By Dr David Himbara
Aren’t I grand?
Look at my beautiful big bird
Its other name is luxury
Look right behind me — the shining beauty of a well-crafted machine
That engine has power
Like its owner — me
So here I am Paul — Son of Rutagambwa
In the land of Léopold Sédar Senghor
The great Senegalese poet, leader, scholar, and democrat
But I am greater than he
Don’t I lecture macroeconomics at Harvard?
Attend Einstein Forum?
Them losers — known as Ibigarasha make noise
That I burn a lot of fuel
With my sleek Gulfstream
I don’t give a damn
What thugs think of me — Is of no consequence
I don’t give a damn
What they want me to be
Is a joke
Me? Democracy? Human rights?
What they want me to be — is foreign ideology
I am invincible
The pretender before me — one Juvenal Habyarimana
Claimed he was invincible
Managed only 20 years
I am just warming up — at 22 — on to 2034 — and 2050 Vision!
I don’t give a damn
They make noise that I travel too much
From Dubai to Abu Dhabi
To Davos and Toronto
To Houston and Boston
To Addis and Arusha
Take a look at me
Do I look like I care?
Me, the conqueror of Congo?
I don’t give a damn
I will go to Mars for all I care
To Neptune
And to Jupiter
To prove a point
That I don’t give a damn
You — Hutu, Twa, and so-called Tutsi — Tow the line or face the music
I’m not gonna stand for less
’Cause I’m king
About the author:
David Himbara is an educator, political economist, and author based in Toronto, Canada. He teaches and works in the field of development and competitiveness.
