OPINION

By Sam Orikunda

While addressing the youth in Kabale on the international youth day, President Museveni guided the young people of Uganda about a number of things that would affect their future negatively and positively. Notably, the President told the youth about being disciplined and guarding their lives jealously. He said youth shouldn't focus on the temporary pleasures that usually cost them their lives.

However, The President was very categorical about ideology. He said, "Part of the problem is that some of the youth get wrong ideology for example the wrong ideology of sectarianism, religion, tribe etc."

He told the youth that if they take that line, they will fail because most of the people who took it in the past failed. He added on that, "During the independence the people who were present then were young people but they failed in leadership because of having a wrong ideology. Countries like Tanzania where Mwalimu Julius Nyerere addressed the issue of Ideology, has been stable for all this long. President Nyerere started with a good ideology of (Uzalendo) patriotism. Even when they fail to do something, they will do after sometime because the country is stable." I think this is so true because countries which are suffering civil wars are brought by bad Ideology of Sectarianism within the army and in the politics. Countries like South Sudan and DRC have faced this challenge.

Several Ugandans have weighed in on the statements that were made by the NUP president Robert Kyagulanyi while addressing the people of Luwero. Actually when the debate got serious, Kyagulanyi himself, went to his twitter handle to defend himself, saying that the people in power have been engaging in open tribalism and he was wondering why they were bothered when he did the same. I have also seen some of his supporters and other members of the opposition backing him up, saying what he did was right but I have also seen those who are shocked and disappointed wondering what kind of leader Kyagulanyi will make.

From the beginning of his political journey, Ugandans started raising red flags against Robert Kyagulanyi and his political party the National Unity Platform, saying it was a sectarian political party which the NUP members Vehemently opposed. Their leader had earlier made controversial statements which sparked off suspicion and portrayed that he was taking tribal line.  Statements like "Twebereremu" caused alot of debate in the country, Ugandans were wondering who exactly Bobi Wine was telling when he made that statement. Therefore, it shouldn't shock anybody when Bobi Wine makes similar statements. His direction was known right from the start and it's not about to change. 

The purpose of the opposition in any country should be to provide alternative to the people who do not believe in the government in power.  The opposition should give hope that there will be a difference in case it is trusted with power, however what the Ugandan main opposition political party is doing is very different because if you say that the NRM government is tribalistic then when do you do the same? You should be condemning it and doing things differently so that Ugandans see you different and get an option.  The opposition should be advising the government in power, so that where the government is wrong it can be challenged and make better decisions for the good of the citizens. It is however difficult to get a working strategy in the opposition, they've instead diverted to engaging in tribal talks, even the recent disagreements in FDC later took tribal lines with Amuriat being accused of siding with Nandala Mafabi who comes from the same region.

One wonders, if Robert Kyagulanyi appeals to his fellow tribesmen to be the ones to support his political ambitions, how about the people who are members of his political party but do not belong to his tribe? How safe are they and how sure should they be that if NUP succeeds they won't be sidelined?

President Museveni solved the paradox of tribalism long time ago, only that some people don't pay attention to details. The President said that the past governments used to fail to get the required percentages during elections because the numbers in their region wouldn't make the required percentage needed for one to be declared winner, for instance if a person contests as  president and appeals for the support from only central region, it is most likely that the person will not  the required percentage because Uganda has over forty million people, even if every person from the central region voted him, still the numbers from other parts of the country would defeat that person hence failing to win. That is why there was unending political conflicts between the leaders because the contestants would fail to win hence resorting to fight among themselves. Uganda that time became ungovernable and there was instability everywhere, that's the same reason as to why the governments wouldn't last for a decade because there was no political harmony and that's exactly where Robert Kyagulanyi and his people want to the country to go back to. Kyagulanyi and his group should ask themselves if the NUP government will become a government of only Baganda in case they're given a chance.

If the National Unity Platform focuses on the issues that affect all the people of Uganda, then it will be easier for them to convince Ugandans because the problem that the people in Central Uganda face are the same problems that the people of Western Uganda face. If the jobs are few, it's not only the people in Central region who will be affected but the whole country, the few jobs that the government has, can't absorb the entire country, meaning there should be an initiative of setting up factories which can absorb most of the young people and that has been the focus of the government. If there's poverty in Uganda it's not one region which will be affected, poverty doesn't know which color or region a person belongs to, the community has similar problems and for you to help them you must tackle those challenges by providing solutions not dividing them basing on where they come from. Some Ugandans are intermarried, I don't know if Kyagulanyi is aware that people from Central region have got wives from western Uganda and vice versa, now if you say that the Baganda should fight each other, will those people be spared? How about their children?

Uganda has gone past those tribal lines, For the years that the National Resistance Movement has been in power, I'm sure Ugandans have learnt and understood that living together in harmony is the way to go. However, they should stand against what Kyagulanyi group is preaching, if he continues, he will successfully plant a seed of hate between Baganda and other tribes. What he is doing can easily spark off rivalry between different tribes and hence leading us into a genocide like it happened in Rwanda.  We should see each other as Africans and not the small tribes where we belong to. Africa has for a long time got problems because we conflict amongst ourselves basing on sectarian sentiments which is very unnecessary. There's no person in Uganda who has tried to start business and was frustrated by government because he belonged to a certain tribe.

All government programs benefit Ugandans from every part of the country, for instance the Parish development model which is government's focus now isn't being implemented from one region or one part of the country. Therefore, let us set aside these sectarian sentiments, remain united and move together as a country.

The writer is a deputy RDC Sheema District