It is good Milton Obote is coming back
SIR — The news of the planned return of former president Milton Obote hit the country with a bang last week. many of us did not know how to respond.
SIR — The news of the planned return of former president Milton Obote hit the country with a bang last week. many of us did not know how to respond.
This followed unprecedented debates in the media, especially on the FM radio stations about the merits and demerits of the matter. some responses bordering on paranoia. After careful thought, I suggest the former president should be welcomed for the following reasons: Obote being a Ugandan, it is at best unconstitutional for a national, his sins not withstanding, to be barred from returning to his motherland. Besides, it would be setting a bad precedent. In Rwanda, some nationals were barred from returning home by the then president, Juvenal Habyarimana over flimsy reasons such as “the country is not big enough to accommodate them allâ€. It is logical to say that the subsequent genocide in Rwanda could probably have been averted if such recourse was avoided.
Secondly, the well- known animosity between Obote and the Baganda has not been helped by some politicians who have always played the “scarecrow†card, threatening the Baganda that unless these politicians were voted into power, Obote would come back to power and unleash his anger on them. One is awed with the success of this strategy to the extent of lifting Obote to a demigod status.
Many Baganda fail to realise that Obote is nothing more than a shadow of his former self now and relies more on the physical presence of a helper to go on with life’s daily routines. age has played its unfailing role. At 80 years of age, coupled with a 20-year absence from home is more than enough to rob him of his former status. It is common to find many of them arguing that when Obote returns, he will get control of the army and become president again!
To such people, the fact that there is now a fully-fledged army that can’t accept such manoeuvers falls on deaf ears. When Obote comes back, all this will become glaringly obvious. Their threats are simply absurd. The Baganda therefore, will now be able to rediscover themselves, adequately identify priorities and focus their energies on them.
Thirdly, those who feel seriously aggrieved by Obote’s past actions will get a golden opportunity to seek justice through courts of law, a feat, otherwise unattainable today when he is so far away. This may even serve to caution future presidents and other leaders to be more careful in what they do knowing that one day they may have to give an account of their actions.
Lastly, for the first time and for the sake of posterity, we will get a chance to hear Obote’s side of the story when he is not in power and probably be able to get an accurate historical account of our country and avoid past mistakes which have cost the country so much. Surely, a person who has been president of Uganda twice, has something to advise us about too.
Vincent Kizza
Kampala
This followed unprecedented debates in the media, especially on the FM radio stations about the merits and demerits of the matter. some responses bordering on paranoia. After careful thought, I suggest the former president should be welcomed for the following reasons: Obote being a Ugandan, it is at best unconstitutional for a national, his sins not withstanding, to be barred from returning to his motherland. Besides, it would be setting a bad precedent. In Rwanda, some nationals were barred from returning home by the then president, Juvenal Habyarimana over flimsy reasons such as “the country is not big enough to accommodate them allâ€. It is logical to say that the subsequent genocide in Rwanda could probably have been averted if such recourse was avoided.
Secondly, the well- known animosity between Obote and the Baganda has not been helped by some politicians who have always played the “scarecrow†card, threatening the Baganda that unless these politicians were voted into power, Obote would come back to power and unleash his anger on them. One is awed with the success of this strategy to the extent of lifting Obote to a demigod status.
Many Baganda fail to realise that Obote is nothing more than a shadow of his former self now and relies more on the physical presence of a helper to go on with life’s daily routines. age has played its unfailing role. At 80 years of age, coupled with a 20-year absence from home is more than enough to rob him of his former status. It is common to find many of them arguing that when Obote returns, he will get control of the army and become president again!
To such people, the fact that there is now a fully-fledged army that can’t accept such manoeuvers falls on deaf ears. When Obote comes back, all this will become glaringly obvious. Their threats are simply absurd. The Baganda therefore, will now be able to rediscover themselves, adequately identify priorities and focus their energies on them.
Thirdly, those who feel seriously aggrieved by Obote’s past actions will get a golden opportunity to seek justice through courts of law, a feat, otherwise unattainable today when he is so far away. This may even serve to caution future presidents and other leaders to be more careful in what they do knowing that one day they may have to give an account of their actions.
Lastly, for the first time and for the sake of posterity, we will get a chance to hear Obote’s side of the story when he is not in power and probably be able to get an accurate historical account of our country and avoid past mistakes which have cost the country so much. Surely, a person who has been president of Uganda twice, has something to advise us about too.
Vincent Kizza
Kampala