claims to be a BORN-AGAIN Christian) that he should allow PEACE to reign. A word is enough for the wise.
