Hillary Niwagaba posted a “protest letter to the aged leaders” on a community WhatsApp Group last week, in which he wrote: “Dear honorable leaders. We, the younger generation, remember when you visited our schools, encouraging us to study hard and become future leaders. Now, we are grown and ready to take the reins (of power). It is time for you to pass the torch (to us). We respect your experience and wisdom, and we value the contributions you have made to our country. However, we believe it is essential to hand over the leadership to fresh minds and new ideas. Your continued hold on power is hindering our progress and stifling our potential. We are not asking you to disappear from the scene entirely. We still need your guidance and mentorship. We want you to assume advisory roles, where your expertise can continue to benefit our nation.”
Niwagaba then made two key demands, and a promise: “Relinquish your hold on public offices and allow younger leaders to take charge. Share your experience and wisdom with us, guiding us through the complexities of leadership. We will continue to respect and honor your contributions to our country.”
He ended his note with an expression of anguished impatience and frustration: “We are not happy with the greed for power that is driving you to cling to office. It is time to prioritize the nation's interests over personal ambitions.”
This note encapsulates the hunger for positive change that is shared by Ugandans of all ages. The current rulers have exhausted the country’s patience. The population’s frustration and anger that bubbled to the surface years ago have reached boiling point. Corruption, other forms of abuse of power, overpriced and substandard social services, economic disparities that favour the politically connected, and a general feeling that the rulers live on a different planet from that inhabited by most citizens, have broken the spirits of Ugandans.
The youth feel marginalised and used in their own country. They see dark clouds wherever they look. They behold mirages where the rulers celebrate Uganda’s economic success story. They feel that my generation has failed them and imply that it is due to incompetence that can only be resolved by new leadership possessed of modern skills, thoughts and attitudes. Such leadership can only come from their ranks, not from senior citizens whose efforts have been driven by a singular focus on self-gratification, not serving the common good.
It is a very understandable, albeit incorrect view. Change of leadership in Uganda is most definitely needed. It is a self-evident matter that continues to be affirmed by daily events in the land, and the desperate socio-economic state of most citizens. However, it is a problem that will not be resolved by simple demands for power devoid of organised and purposeful action. To expect the current rulers to voluntarily surrender power to the youth is to engage in a delusion that can only lead to disappointment. Power is very rarely given away. Certainly not by people who are addicted to it and are still enjoying the sweet aroma of a captured pseudo-democratic state.
Power must be actively and peacefully sought by an organized group that has a very clear purpose, a carefully developed plan of action, with well-considered priorities, methodically put into practice, with patient focus on long-term transformation of the country’s mindset and behaviour, and a collective belief in an agreed vision and path towards the shared goal. The current rulers have demonstrated that their quest for power was driven by a monarchical motive, and personal wealth accumulation at the expense of most citizens. Unfortunately, many youths have been sucked into the cesspool of corruption, and flattery of rulers in exchange for cash to meet their immediate needs and wants. It is an unsustainable situation that will predictably end in an implosion that has numerous historical precedents.
I encourage Niwagaba and the millions of Ugandan youths who desire change in Uganda to step up to the plate, roll up their sleeves, and get into the trenches, organize, and mobilize the population to create conditions for peaceful genuine change. They should resist the temptation to jump on the bandwagon of copy-and-paste promises and populist rhetoric, accompanied with free cash and other perishable bribes. They do not need to form another political party either. There already exists a national political organization that is tailor-made for those who want genuine change. The Alliance for National Transformation (ANT), which is led by women and men who have dedicated the last five years to the creation of a new way of thinking, of doing things, and of establishing a people-focused culture in the country’s political space is worthy of serious consideration.
The ANT, whose team is led by Alice Alaso, the former Woman MP for Serere, and includes Mugisha Muntu, Edith Sempala, Winnie Kiiza, Kassiano Wadri, Martin Okumu, Gerald Karuhanga, William Olei and others, has crisscrossed Uganda on a mission to build a strong foundation for positive transformative change. They operate under very difficult circumstances, with very limited financial resources, but an abundance of genuine commitment and determination to create a grassroots organization that will pull the country towards sustainable democracy, and governance that honours the rule of law, transparency, accountability and the rights of all Ugandans.
The youth who desire positive, long-term transformative change in Uganda, should seriously consider joining the ANT. They should then build strong networks among the country’s youth, build their skills for influencing others, and shaping the national agenda. They should sharpen their skills for holding power accountable, and for establishing themselves as credible candidates for election to various offices in the land. They should create a critical mass that can push against a very entrenched system that has been built through military force, corruption, patronage, deception and lies that pass for politics and policies.
The youth need the elders as much as the elders need them. It must not be an either/or choice for the country. Youthful energy, skills and enthusiasm, combined with the elders’ knowledge, experience and wisdom, are a very potent fuel for positive transformation. The youth should not expect or wait to be invited onto the train towards our country’s goal of genuine freedom and equitable development. It is their country. They do not need anyone’s permission to claim their rightful place.
In the same vein, the youth should not seek to push the elders off the train. There is enough space for all. There is enough work for all. There is an opportunity for the youth to articulate their detailed vision for the country, and a roadmap towards their desired destination. The elders will embrace progressive, nation building ideas that will ease the passing of the baton to those who must steer the train forward.
© Muniini K. Mulera