I wish to start by congratulating His Excellency President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni upon his 79th Birthday Celebrations and Maama Janet Kataha Museveni for taking special care of him for all these years.
I am more fascinated with President Museveni today than ever before. From admiring him in the early years for his revolutionary exploits to how he has steered Uganda against unbelievable odds in a fast-changing world, I find him more relevant today than ever before. Why?
Just look at who we have as “alternative leadership” from the opposition side and count the troubles we face if our “stabilizing factor” just leaves like that!
The talk by the NUP leader, Hon. Kyagulanyi Robert a.k.a Bobi Wine while on his recent tours in the countryside are cause for much worry for the future of Uganda. At a time when we need to see new leaders emerging on the scene, we are getting thoroughly disappointed. He may have wanted to attract attention from security agencies but there was more at stake for him than anyone else. He will live to regret his language and tone!
The kind of language he used in Luweero was bitterly disrespectful to his audience and a sign that he takes Ugandans like comedy show goers. Bobi Wine needs time to reflect on our history and his own part in the country’s destiny. If not, he is at risk of self-destructing when Museveni’s Uganda has been kind to him to grow and become rich, and to have a voice. Compare his language with President Museveni’s idealistic messages when he was waging the people’s struggle in the same area! Worlds apart!
Bobi Wine should know that Museveni is still a darling in Uganda. He should look at and not take for granted the crowds that follow Gen. MK who is Museveni’s biological son.
He needs to ask himself of where these numbers are coming from, if indeed the people, as he says; hate Museveni. Are these foreigners?
Museveni is still energetic, powerful and admired by not only Ugandans but by people allover the world largely because of his individual character and approach to leadership. Bobi Wine’s only advantage as of now is that the opposition members are self-motivated and the fights amongst the NRM leaders tend to cause disunity in the party members. But to prove that Museveni is still a darling; even in constituencies where NUP secured MPs, Museveni won as Presidential Candidate.
The former Member if Parliament’s hateful and divisive talk exposed his character, the caliber of leader he is and his level of appreciation of Uganda and our collective vision for the future. Truly, his message reminded Ugandans that in President Museveni, we still have a balanced, mature and well-intentioned leader who is most valuable for the country.
Museveni has rebuilt Uganda from a country in ashes into a viable functioning entity. After 37 years at the helm, he has ably identified strategic challenges to Uganda’s advancement and is the only reliable figure to counter them since he is instrumental in identifying them. These include ideological disorientation that leads people to focus on tribe and religion as the guarantors of their future, thus promoting sectarianism, under-development of the human resource, under-development of infrastructure, under-development of the services sector, fragmented markets across the region and across Africa and Africa’s fragility in the alignment of global power.
The above are monumental tasks that cannot be left to chance. If that worked in the past, today we don’t have that leisure. The key ingredient is accomplished leadership acumen which most of the “wanters” consistently lack and are exhibiting unwillingness to adapt. Looking at the strategic challenges facing Uganda and the aims and objectives we have as a nation; leadership is going to play an even more critical role in our destiny. This is why we have to examine the issue of leadership carefully, objectively and seriously. Those who talk of leadership in terms of “it is our turn” need to understand that managing a country is not about churning our lyrical words and rousing people. It is a fundamental factor! Wrong leadership can plunge a country into mayhem the kind you don’t even want to imagine.
President Museveni has distinguished himself with a unique set of qualities not common among current and emerging political leaders. He is gifted with strong and effective leadership, he is a strategic thinker, has excellent understanding of Africa’s problems in general and Uganda’s needs in particular. He is the wind in the agenda of East African federation and African integration. These are sophisticated subject matters to which we should all direct our minds and mouths. Instead, we have our own talking tribes, religion, etc; what have those done for promoting such divisionism done for us except building careers based on wickedness?
Uganda needs a credible political opposition to talk about these ills.
To show that Bobi Wine’s antics are regrettable, I saw Dr. Kizza Besigye making fun about the whole thing of NUP being the leading opposition party. He said since 2021 when NUP emerged, President Museveni has not been under pressure. While President Museveni is never under pressure, Besigye’s take indicates how unimpressive emerging efforts at providing leadership to Uganda are. While Dr. Besigye himself has failed to justify himself to the people for all the time he has been challenging Museveni, he has a level of maturity and restraint, but not good enough to win over the trust of Ugandans compared to the seniority, experience, trust, reliability and logic of his former boss. NUP and FDC are bitter rivals, so Dr. Besigye’s happiness can tell you what he thinks of the Kamwokya-Bwaise group and where they are headed.
Uganda, therefore, critically still needs Museveni because the opposition that wants him gone has failed to provide a viable, credible and practical alternative programme clearly laying out what they would do differently to transform Uganda into a fully modern country. The main opposition programme revolves around the slogan “Museveni must go!” and other weak ideas.
Moreover, the opposition has failed to come together to form a credible force. They are fragmented, often quarrelling among themselves while others are enjoying the “dictatorship,” throwing party after party. Former Prime Minister, Rt. Hon. Amama Mbabazi, once said, “Africa’s problem is leadership. When, therefore, you have a good leader, you don’t let go”. For Ugandans, “letting go” will not happen when they see potential leaders lacking attention for things that matter and, instead, preaching hatred and violence!
The author is the Deputy Presidential Press Secretary
