The Issue of Language

Much has been proposed about language by writers in exile and two classes, represented by two well-known writers, have formed around these propositions. On one hand, you have Ngugi wa Thiong'o who advocates writing in one's native language and having your work, then, translated to other language. On the other hand, you have Chinua Achebe who represents the class of writers who find it acceptable to write in the language of their former colonial masters even if they might harbor some misgivings about the colonists' deeds. Both of these stalwarts of African literature have valid points and comparing their views is like the proverbial apples and oranges comparison.
Starting with Ngugi, it is imperative to provide literary works to your own people who cannot read colonial languages such as French, English, Spanish, or Portuguese. To him, this was as important as writing and he started writing in his native Kikuyu. This did not stop his work from being translated, but looking at him and trying to emulate him might be dangerous for an aspiring writer.
Ngugi, when he decided to make the radical move, was already a well-respected writer who made a name for himself as a writer, editor, and professor in his native Kenya. He already had a following and a relationship with a publisher who was willing to promote his personal stance as a publicity and marketing ploy. To a new writer, especially one in exile, you might find that your traditional language market is insignificant and repelling to the publisher.
This is something a writer can do after he/she has tackled the larger market and wants to build a fan base among the smaller market of just his/her own people.
Chinua argues that a writer is to find a middle ground in his use of language as a medium for his story-telling. Not only is this more viable to an unestablished writer, but it is also easier for the readers as they don't have to scramble or wait for a translated work.
I would love to be able to put to use the vast vocabulary and wealth of my native Kinyarwanda, but I'm unable to write much in it. I used to enjoy reading Kinyarwanda newspapers and books, but now I only become frustrated as that ability has slowly eroded with the passing years in exile. Writing in it is out of the question for me, but I hope to be able to have some of my work translated into it in the future. For now, I hope to reach more people through English, which is not the language of Rwanda's colonizers, and show them an opening into my people's lives, customs, and traditions.
However, I know that if I was to be be fluent in Kinyarwanda there is absolutely no doubt that I would write in it. I have a memory of its beauty as I read it growing up, and until I can replicate that feeling, I will wait to put my work in it, hoping to safeguard its integrity from a butchery I would subject it to in my current state.