By M. Suleiman

27^th June 2011: As the saying goes, absolute power corrupts absolutely.  We also know that power is like alcohol.  When you take a certain amount, you begin to get drunk.  And once you are drunk, the more you drink.  Dictators and their surrogates are like a pack of drunkards.

Once they are drunk with power, they convince themselves that they are not drunk.  The more they get drunk, the cleverer they feel.  The more they get drunk, the more they feel that they are in firm control; not just of themselves, but of everybody around them.  They exalt and worship one another.  Eventually, they start seeing themselves as extra-ordinary human beings.

Museveni and his cohorts fit this stereotype perfectly.  They are already drunk with power but still want more.  With every passing day, they feel cleverer.  They have convinced themselves that they are extra ordinary human beings; the type that Uganda has ever had.  They make and pass any law to protect themselves from the so-called ‘saboteurs’.

They shoot indiscriminately at what they call “rowdy rioters”; and yet, to you and me, these are no more than demonstrators!  Opposition leaders like Dr. Besigye are seen as “thugs” in the eyes of Museveni and company.  They order any amount of money from treasury for numerous “facilitations”.  They spray paint and pepper at their political opponents as and when they wish.

Uganda is now officially in the hands of political drunkards.  Sober Ugandans shouldn’t therefore be surprised by what comes from these political drunkards.  The drunkards, totally intoxicated by unchecked political power, have also thoroughly convinced themselves that they will stay in power for eternity.  If they were good students of history, they would know that their time is long gone; that they are in fact destined for disastrous ending.

In 1789, the people of France, after enduring the economic and political wrath of the predatory and insensitive regime of King Louis XVI, eventually took to the streets.  Although their aim was not to overthrow the Monarch, the situation went out of hand and in the end, the Monarch lost everything; including his own existence.

From then on, countless Monarchs and oppressive dictatorships followed suit. In Egypt, the King was overthrown.  In Libya, the King was overthrown.  But the classic one was in Ethiopia where after a fifty year reign, the once adored Emperor Haille Sellasse was reduced to no better than a village thief. The entire establishment was wiped out and thrown in the dustbins of history.

The same fate has befallen all dictators who have over stayed through corruption, coercion, and oppression.  Emperor Bokassa, Mobutu, Said Barre, Mengistu, Hussein Habre, Sgt Samuel Do, and lately, we have seen the downfall of President Ben Ali of Tunisia and Hosni Mubarak of Egypt. In all these cases, overstaying in power has been the curse; a curse that has caused the dictators and their superficial empires to collapse like the proverbial pack of cards.

Here is one other stark fact that should open Museveni’s eyes:  In almost all these cases, the ill-gotten wealth, the powerful security apparatuses, the powerful ruling parties, and the cheer group and family have all miserably gone down under with the dictator.

Hosni Mubarak’s Democratic Party headquarters was burnt down.  His infamous police force, exactly like the one Gen. Kale Kayihura is presiding over in Uganda, was dissolved as the people demanded.  His cheer singers and family members are now set for a lifetime in prison; one that they are unlikely to get out of alive.  Tunisia’s Ben Ali was recently tried, convicted, and sentenced in absentia to 55years in prison; all in one day!

In short, the dictators’ real enemies are actually not the people who stand up to them at the appropriate time and ask them to relinquish power.  Their real enemies are their opportunistic so-called close friends and advisors who encourage them to hang on to power.

For example, President Chiluba of Zambia [RIP] was saved from his own greed for power by his Vice President Gen. Tembo who took a firm stand against any life presidency ambitions.  Gen. Tembo was later supported by a couple of cabinet Ministers.  That is how Chiluba stepped aside.  Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo was saved by his Vice President Atiku Abubakar.

I think our very own Yoweri Museveni will in time realise that Besigye was actually his best friend; a compatriot who stood up to save him and others like him from imminent shame and disaster.  Unfortunately, he is too drunk to realise that now.  By the time he sobers up, the people of Uganda will have taken matters out of Besigye’s hands.  END.  Please login to www.ugandacorrespondent.com every Monday to read our top stories and anytime mid-week for our news updates.