Kibirige Ssebunya was indeed a patriot

Oct 22, 2008

EDITOR—The late Dr Kigirige Ssebunya was indeed a patriot as President Yoweri Museveni noted. In his book, “<i>The Trouble with Nigeria</i>”, celebrated Nigerian author Chinua Achebe deals with the question of who is a patriot. He is a person who loves his country.

EDITOR—The late Dr Kigirige Ssebunya was indeed a patriot as President Yoweri Museveni noted. In his book, “The Trouble with Nigeria”, celebrated Nigerian author Chinua Achebe deals with the question of who is a patriot. He is a person who loves his country.

He is not a person who says he loves his country. He is not a person who shouts or swears or recites or sings his love for his country.

He is one who cares deeply about the happiness and wellbeing of his country and its people. I don’t know what precentage of our leaders fit this description.

While many fled for greener pastures, Kibirige remained behind and stood with his people. When our crops were being invaded by diseases, he got concerned and carried out research. While leaders were busy building perimeter walls around their houses, he would have none of that. he would mixed freely with his people.

While many are embroiled in corruption scandals, Kibirige was above that. Sadly it was only the bottle that he failed to conquer. Nevertheless, one can never doubt Kibirige’s nationalism.Where shall we find such people?

His death reminds me of the late Dr. Aporu Okol who incidentally was also state minister for agriculture. His death too, shook many people. Victoria Sekitolekko who was the senior minister broke down. Both ministers were very close to the people.

Aporu challenged the young men who had taken arms against the Government to surrender and many heeded his advice. Both men deeply cared about their people.

Moses Erongot
Kampala

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