Busoga in a campaign to restore lost glory one step at a time
Sep 10, 2016
Proud to be a Musoga is a campaign striving to restore the pride of being born a Musoga, a reality many have distanced themselves from due to the stereotypes imposed on the Basoga.
PIC: Families have also joined the ‘Proud to be a Musoga' campaign. Photos/ Solomon Oleny
You have probably seen people wearing T. shirts bearing the expression "Proud to be a Musoga" that is printed against a background of thumb prints. Chances are high you must have been left wondering what the entire drama is about.
Started three years back by Moses Zikusoka, a proud Musoga, who lived almost 30 years in the UK / US, and returned to Uganda 10 years ago.
Proud to be a Musoga is a campaign striving at restoring the pride of being born a Musoga, a reality many have distanced themselves from due to the stereotypes imposed upon the Basoga. Most of these have a thing to do with being slow thinkers, poor or conservative.
According to Senior Marketing Officer with the Uganda Tourism Board, he was inclined to start the campaign in response to his 10 year old son being teased by his classmates for being a Musoga.
"I was offended and incensed. I couldn't help it but to remind my son that that there was nothing shameful about being a Musoga," said the 45-year-old.
In agreement with Zikusoka's opinion, Edward Balidawa former Kigulu North Member of Parliament observed that Basoga had produced many pioneers in Uganda - first medical doctor, female Vice President, Chief Justice and Civil Engineer (his father Eng. James Zikusoka), not to mention many non-Basoga who benefitted from the generosity and warm hospitality of the Basoga people.
Busoga has literally built Uganda especially if you include the electricity and manufacturing industries of Jinja.
"Busoga declined economically and socially in the 1970s/1990s, especially with the departure of the Asians. However, this doesn't undo our rich history,"Balidawa noted.
It is partly for this reason that the campaign aims at inspiring future Basoga generations to emulate the pioneering spirit and successes of their forefathers.
Thanks to social media's instrumental role in championing the cause, what started as a response to Zikusoka's son being teased at school has resulted into a global campaign. It is backed by people from all walks of life inclusive of pro-Busoga Associations in the Diaspora.
Its stronger is the US and the United Arab Emirates where over 5,000 followers have embraced the 'Proud to be a Musoga' T-shirts as a vehicle to assert their pride.
Ultimately, the movement has acted as a catalyst to unite different Basoga groups within Uganda and in the diaspora; to work together to create and invest in development projects. These businesses projects will restore dignity, wealth back to the impoverished Basoga.
One example of Basoga group is Twegaite, a US based organization that has aggressively taken on the promotion of Busoga's tourism endowments to the US market.
Future plan
A specific leg of the campaign under the patronage of incumbent Busoga King HRH Wiliam Wilberforce Nadiope IV is being established to target 'the Friends of Busoga'. Its prime objective is to elicit the support of those who are not ethnically Basoga but benefitted or even feel positive about their experience in growing up, studying or working in Busoga.
These friends of Busoga include Mrs. Allen Kagina, executive director of UNRA, Stephen Asiimwe, executive director of UTB, Patrick Bitature, chairman / chief executive officer, Simba group of companies and Robert Kabushenga, CEO of the Vision group, Dr. Sudhir Ruparelia, Chairman, Ruparelia group of companies, among others.
According to Nadiope, the campaign has gone a long way in uniting different Busoga chiefdoms. It has positively impacted on the eradication of poverty and disease, educating the Basoga and providing food security.
Most importantly, it has created a lot of hope and goodwill in this new dawn for Busoga.
"After several false starts, Busoga is finally on its way to reclaiming its position in Uganda as a stable, dynamic, progressive, net financial and human resource contributor in Uganda," Nadiope said.