It was an ecstatic Friday evening
on the 25th day of October 2019; the preparations, environment and
the feeling were befitting. This was a moment of celebrating Uganda at 57 by
the community of Ugandans in Afghanistan. Thanks to the Ugandan community in Afghanistan,
thanks to African brother and sisters, thanks to friends from other parts of
the world. You all made it the merry celebration it was, with great display of hospitality
and generosity from The Peal of Africa” and spirit of friendship exhibited by guests
from other countries.
I am glad, Uganda at 57 in
Afghanistan embodied the hope and aspiration for a better Uganda. Holding this function thousands of miles away
from the realities on ground created a rare opportunity of imagination and
action. We were able to proudly project Uganda to the world as is and should be.
It was therefore an opportunity to compensate for the many independence celebrations
which I have not celebrated (by choice) in the past years. Thank you, colleague and friends for this good
memory.
The function created an opportunity to
showcase Uganda’s hospitality and generosity through the tangible and non-tangible
value which were shared with all guests to promote knowledge about Uganda’s
tourism, culture, values and hospitality. The testimonies from non-Ugandans who
have lived or worked in Uganda was “a payback kind” about the beauty and
hospitality of Uganda for which we must never take for granted. We must work
hard to preserve and better what we have if we must continue to be competitive
in the community of nations. “Yes, we can” through deliberate effort that
creates an environment which allows space for human ingenuity to thrive, where
rule of rule of law is a practice rather than a theory and where honesty and accountability
are cherished values by all. In those efforts and values rests the potential to
leap Uganda into a model position where every Ugandan can be proud and can thrive.
It was a great celebration, the emceeing
was great, the prayer was angelic, the food was delicious, the speeches were candid
and melodic but also laden with hope for a better future of Uganda. In
particular, the speech from the UN permanent Mission in New York articulated Uganda
Vision 2040. It is a great vision for which political leadership of the country
and all other handlers at different levels must work hard to make sure this is
achieved. In the “Kabul spirit of Uganda at 57” I would implore that we hesitate
to judge implementation of this vision by the record of Uganda government because
it may derail the morale which we have picked. However, I would a call upon us
all to be very uncompromising when demanding for accountability from those, whose
job it is to make sure that Vision 2040 is achieved because Ugandans deserve it.
I personally was getting involved
in celebrations of independence after many years of deliberately not
celebrating Uganda’s independence. I have for a good number of years believed
that it’s not worthy celebrating the Independence Day of Uganda and indeed for other
African countries, not because I am a less patriotic Ugandan/African but because
of the mockery that this independence has become when judging from the socio-economic
development of Uganda/Africa since independence. Even though Uganda is gifted
by nature with plenty of natural resources, as a country we continue to post miserable
results on the different score cards of the different aspects of Uganda’s life
after gaining independence. I have got a legitimate quarrel with LEADERSHIP and
the ELITE (subject for another day) on what has been done, how it has been
done and what remains to be done. The way
ahead seems long, meandering and hard which requires definite change of course
where it MUST NOT be business as usual.
That said, if we must enjoy the
fruits of independence, we must build strong institutions, promote rule of law and
expunge the current rudimentary practice of “African strong men and women “out the equation. As a matter of necessity, we must embrace
honesty, professionalism and accountability. The GREED OF THE ELITE which
causes our complicity with misrule must be expunged with the disdain it deserves.
“For God and my Country”
Long Live Uganda, The Pearl of
Africa.
