Ofwono Opondo is wrong about Mao

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OPINION

By Ahmed Shaban A. Mugweri a.k.a Obama

I recently read an article written by Mzee Ofwono Opondo about Chairman Hon. Nobert Mao’s bid for speaker of Parliament. Ndugu Opondo challenged Mao to stop wasting his time because the NRM’s numbers in Parliament are immense and he’d have no chance. In the article, he raised other issues concerning Mao’s previous leadership experiences, which I’ll not delve into.

With all due respect to my elder in the party, I find the reasoning behind the issues raised to be so pedestrian. Hon. Opondo needs to go a little deeper and analyse situations a little more, and try to see things through another lens. As someone from the far East, I think Ofwono should be more in touch with the people in the north to get a clear glimpse of what's happening on the ground, rather than writing down lazy, random thoughts from his sitting room.

1) Hon. Jacob Oulanya's death is still fresh in the memories of most people, especially those in northern Uganda. Nobert Mao is seen as their consolation and possible replacement. They have numbers too, especially when we talk about the greater North, including Karamoja, Lango, Acholi and West Nile. When it comes to seats like these, I am very sure "political allegiance" will step aside. The current Government Chief Whip, my good old friend Denis Hamson Obua, lost his Ajuri seat to a UPC stalwart. Only a Presidential appointment now can rescue this position come May or June, but still, there's always no guarantee when it comes to Presidential appointments.

People are nervous, and they think they might lose the big positions as a region. Eastern Uganda is divided between Rt. Hon. Rebecca Kadaga and Anite loyalists. Be sure Kadaga's loyalists will back Mao and not just in Busoga, but across the country. There are so many new faces in the 12th Parliament, especially the NUP party members and the independents.

By the way, listening to Radios and television debates across the country, or even a brief chat with some members of the party, you’ll realise a cross-section of people within the NRM see Rt. Hon Anite is too ambitious and aggressive in climbing the political ladder. Something which may unsettle a couple of bigwigs, who may choose to throw their weight behind Chairman Hon. Nobert Mao. Given the travel bans and dwindling International Image that Anite has, many top NRM gurus may choose to sacrifice her for improved relations with the Western world.

Let us also not forget that the NRM has entered a political marriage with Uganda’s oldest Political parties – The Uganda Peoples Congress (UPC) and the Democratic Party (DP). The country is currently bleeding for peace, unity and reconciliation. This can easily be achieved through a government of National Unity. What Mzee Opondo needs to know is that compromises will have to be made for this to be achieved, however good or loved the speaker may be, or however big the NRM numbers are in Parliament. In the end, all these factors come into play on the negotiation table. The NRM numbers won’t matter much in this particular case.

However, as always, when money plays a hand, lots of the hands go soft, and the pens slide while in the voting process, and people end up voting for the "other" person. In my opinion, it is unfortunate that Hon. Anite may be one of the few former speakers of Parliament to hold office for only one term. Remind me I was wrong when May comes to pass, In-Shaa-Allah.

The writer is former Country Representative for Peace One Day, a former UN Employee and former contestant for Budiope County West Constituency in Buyende District (2010/11 and 2015/16).