By Onochie Anibeze, Kigali

That football is a great unifying factor needs no emphasis here in Rwanda.  In April 1994 a plane flying President Habyarimana who was of Hutu tribe was shot down in Kigali.

The Rwanda Patriotic Front led by Paul Kegama who is of the Tutsi tribe was accused of the murder of the President.

BREAKING THROUGH . . . Super Eagles attacker, Ike Uche tries to go past Botswana defence during a friendly match at Ogbe stadium in Benin City, Edo State. Eagles won 2-0.

The Hutus are in majority here and in a space of three months they unleashed the biggest genocide in modern times

on the Tutsis, wiping out about one million people. They used machetes, guns and even clubs to kill their neighbours in what it termed a reprisal attack although Kegame, till date, denies having hand in the killing of the former President.  He said Hutus were behind the killing in order to have a reason to exterminate the Tutsis.

Later,  Kegame,  then leading the rebel Patriotic Front that based in Uganda, succeeded in defeating the government forces in the ethnic war that saw children destroyed, women raped and killed and men slaughtered in large numbers. Kegame, in seizing power,  set up a multi ethnic government with a Hutu, Pasteur Bibimungu,  as President and himself as Deputy President. But the President was soon to be jailed for inciting ethnic violence and he Kegama became the President.

He has since been preaching and working for peace. 17 years after the genocide President Kegama has steadily been rebuilding the country that  was ravaged in the mayhem that then defied solution and even overwhelmed the United Nations Peace- Keeping Force who took to their heels after some of their members were killed.

But there is relative peace now and they are really rebuilding going by  their projects in health, education, business and infrastructure that are enhanced by the beauty of their topography, the best this reporter has seen in all his travels to African countries.

Although there are still agitations from Hutus who fled to DR Congo, Rwandans now appear united in their pursuit for peace and development 17 years after the genocide. They are building and football is one factor that lifts their spirit. It is a unifying factor and when they take on the Eagles of Nigeria today in Stade Regionale de Nyamirambo, there will be no Hutus or Tutsis but one united Rwanda.

“It will be a case of Goloaith and David,” Richard Gahonzire, a member of the Rwanda Football Federation told this reporter on arrival yesterday. Richard was at the airport to receive the Eagles.

“We are not playing at the big stadium,” he said, adding “we are playing in a 12,000 capacity stadium where we don’t lose matches. It has artificial turf and there we will beat Nigeria.”

He smiled, holding the hand of this reporter, he continued: “We like stopping giants. We stopped you from going to the 2006 World Cup when your mighty team could not beat us here and even forced us to a draw. If you won that match Angola would not have stopped you. This time it will also be fun to stop Nigeria from going to the next Nations Cup. We’ll like to be on record as having stopped Nigeria. It will be fun and great to be so addressed. Football is a great factor here and your team will know this in the field.”

Christopher Green, head of Nigeria’s Technical Committee commended Richard for being nice, in many areas, to the Nigerian delegation but told him that Nigeria would pummel them this time.

Stephen Keshi is assimilating the information the advance team has provided them. In the team were Amodu Shuaibu, Dr. Ikpeme, Bola Oyeyode and Green himself.

Having failed to qualify for the last Nations Cup, the Nigeria Football Federation appears not to give anything to chance. President Aminu Maigari has told Keshi only a victory would be enough and Keshi and his crew are working for that