Museveni deserves one last ‘goodbye term’
By Adam Kazoora
6th January 2012: Like any other good National Resistance Movement [NRM] cadre, there was no way I could have missed the historic and happy celebrations to mark 26 years of the NRM’s successful rule in our country on the 26th of January 2012 in Kapchorwa district.
The atmosphere was electric, with thousands upon thousands of happy Ugandans joining in the celebrations. His Excellency President Museveni spoke with energy and optimism for the future as he outlined the NRM’s great achievements over the last 26 years. No one needs reminding anymore.
In 26 years, we have nearly one hundred radio stations broadcasting freely in Uganda. And every single Ugandan who can afford the fees charged by the individual stations always gets access to them without discrimination. The situation is not any different with television stations. From having only UTV when we took power, Ugandans are spoilt for choice today.
We got rid of non-performing government parastatals and liberalised the economy. Today, market forces are delivering just rewards for all hardworking Ugandans. They have build hundreds of shopping malls across the country, they have built personal residences and mansions, they have built hundreds of good quality private schools, and more people than ever before now drive their own cars.
Democracy is flourishing. We have a very vibrant parliament which, unlike before, can now challenge the President’s directives and still live to see the light of day. Unlike before, we have tens of opposition parties freely going about their businesses today, even though they have nothing useful to offer Ugandans. But NRM still respects their right to engage in useless walk-to-work protests and plenty of “wolokoso”.
When they misbehave, as they often do, we now have a professional army and police force that treats them firmly but fairly. In the old bad days, none of this would have been allowed to happen. Idi Amin for example would have simply put the like of Besigye on a firing squad and finished them off.
On the contrary, for 26 years, President Museveni has been a firm believer in the rule of law. That is one of the key things he fought gallantly for in Luwero triangle. And it is for that reason that he has preferred to use the law to deal with stubborn opposition people like Besigye, Mao, Reagan, Odonga Otto, Lukwago, etc.
In fact, to show that the laws of the land are enforced equally without fear and favour, even our own NRM cadres like Tumukunde, Cheeye, Kutesa, Rukutana, Nasasira etc who should have been given preferential treatment for their sacrifices to the liberation struggle have also faced the full wrath of the law.
On the economic front, President Museveni has excelled with flying colours. For example, as the world, including the world’s richest countries grappled with a debilitating economic crisis, President Museveni skilfully steered the country away from the turbulent economic waters that nearly sunk many giant economies like Britain, the US, Greece, Italy etc. So what more can we ask for?
I am not, and have never been in any influential position of leadership in the NRM. This has enabled me to escape the bondages of collective cabinet responsibility. From the sidelines, I can clearly see that President Museveni has done a wonderful job for Ugandans. That is why I said in this newspaper sometime back that we should appreciate the things he has done for Uganda.
Of course, Museveni is not infallible. He has made his fair share of mistakes over the last 26 years. To err is human. Over all however, there is no doubt that he has done a wonderful job. If I had been given the opportunity to speak during the celebrations in Kapchorwa, I would have urged Ugandans to give our dear President one last goodbye term in office. He deserves it.
I would have also said that if he tries to stay in power beyond 2021, then all Ugandans would be justified to pick arms to kick him out of power. But not now! And, regardless of all his many weaknesses, I must sincerely commend FDC leader Dr Besigye for consistently advising his supporters against picking up arms.
Democracy is here. Let us use it to push for what we want instead of fighting. That is my advice. But if Besigye’s impatient supporters defy his wise advice as some are indeed threatening to, then we shall have no option but to use the mighty UPDF to mercilessly eliminate them from the face of Ugandan politics.
I hope it doesn’t come to that. And the only way to avoid that is to let Museveni rule until 2021 when he will be too old to continue. END: Please login to www.ugandacorrespondent.com every Monday to read our top stories and anytime mid-week for our news updates.
