After the University of Burundi, What next ?

By Moses Bahuwimbuye, philosophy, Paris

picture source: author

The Iwacu news of march 13^th, 2016 highlighted the fact that the University of Burundi is becoming undesirable. In fact, less than a half of expected candidates have been registered in the first years, i.e. 1996 out of 4000 expected candidates. Our target in this short article is not to review the news nor to give more information about that university but we want to talk about a double experience that is relevant to most burundian universities : the experience of optimism and pessimism.

In that University we were happy, we used to sing the hymn of Rumuri-light during the initiation ceremonies : « Turi kaminuza, turi urumuri rumurikira igihugu mu majambere. » (Litt. We are university, we are the light for the development of the country.) We were united, every student was living in a togetherness mood. We fought together, went on strike together until the unity was broken by forbidding the activities of ASSER (Association des Etudiants de Rumuri) which had been coordinating collective activities included students’strikes. Therefore, the students lost their pride and it became more and more difficult to endure the university troubles due to some disorders : we had eight hours every day without holidays under the heat of bujumbura and going on strike had been the only way to get a time to relax and to prepare some examinations planned during the course period. For more information about the university, visit   http://www.ub.edu.bi.

Despite those tribulations, it was a meeting milieu of talented people such as two famous persons that I met there during conferences, representing for me the optimism and pessimism experienced there : Federico Faggin, a famous Italia-American physicist known for designing the first commercial microprocessor. The second is Ambrose Kibuuka Mukiibi, a specialist in youth empowerment and employment strategies, author of After University, What next. We wanted to know whether a burundian can produce something and the answer by Faggin was negative. “You Have no laboratories”, he said, “You have to consume what others produce” he added. Nevertheless, we did not lose our hope, fortunately, we met later, Kibuuka who gave a talk on opportunities. He focussed on studies as a way of discovering important issues hidden in books. According to him, we are a lucky generation because there is a lot of things to be done. Below is his anecdote:

 A man was employed in marketing in a shoe company. He was sent to a village to look for customers, and he came back desperate because no one wore shoes there. A second employee visited the same village some days later and came back delighted.  He was going to teach them to put on shoes and make all of them his customers.

The story of shoes caught my attention because I was a second-hand shoe seller. The « marché central » of Bujumbura helped me not only to deal with financial challenges such as buying books, accessing on information, i.e. getting internet at home, etc. but also to learn a lot by travelling in East Africa. I made a lot passionate trips in East Africa, so did my former classmate Mike, who was especially interested in haulage. After the university of Burundi, I continued to live by doing business in the « marché central » until the notorious fire put an end on it. Mike has followed his hauling passion and he is one of my happiest former classmates, he travels the whole east Africa and east DRC.

« Usidharau kazi yangu, yako hainilishi, » (Litt. Don’t despise my job since yours doesn’t feed me,) we used to say.

To put it in a nutshell, the university studies open our eyes and it is up to everyone to see what he can do instead waiting for Godot who will not come to save us. It is sad to learn that many students are giving up their studies because they do not see where they are going. Let us read Booker T Washington :

A ship lost at sea for many days suddenly sighted a friendly vessel. From the mast of the unfortunate vessel was seen a signal: “Water, water. We die of thirst.” The answer from the friendly vessel at once came back: “Cast down your bucket where you are.” A second time, the signal, “Water, send us water!” went up from the distressed vessel. And was answered: “Cast down your bucket where you are.” A third and fourth signal for water was answered: “Cast down your bucket where you are.” The captain of the distressed vessel, at last heeding the injunction, cast down his bucket and it came up full of fresh, sparkling water from the mouth of the Amazon River.

Let us cast down the bucket where we are, opportunites are everywhere. We just have to believe in our abilities and then open our eyes and see.

References

 « Ambrose Kibuuka Mukiibi, renowned specialist youth empowerment and employment strategies.»http://www.uwcad.it/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=395%3Aambrose-kibuuka-mukiibi&catid=62%3Ainternational-affairs&Itemid=128 visited on 18/03/2016.

« “Cast Down Your Bucket Where You Are”: Booker T. Washington’s Atlanta Compromise Speech by Booker T. Washington. » http://www.ushistory.org/us/42d.asp visited on 18/03/2016.

« Quand la crise influence sur les inscriptions. » http://www.iwacu-burundi.org/universite-du-burundi-quand-la-crise-influe-sur-les-inscriptions/ visited on 18/03/2016.

« Waiting for Godot. » http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/godot visited on 19/03/2016.

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Comments

[Nshimirimana Ferdinand]

Thank you for your comment.

[Nshimirimana Ferdinand]

I thank for these creative projects done after studies. our alone burundian University is socially and economically destroyed. Because of poverty, our initiative inovating projects cant be financed and encouraged. For me my association also called association des dynamiques etudiants pour promotion de l entrepreneuriat ADEPE have not fund their financial aid and managment. But we hope that It will go slowly. Prov. peu a peu on peut.

[Fulgence]

well said