We must never allow ‘another Museveni’ to rule
By Nathan Iron Emory
3rd Oct 2011: It is always a pleasure for a dictator to determine who eats instead of working hard to bake a larger pie from which the people can feed themselves. He distributes money to keep selected people wealthy. He systematically destroys institutions, leaving the country with no impartial Judiciary to turn to, no independent media to hold it to account, etc.
What they don’t know is that by so doing, they are re-directing people’s grievances towards their kinsmen; some of whom are totally innocent. But the events in North Africa over the last ten months have shown us that their strategies for repression and diversion won’t work anymore. Cell phones and social networks allow young people to connect and organize like never before. A new generation has emerged. And their voices tell all that change cannot be denied where it is urgently needed.
The ambition of Ugandans to achieve democracy is hostile to Gen. Museveni’s own ambition to remain in power for ever. The Status quo is not sustainable. Over the last 25 years of Museveni’s rule, Ugandans have been held together by nothing but fear and repression. Yes, it may offer a resemblance of stability. But that stability is built upon fault lines that will eventually explode.
We now have a historic opportunity to show the world that Ugandans value responsible leadership, dignity of life, and full democracy. Of course there will be perils that accompany this moment of promise. But after decades of accepting repression, we Ugandans now have a right and duty to pursue democracy and freedom as it should be. We must proceed with patriotism, and both sacrifice and humility.
It’s not America, Britain or France that put people onto the streets of Tunis, Cairo, Tripoli, or Damascus – it was the people themselves who launched these uprisings to get rid of the dictators that had been ruling them for decades. In Uganda, we all know that our political upheavals have been a result of bad leadership.
It is therefore in the interests of the entire country to change this trend so that future leaders are critically vetted on the grounds of their personalities, motives, values and skills. The success or failure of any leader depends largely on the extraordinary traits that he/she possesses. Here are a few that I have come across in my time on earth.
Conceptual – Meaning leaders must be available and ready to engage the country in formulating a national vision and strategy. He or she must also be adept in understanding people’s rights and problems, be ready to accommodate other people’s political views, socio-economic needs, and cultural values.
Interpersonal – Meaning leaders must have high regard for the people, must be good listeners, appreciative managers of society who respect divergent opinions.
Participative – Meaning leaders must be willing to engage nationals in sharing leadership roles especially when it comes to national decision making. This curtails situations where some leaders make autocratic decision without the input of others. They must also be leaders who accept to be consulted and evaluated in the implementation of national policies.
Transformational – Meaning Uganda needs leaders who do not use their authority to offer bribes/rewards and positions to buy loyalty from the followers. Our next leaders must also be individuals who aspire to serve and support the people at all times instead of commanding and controlling them. He or she must also be someone with the integrity and courage to do what is right for the country regardless of personal ambition.
Unfortunately in many countries, calls for change have been met with state violence. Muammar Gaddafi for example promised to hunt down pro-democracy activists like rats. In Uganda, the world was shocked by the inhuman brutality that Museveni’s security agencies unleashed against opposition leader Dr. Kizza Besigye in April this year. To Museveni’s government, I say this:
Today, the people of Uganda have the required courage to demand their democratic rights and civil liberties. Museveni has no choice but to listen to people’s aspirations. Stop shooting demonstrators. Release political prisoners and stop unjust political arrests. None of these can make the growing calls for reform go away. The only way forward is for the government and the opposition to engage in a dialogue. But you can’t dialogue when peaceful opposition protesters are being jailed and killed.
US President Barack Obama once said, “…if you take the risks that reform entails, you will have the full support of the United States”. As Ugandans, we must now take risks and rise up to fight for political reforms that will ensure that we never get ‘another Museveni’ in the form of his son Muhoozi in our country.
If we accept the young Muhoozi to take over, then we might as well forget about freedom and democracy for another 40 years. END. Please login to www.ugandacorrespondent.com every Monday to read our top stories and anytime mid-week for our news updates.
