Do Uganda’s young, vibrant MPs have unity of purpose?
Sep 21, 2011
IT is reported that Uganda is one of the countries with the youngest population. This can be exemplified by the current breed of legislators. They are a radical change from our old perception of MPs.
By Pecos Kutesa
IT is reported that Uganda is one of the countries with the youngest population. This can be exemplified by the current breed of legislators. They are a radical change from our old perception of MPs.
Many have not yet grown political bellies and their hair lines are still intact. They are articulate and vocal. They seem to be the right people at the right time to tackle the dynamic challenges that Uganda is facing.
However, given such a group of young energetic and willing to take risk people; the leaders’ major task is to see that they have unity of purpose, clarity of a shared vision and ability to work as a team. Then one is assured of a winning team.
Ugandans have selected and deployed its elite citizens. But do they have unity of purpose? Do they share the vision they have for their county?
These citizens are now being handed the mantle of leading Ugandans forward. They should realise that the first step in leadership is to seek and accept responsibility. So they are expected to act and speak responsibly. I can feel for them having passed through that formative stage. Being a youth and immediately undergoing social transformation experience when the hormones are still in their peak is really challenging.
Some of us were forced to take up tasks which were almost above our age and experience, but we performed to the best of our capabilities and limitations which is also a cardinal principle in leadership.
The aim of this article is not to give lectures on leadership to the young legislators, but to call them back to attention. It was Prime Minister Churchill who observed in his memoirs that “at a certain stage in his life, he at first started to see his parents as docile, and not so intelligent, but at a certain stage, he was presently surprised to see his same parents as geniuses and more informed than he had previously viewed them.
The age between 18 and 25 even 30 years is a very challenging age in life. Our thinking, reaction, response, senses and grasping of new ideas is at its highest, that is when one is trying to find his/her identity in life. That is the time when one does things which have a lasting impact on society. Most coups were usually carried out by people in that age group. The age group of 18-30 is turmoil and challenging. One tends to see things in black and white, no grey area. One feels he/she is right and only others are wrong.
Now my challenge to our MPs, can you channel that abundant energy, brain and ability into positive action. Put all your brains together to push Uganda ahead. Come up with a well-researched and achievable guideline as a way forward.
Some time back, I was talking to a very senior army general, I asked him if Uganda has any hope with the kind of soldiers it does have now, since most of them joined soldiering as a means of livelihood but not as a calling. The general appreciated my concern and quoted a former army officer who had observed that every generation has its challenges and it must find the appropriate ways of solving them.
So while our challenges were just physical survival which needed physical force to overcome, the challenges of this generation are many and growing and they do not need physique but brains.
While we could sit down and plan and execute a military mission, our MPs’ battlefields have shifted. Their challenges are not dug in enemy defenses but hyperinflation, crazy commodity prices, riots, unemployment and unemployable youths, the climate change, the education system, the mindset that the Government owes people a living and many others.
If our youthful and highly learned MPs could put their heads together, then they would come out with the best strategy work plan (battle plan) on how this country can overcome these problems. I do not expect them to solve all the problems at once, but let them draw a route for Ugandans to follow and let them walk the talk.
The MPs should marshal all their energies towards solving the above problems other than directing their energy against themselves or the Government or political divisions. We are all in the same pit and we want the way out. They are highly educated and enlightened by all standards, so why not turn that ability to problem solving.
I end by regrettably equating the current situation as a house on fire. If the people in the house have to save their lives and property and the house itself from being consumed by the flame, the best way is not to argue on who is the best fire fighter but who at that time is near the door to open it quickly so that people get to the house and start fighting that fire using all means available and everybody must participate.
Such a people under a common peril cannot be choosy about height, weight, colour, belief or other divisionary attribute. I beg to be advised.
Writer is a UPDF Major General
IT is reported that Uganda is one of the countries with the youngest population. This can be exemplified by the current breed of legislators. They are a radical change from our old perception of MPs.
Many have not yet grown political bellies and their hair lines are still intact. They are articulate and vocal. They seem to be the right people at the right time to tackle the dynamic challenges that Uganda is facing.
However, given such a group of young energetic and willing to take risk people; the leaders’ major task is to see that they have unity of purpose, clarity of a shared vision and ability to work as a team. Then one is assured of a winning team.
Ugandans have selected and deployed its elite citizens. But do they have unity of purpose? Do they share the vision they have for their county?
These citizens are now being handed the mantle of leading Ugandans forward. They should realise that the first step in leadership is to seek and accept responsibility. So they are expected to act and speak responsibly. I can feel for them having passed through that formative stage. Being a youth and immediately undergoing social transformation experience when the hormones are still in their peak is really challenging.
Some of us were forced to take up tasks which were almost above our age and experience, but we performed to the best of our capabilities and limitations which is also a cardinal principle in leadership.
The aim of this article is not to give lectures on leadership to the young legislators, but to call them back to attention. It was Prime Minister Churchill who observed in his memoirs that “at a certain stage in his life, he at first started to see his parents as docile, and not so intelligent, but at a certain stage, he was presently surprised to see his same parents as geniuses and more informed than he had previously viewed them.
The age between 18 and 25 even 30 years is a very challenging age in life. Our thinking, reaction, response, senses and grasping of new ideas is at its highest, that is when one is trying to find his/her identity in life. That is the time when one does things which have a lasting impact on society. Most coups were usually carried out by people in that age group. The age group of 18-30 is turmoil and challenging. One tends to see things in black and white, no grey area. One feels he/she is right and only others are wrong.
Now my challenge to our MPs, can you channel that abundant energy, brain and ability into positive action. Put all your brains together to push Uganda ahead. Come up with a well-researched and achievable guideline as a way forward.
Some time back, I was talking to a very senior army general, I asked him if Uganda has any hope with the kind of soldiers it does have now, since most of them joined soldiering as a means of livelihood but not as a calling. The general appreciated my concern and quoted a former army officer who had observed that every generation has its challenges and it must find the appropriate ways of solving them.
So while our challenges were just physical survival which needed physical force to overcome, the challenges of this generation are many and growing and they do not need physique but brains.
While we could sit down and plan and execute a military mission, our MPs’ battlefields have shifted. Their challenges are not dug in enemy defenses but hyperinflation, crazy commodity prices, riots, unemployment and unemployable youths, the climate change, the education system, the mindset that the Government owes people a living and many others.
If our youthful and highly learned MPs could put their heads together, then they would come out with the best strategy work plan (battle plan) on how this country can overcome these problems. I do not expect them to solve all the problems at once, but let them draw a route for Ugandans to follow and let them walk the talk.
The MPs should marshal all their energies towards solving the above problems other than directing their energy against themselves or the Government or political divisions. We are all in the same pit and we want the way out. They are highly educated and enlightened by all standards, so why not turn that ability to problem solving.
I end by regrettably equating the current situation as a house on fire. If the people in the house have to save their lives and property and the house itself from being consumed by the flame, the best way is not to argue on who is the best fire fighter but who at that time is near the door to open it quickly so that people get to the house and start fighting that fire using all means available and everybody must participate.
Such a people under a common peril cannot be choosy about height, weight, colour, belief or other divisionary attribute. I beg to be advised.
Writer is a UPDF Major General