The essence and significance of the Africa culture in fostering good relations in the East Africa Region

Most missed out the big story in the recent visit to Rwanda by Tanzanian President John Pombe Magufuli.  Media outlets highlighted the event where the visiting president and his host President Paul Kagame opened the Rusumo one-stop border post. It was mentioned that the one stop border would ease trade and business operations as the two East African community members are governed by a single customs territory.  During the two days visit, President Magufuli also joined Rwandans in the commemoration of the Genocide against the Tutsi. He accompanied his host to light the flame of hope that will keep burning for the next 100days; the duration of the Genocide period.

In as much as the two events highlighted by the media were very significant in gauging the relationship between the two neighboring countries, I beg to differ.  The big story was not in the two events mentioned above, but rather in the essence and significance of the Africa culture where president Kagame gave five cows to his visitor. The event was either mentioned in passing or totally ignored. It came to my realization that  schools of journalism have taught us  to tell stories from the Western point of view thereby influencing the African journalist to be  alienated from his native culture, hence the failure to tell the African story ‘brewed in an African pot’.