NOTE: To all international press: Al Jazeera, CNN, BBC etc, people who come from Buganda are called Baganda, not Bugandans. Please, it insults me when you call me a Bugandan. I am Ugandan but a Muganda by tribe. Okay? Not Bugandan.
After the riots that occurred into and over the weekend, many of us began asking ourselves whether there can truly be a peaceful coexistence between the central government and the Mengo government.It's sad because these conflicts usually occur in areas where ethnicity is something to be treasured above nation.
There is this misconception that people have underlying dislike for those from different areas of the nation however, I would like to differ. Like UgInsomniac noted, many of us who grew up in the youth of our President's governance do not focus on ethnicity. I cannot name 10 very close friends of mine that are the same tribe as mine, I have been blessed to have friends from all over the nation.
However, we are under the wrong impression that we can frown at each other which is not true. The riots only serve to show the government that there are very many aimless young adults who have seen too many Terminator and Rambo movies and now want to jump into the action and see what it feels like. For these I offer a solution, Open large 3d cinemas where these youth enter for free as long as they can help in keeping the streets clean.
Anyway, that is just my beating around the bush. I believe there are people in our society apart from the government, religious and cultural institutions who have a lot of influence on the people of this sweet land Uganda.
We have a new class of Ugandans- the celebs, who if they wanted could have a big say in the way our youth behave.
There is a chameleone who is known for encouraging people to go to work and forget about talkers but of late he is focusing too much on Bayuda, he is not my kind of role model anymore. There is a cool cool bar who of late has come back with a boom but still the way he cried over his wife's departure, "girly". There is a Dee who knows how to take people's minds off big issues, he just says "mulumulumu" and people get down and crawl. I don't know any others (stop nudging me BM, who? Radio and who...I don't know them.)
For one, this Muganda called Zamba who went to school at MUBS and ended up iconic superstar (ani yali'amanyi)can do a lot to positively influence our young people. He is a model of our President's dream of the role of traditional institutions in our country-to preserve culture and language. One of my friends said " Oyo gaayi awomesa oluganda" (That guy makes Luganda sweet.) Music is a powerful force which he has used much to the amusement of many people, even those from outside Buganda.
You see guys, musicians have a big role to play in this time. And interestingly many of the big names in Ug music are Baganda. Music has an enchanting force about it. It can easily cause people to do what they should not and vice versa.
I am a proponent for peace and reconciliation in the whole of Uganda. In fact I want to adopt a tribe each month of the year so I can learn these peoples cultures and come to love the diversity of my nation more. Music has a big role to play. I implore all those with the gift and talent to put in effort and encourage people to do the right thing and go for love and unity and work so as to build the nation. I don't think Obamas have to be presidents only, they can be GNLs, Chameleones, Bugembes- people who can inspire others to rise above silly sentiments.
Those are my two cents.
Baseline: But I exhort you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing and that there be no divisions among you; but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you, or were you baptized in the name of Paul? 1Co 1:10,13
11 comments:
I have to join that bandwagon. Tired of people hating on each other, like it changes anything in their lives. Hatred is like a two-headed viper. One for you, the other also for you!
Great post.
This is "a modest proposal.Fab post.
that bandage thing is very interesting...
hate! that is a word that was discouraged from my vocabulary when i was really young. i was told it is a wasted emotion which is so true...
@ Sybella, my aunt hates it mbu that's how dead people are bandaged...
@Safyre, true dat.
@Rosebell, thanks.
@Mckeith, thanks too.
This confuses me..."ethnicity is something to be treasured above nation...." What exactly does it mean?
IMO, yes, it is good to preserve a good or traditional culture but when it comes to heights of importance, it is what causes riots and unrest, the feeling that ones ethnicity/race/tribe/sect or whatever is far more important than the whole that is a nation. I think this slowly breeds hatred. Because "Bugandans" feel bigger than "banyala" and therefore can't ask for their permission to visit their land.
I personally heap the blame on Sevo and I think he was playing the Banyala against the Baganda, and it looks like it worked because now both despise themselves.
The sooner these ethnic rivalries die out,the better for everyone.
In my head, it sounded like a good argument; on paper, not so much.
Nice essay. Very passionate. I do hold the opposite view, however, with regard to turning celebrities into 'role models'.
I'm personally just not a fan of the whole 'role model' mentality. We always seem to need Obamas, Mandelas, Ghandis, Kennedys, and all kinds of icons to 'lead us to the promised land' as it were. Why? This kind of thinking is almost religious - like we are sheep constantly in need of a shepherd.
Encouraging such notions, sadly, discourages us from THINKING FOR OURSELVES, making us prone to be subservient to charismatic dictators and their repressive regimes (I'm not saying this government is repressive - I'm just speaking generally).
As for GNL, I love his music, yes - but I won't be counting on him to teach me any lessons on self worth anytime soon. He's just a very talented, creative guy trying to earn a living. To me he is nothing more than that. OK, he does address some interesting social issues in his music (as do most singers) but let's not be in a hurry to convert our singers into philosophers, please.
If you think doing so is a good idea, just take a look at how entertainers like Bono are keeping Africa backward.
He is busy going around advocating AID for Africa thinking it helps, yet all the while he is in denial, or is decidedly ignorant, of the fact that the very AID he is convincing western governments to pour on us is what is making us lazy, corrupt and uninnovative. Bono is all of a sudden being treated as if he is a development economist just because he's written a few nice songs, and the result is - disastrous - to say the least. I mean, what the hell is he doing at global economic forums?
Entertainers like Bono are perpetuating the AID cycle in Africa, and he is getting knighted for it? People take him seriously because we've decided that he is a 'role model' - yet he is hardly qualified to speak on the subject of economics! To make things worse, his star power makes him impervious to valid criticism.
THINK FOR YOURSELVES. No need for 'role models'. The benefits of thinking for oneself are self-evident. The rest will come to realise how beneficial it is to do so - without having to be told, but by recognizing its fruits in others.
I usually laugh at people who INSIST on calling me a role model (suprisingly some people do!). I reject that label completely. I'm just on radio doing a job in order to pay my rent and survive. I am under no obligation to change my lifestyle to appease anyone, let alone society. Similarly, I see no reason as to why we should burden GNL with our expectations. Let him party, bang chicks, screw around, get high, or whatever he wants to do - IF that's what he wants to do. Its his life. We all have ours.
Pinning your hopes on 'role models' is a recipe for disaster. They will ALWAYS disappoint you.
Finally, I too was amused that Al Jazeera was saying 'Bagandans'. Not something that should make you feel 'insulted', though. Life is too short, dude!
i like the post very much...though i must ask...do you know GNL personally..can you hook us up..
Cheri, I also don't understand that statement however some people do.. however, I will not blame Sevo for the riots- Sevo didn't give anyone stones to throw.
Hey FB, nice having you here. Well I think whether we like it or not, some people are bound to become role models, either for the right or wrong reasons. There are those who wield a lot of influence over others just by being themselves- for example Eminem. There are some people who cannot prevent it even if they wanted to so it means a change of behaviour could largely cause a lot of other people to change behaviour. Why should artistes talk about trash and when it comes to real issues shut up? We need to hear them on important issues like the riots. They control a lot of people like it or not. We all have someone we look up to, of not for a lifetime, sometimes for a moment. However, I understand the bit about Bono- it is quite unfortunate.
Hey UgGal, no I do not know GNL personally, he is an o.b of a friend-that's the connection. Sorry, can't hook you up.
Nevender said:"We need to hear them on important issues like the riots."
OK, please explain why we need to hear from them. Think about what you just said here, Nevender. You will see that this attitude is exactly what breeds the 'sheep' syndrome. We don't need these singers to philosophise. That's OUR job to do. Stop super-gluing on local artists, naawe. Leave them alone. They are free to sing about WHATEVER THEY WANT(or are you against a free market economy?) If we can't figure things out for ourselves we honestly deserve to go extinct.
You are unwittingly showing that Africans don't like thinking for themselves. You are just like opposition people who sit all day with folded arms waiting for the 'international community' to save them. Good luck with that!
FB, think about it...with the influence musicians wield, do you know how easily a genocide could start if a certain singer from a certain tribe sang about it? I think for myself but there are those who cannot. That is my point FB, not everyone is intellectual, some people think about food, work and sleep.
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