Seasoned politician and Democratic Party (DP) president, who is also the minister for Justice and Constitutional Affairs, Mr Norbert Mao, in one of those philosophical and witty remarks described leading/ruling Uganda as tough as riding a mad tiger. Meaning you have to be very brave and extraordinarily skilled to remain on the back of the mad tiger, or else the tiger would throw you off in a second, and you would die.
Mr Mao made the observation in positive praise of President Museveni, who has led Uganda for close to 40 years. To Mao, this is no mean achievement given Uganda’s history and, therefore, urged Ugandans to give him the respect he deserves. Mao could not have described Uganda in any other phraseology than that. Imagine, from 1962 when Uganda attained independence, to 1986 when President Museveni came to power, Uganda had changed presidents for a record seven times. Those changes were sometimes achieved through violent military interventions.
The reason Uganda became a ‘mad tiger’ is largely associated with its history. Uganda was never a single political entity at the time of its creation by the British colonialists. The colonisers forcefully created the Ugandan State through merging several kingdoms, chiefdoms, tribes and clans. In fact, these kingdoms and chiefdoms were always at war with each other. Therefore, the colonialists forced us into a union that literally became difficult to unite. Consequently, the post-independence elites who took the reins of power failed to achieve that much-needed unity and coexistence.
Leaders such as Milton Obote, Edward Muteesa, Grace Ibingira, and John Kakonge, among others, failed to achieve unity among these nations, and what followed until 1986 is everybody’s knowledge.While canvassing for votes across the country in the ongoing electoral campaigns, Mr Museveni’s catchword is preserving the peace that Ugandans have enjoyed for some time now. In fact, it is the biggest gain that must be jealously protected because it is the anchor for other gains in our socioeconomic transformation journey.
Without a doubt, for Uganda to witness radical transformation, we have to keep on attracting foreign capital because we are still a small economy to do it ourselves. It took a lot of persuasion and guaranteeing security in Uganda for investors to begin bringing capital and the much-needed expertise that Ugandans are benefiting from. Peace is a fundamental component of development, acting as both a prerequisite and a result of progress, as violent conflict disrupts essential systems like education, healthcare, and commerce.
A peaceful environment fosters social stability, trust, and cooperation, which are essential for development to occur. This relationship is recognised in global frameworks like the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), specifically SDG 16, which aims to promote a peaceful and inclusive society. For some time, none of the global investors thought of investing in Uganda. Uganda was synonymous with civil wars and military coups. All that scepticism has since changed. Big investors are comfortably flocking to the country for big investments.
Take the example of companies such as Total and CNOOC, and, until recently, Tullow. These are investing billions of dollars in oil extraction in the Albertine region.
Uganda has witnessed massive Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs) in the telecoms sector, in the banking sector, agro-industrialisation, manufacturing and the services sector. All these are taking place because of the prevailing peace in the country. Uganda remains the island of peace in the region. It is no wonder that Uganda is the second country in the world to host the largest number of refugees.
These trek into from across the world because of guaranteed peace and, of course, the best and hospitable refugee policy that Uganda extends to refugees.
Question is, as we roll to January 15 to elect our leaders, should we maintain this progress or…? My honest take is that Ugandans should maintain the status quo since the driver is still full of stamina and has the correct vision.