By Frank Kamuntu
President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has said political leaders should be able to accurately diagnose the problems of the people they lead so that they are able to offer solutions to them.
According to the President, a political leader is like a medical doctor who should carry out an accurate diagnosis because if the diagnosis is not right, the patient (society) will die.
“This is what happens in many countries; many countries are killed by bogus doctors who think that someone has been bewitched when the fact is that it’s malaria. If you don’t diagnose the disease correctly, the patient will die,” he said.
President Museveni, who is also the Commander-in-Chief of the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF), made the remarks yesterday while delivering a lecture of opportunity to army officers of the Bangladesh Armed Forces War Course at State House Entebbe.
He explained that Africa’s biggest problem in the past was the ideological disorientation of leaders before colonialism, during colonialism and after colonialism, a factor that led to underdevelopment and instability.
“The biggest issue was, what is politics for? When handling public affairs what should you emphasize? Now many of our leaders emphasised politics of identity based on tribe, religion and race. They organised politically around identity. They used to form political parties based on tribes and religions. This was the biggest problem—politics of identity.
President Museveni further revealed that in the 1960s, when they formed a student movement, they analysed Uganda’s problems and how they could solve them.
“When we analysed our society, we discovered three problems and these formed what we called our historical mission. We found problem number one as lack of prosperity – our people had a lot of natural resources but no prosperity, they lacked prosperity and prosperity meant having a good house, having enough food, medical care, education and improved transport. And you can see that in social statistics when you have no prosperity, the average life expectancy is always low, the infant mortality rate will also tell you and so on. We said the Ugandan people are entitled to getting prosperity,” he said.
“The next question was where does prosperity come from and after analysis we found that it comes from every adult person in society participating in producing a good or a service and selling it sustainably, you will get income and you will solve your prosperity problems. Therefore, we told our people that please wake up and use the abundant resources to produce a good or a service with “ekibaro” (doing some arithmetics to find out how profitable an enterprise is).”
The President also emphasised the importance of the four core principles of the National Resistance Movement (NRM) when it comes to creating prosperity.
“The next question is if you produce a good or a service, who buys it? Because when you produce and no one buys or a few buy, you will not get out of poverty. When we came to our tribes here, we analysed them. Like me, I come from a tribe of cattle keepers, now we found that in my tribe, I have cows and my neighbour also has cows, I produce milk and beef and my neighbours also produce them. We also produce bananas. They don’t buy from me and vice versa because we have got similar products. So they are not helping me in my prosperity despite coming from the same tribe. And who are the people who buy my products? People from Kampala who don’t have cows like me are the ones who buy my products. Therefore, my prosperity in my area is not dependent on my tribe rather it’s dependent on Uganda. It’s Uganda that gives me a market to sell my products,” he pointed out.
“Therefore, principle number one is patriotism-love Uganda, why? Because you need it for your prosperity. Uganda can ensure your prosperity better than your tribe or religion. Because we are not parasites, we depend on our wealth, we work and sell so the one who buys and supports our prosperity is our very good friend.”
President Museveni added that when people wake up and start producing more, they will realise that the internal market is not enough, thus the need for an external one.
“When maize, milk, beef, cement and other industrial products are in surplus, what do we do? We therefore need the external market of Africa. Do you know that Africa can solve your problems? What is surplus here, we can export it to Kenya, Tanzania and Congo, you can also buy from them, so we need Pan-Africanism-to love Africa, why? Because you need it for your prosperity. That is our principle number two,” he said.
“The third principle is socio-economic transformation. Part of the problem was people in Africa were still in the old ways; the pre-industrial way of life. Therefore, we have told our people that through education and business you must go into the industrial and scientific era. The fourth one is democracy, that is why you heard us play two anthems;- the Uganda anthem and the East African anthem because we need it also.”
On the other hand, President Museveni stated that due to the four core principles of the NRM, the economy of Uganda has been growing fast.
“We started from a very low base, Uganda was a failed state but now we are moving on well, we are already low middle income, we are targeting high middle income to first world status and we think we shall achieve them in the next 20 years.”
Gen. Museveni also underscored the need for strategic security to safeguard the vulnerable countries from threats.
“These four principles help us to achieve prosperity but then there’s a need for strategic security. How can we achieve strategic security so that nobody threatens us again like it happened in the past when we were attacked by Europeans? You can be a developed country but still remain vulnerable. There are some people in the world who are talking about four-dimensional superiority- on land, air, sea and space. The question is how can we guard ourselves from such rubbish? That is why now in Africa we have got a movement of political integration,” he urged.
“Even if Uganda becomes a first world country, which it will become, will it be able to have the program to go to space successfully? How many countries have been to the moon? It’s the USA, Russia, China and India. The other countries are so developed but they are still here with us, so it seems there’s something about size, it matters also. Therefore, here in Africa when we are talking about strategic security we are also talking about political integration, at least we aim for the Political Federation of East Africa to become one country so that we can also go to the moon and ask those fellows what they are doing there.”
President Museveni also noted that the third historical mission is brotherhood “ubuntu”.
“If you have the political will, it’s easy to unite.”
Additionally, the President disclosed that he was very happy to work with Asian partners of Africa, saying that they contributed a lot during the liberation struggle of the continent.
Brig. Gen. Alex Olupot, the accompanying officer of the delegation who also serves as the Joint Staff in charge of training and doctrine- UPDF said Uganda was honoured to host a visiting delegation of the National Defence College (NDC) of Bangladesh which comprises faculty members and officers as well as members of the armed forces war course.
“The delegation is here on a study tour in which they would want to appreciate Uganda’s economic situation and the geo-political and security situation in our country,” he said.
The head of the delegation, Group Captain. Hassan Mahmoud who led a team of 17 Officers from NDC- Bangladesh thanked President Museveni for the hospitality offered to them since their arrival in Uganda a few days ago.
“We are happy to be here, and we would like to explore more opportunities and make avenues for cooperation between Uganda and Bangladesh,” he said.
Lt. Col. Abdul Rahim from NDC- Bangladesh extended his heartfelt appreciation to President Kaguta Museveni for his profound insights and visionary outlook in his lecture of opportunity.
“We are deeply grateful to President Museveni’s time and the profound insights he shared. His words not only encouraged us but also highlighted the importance of further collaboration between Uganda and Bangladesh. His commitment to fostering international partnerships and understanding is truly inspiring,” Lt. Col. Abdul Rahim said.
“Your wisdom and years of experience provide essential guidance not just for the military but for all sectors dedicated to national development and peace. We deeply appreciate your openness and curiosity throughout our discussions. We are excited about the prospects that lie ahead and look forward to continued cooperation and support between Uganda and Bangladesh,” he concluded.
The lecture of opportunity was also attended by Col. Paddy Ankunda, the UPDF Protocol Officer and Capt. Salim Zawadi, the accompanying protocol Officer.
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