In Summary
So you have hordes of energetic young people engaging in hawking, sports betting and riding boda bodas (motorcycles) in towns. In the political season, many of these people form the lines of those begging from politicians and being part of the campaign processions
A question on whether women should be allowed to work or not was randomly put out to correspondents on the street by a radio station. Several men had mixed feelings. Where there was a ‘yes,’ a ‘but’ would follow. One of the men was very clear in his opposition. He said women should not be allowed to work or even own anything.
His reason was that when women are self sufficient, and capable of providing for themselves, they were bound to become ‘big headed’ and ‘very disobedient.’ They could also leave their husbands following a slight disagreement! To this we shall return shortly.
Last week, we were treated to an allegation attributed to President Museveni. It is said the President blamed failures in government on his ministers. Some people then said it was the President to blame for appointing failures. Others blamed a weak Parliament. A few even blamed the electorate for making poor choices, etc.
One of the things I have noticed about State and government failure in Uganda and Africa is that most of us interrogate this matter from an informed but very rational angle.
Many of us view our leaders as well intentioned men and women who try their level best to get things right but make mistakes along the way.
They appoint a wrong person who messes up a good project. They ‘innocently’ adopt a bad policy and taxpayers’ money is lost along the way, etc. Well, at times this is the case; mistakes happen and things do not work out.
But it is time we also thought about instances where things are deliberately messed up to help those in power to disempower their charges and perpetuate themselves.
We need to ask if leaders do not have a mindset of the man who thinks that successful people tend to be ‘big headed.’
Trouble is that because people who own something, can afford food and take their children to school and hospital without begging, are not easy to patronise and manipulate. These sort of people are more often unworthy for projects that perpetuate those in power.
If good policies and serious efforts to implement them are likely to lead to a ‘successful’ population, it creates a challenge for leaders. No one will accept their kilo of salt or bar of soap for a vote.
No one will eat rats while begging the powers that be for a district. Self reliant people will easily turn away from a politician or demand for better and higher standards of delivery of public goods. They may even support his challenger.
For instance, the NRM five-year Bush War (1981-86) benefitted a lot from the success of agriculture in the countryside. This agrarian success was partly founded on the workings of the cooperative movement. The fighters had access to food and the successful coffee farmers and cattle keepers funded, housed and fed the guerrillas.
When NRM came to power, the cooperative movement collapsed gradually. This eventually disorganised the system of educating farmers on best practices and marketing produce. The end result is that agriculture has suffered so much so that most people are forced to sell their land to educate their children instead of growing and selling crops to pay school fees.
So you have hordes of energetic young people engaging in hawking, sports betting and riding boda bodas (motorcycles) in towns. In the political season, many of these people form the lines of those begging from politicians and being part of the campaign processions.
That is how the game of power can be played at times. You need to weaken those whom you intend to lead so as to make leadership easier. You need to keep them dependent and ensure that they are not self-reliant. This keeps you relevant and useful to them. That is what they call power.
We must start asking ourselves if some of the ‘mistakes’ and ‘failures’ that we see are not intended. We should be able to determine if they are not designed with perpetuation and subjugation in mind.