MUSEVENI SHOULD NOT FAIL UGANDA

Perhaps one leader that can be considered to have immensely contributed to the building of Uganda is President Museveni. It is his ingenuity and charismatic military leadership that new hope for nation building was born. Optimism reigned high. But that is more of yesterday than it is today. The man whose past is decorated with visible success is threatening to undo all the good he contributed to achieve in allowing human nature take control of him. Uganda has come thus far to afford its past to rear its ugly head again.

The country is helplessly  witnessing billions of her money end up in hands of few individuals. The military is threatening to undo the constitutional order. Promises of modernising agriculture is only a reality to the chosen few as the rest of the country is trapped in poverty with no or less access to information on how to improve household incomes. People are still dying of curable diseases due to lack of medical access both as a result of lacking a health facility or lack of a good road to the nearest medical facility or both.

President Museveni continues to alienate key political actors in the political process of the country through his second best political weapon of name and shame(the first being the gun) as he struggles to entrench himself in power.  

Uganda needs everyone's input if it's to develop instead of  sections of people who say  it's "our thing" and try to own all processes. The continued sidelining of people in the political process discourages enthusiasm and participation. If people's ideas are treated with derision or disrespect their enthusiasm will most likely deflate which definitely is not a good thing.

 

Most of the good hearted NRM cadres lost interest in championing the fight against corruption because of its support from internal structures. One former Internal Security Organisation(ISO) agent confided in me that on various occasions when they would apprehend a suspect for theft or any other wrong doing, they often found their bosses behind these dealings and would release the suspects on orders or out of fear of falling out with their bosses. Soon the agents lost interest and started doing the very things their bosses were doing.

 

President Museveni's biggest dilemma now is how to adopt to change. He feels he has deeply invested himself into the country's political processes and the last thing he wants is to become a shadow of the person he was and that's a big mistake. It's the way nature is. Every man breaks at some point but it's better to give up when still strong instead of losing your final fight. The growing opposition against his leadership can only widen.

The nature of politics is that its fickle, its liable to sudden unpredictable change. In recent history, that change has not been favourable to incubents and certainly not to one with a three decade tag rule behind his name.

It's now to the sharp NRM cadres to start looking forward for a future without Museveni. His values about how government should be run have not changed but the country and the electorate has. NRM cannot afford to cling on Museveni any more, the man belongs to the past and should not be allowed to fail Uganda.