KIGALI – A young person can have big dreams, but the choices made today can determine whether those dreams ever become reality.
President Paul Kagame challenged Rwanda’s youth to confront that contradiction, warning that alcohol, drugs and habits accepted as normal can undermine their future long before they realize what they are losing.
Speaking at the MeetThePresident event at BK Arena attended by over 10,000 young people on October 21, Kagame argued that neither punishment nor rehabilitation can guarantee lasting change if individuals are unwilling to change themselves.
“You need to take care of your health because the other things will come only when you are healthy,” he said, making personal responsibility the foundation of his message to young people seeking to build better lives.
His warning went beyond the immediate dangers of substance abuse, focusing on how individual choices, social pressures and the normalization of harmful habits can undermine young people’s ambitions and potential.
Discipline Begins with You
Kagame said discipline cannot simply be imposed on someone, arguing that lasting change begins when individuals recognize what is right and make a deliberate effort to live accordingly.
“No one is going to force you to be disciplined. You can learn from others how to be disciplined,” he said, encouraging young people to use their time to acquire knowledge and learn what can help them improve their lives.
He cautioned against blindly following what others consider acceptable, saying that inspiration from other people can be useful but should not replace personal judgement.
“You do not have to keep asking what is good or bad. Begin with yourself and ask yourself what is good. Do not copy what others call good. You can pick inspiration and it’s good but you have to scrutinize yourself and see what is good within yourself,” Kagame said.
He stressed that warnings about the dangers of alcohol and drugs may have little impact if people are unwilling to reconsider their behavior.
“There are limits of efforts to correct destructive behavior through punishment and rehabilitation alone. You can be punished, imprisoned but if you do not decide for yourself, it will be meaningless,” he said.
He also challenged young people to confront their problems rather than use alcohol as an escape, noting that difficulties do not disappear simply because someone temporarily avoids thinking about them.
When Harmful Habits Become Normal
Kagame warned that society risks encouraging destructive behavior when harmful habits are increasingly treated as ordinary, fashionable or a sign of modern living.
“We have made wrong things appear to be normal. Do not accept anything they tell you. Don’t think everything is good. You have to scrutinize yourself first. The first step is to resist these temptations,” he said.
Health Minister Dr Sabin Nsanzimana had earlier reinforced the President’s warning, challenging young people to reconsider the positive image often attached to alcohol consumption.
“We must strip alcohol of the value it has been given and give that value to what deserves it. There is nothing good about alcohol, not a single thing. You can live without drinking it,” Nsanzimana said.
The minister also linked personal choices to young people’s ability to realize their ambitions, arguing that dreams require clear direction and practical steps to become reality.
“We have all been young. We all had dreams. Dreams become goals, and goals become plans. If you lack these three things, you keep dreaming, go to sleep, wake up the next morning, and that is all,” he said.
The minister’s remarks reinforced Kagame’s argument that young people must protect their health and exercise discipline if they are to turn their ambitions into meaningful achievements.
Health Comes Before Everything Else
Kagame urged young people to place their health at the center of their decisions, arguing that their other ambitions depend on their ability to protect themselves and develop their potential.
He encouraged them to build their knowledge and skills, become productive and contribute to the country’s development, while emphasizing that their future should not depend on others rescuing them from the consequences of their choices.
“You have the responsibility to keep alive. It should not be a favor done by someone else. No one should give you your life as a favor,” Kagame said.
He urged young people to draw courage from Rwanda’s history and believe in their ability to determine their own future, rather than surrendering to circumstances or the expectations of others.
Kagame ended with a message about self-worth and personal responsibility, reminding young people that they may have greater potential than they realize, but that realizing it depends on the choices they make.
“You are better than you think you are. You deserve more than you actually think you do. In between it’s you to decide. Do no become anything, anyhow but you should become something that you actually deserve to be,” he cautioned.
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