Ugandan Nationalist? please stand up and get counted

By Hopes N. Kikonyogo

Ignatius Musaazi widely accepted as the father of Ugandan nationalism may be turning in his grave at how his creation has done more than good to his vision of Uganda. It has become rocket science to identify undeniable nationalists to be proud of, no wonder Musaazi finds himself and Yusuf Kironde Lule as the only occupants of the Kololo heroes cementary. Nationalism in Uganda has been used to respond to popular sentiment of the time at the detriment of minority interests. My Webster's dictionary defines it as devotion to one's nation, patriotism or desire for national advancement. Idi Amin, Dr. Appolo Obote, Yoweri Museveni etc all tried there level best to make Uganda a force to reckon with in Africa, building a nation they imagined would be envied. Amin for instance tried to strengthen the country to resist new or continued indirect control or neo-colonialism, and engineer uniformity of a national vision which was heroic in one way but inhumane to divergent visionaries.

You will be wrong if you eliminated Amin from your list of nationalists, because patriotism in general has always been heroic and inhumanly cruel as well (like the expulsion of asians, and redistribution of capital assets to the black Ugandan). Equally important, Museveni's challenge of having to do with the treatment of ethnic and cultural differences within democratic polity saw him taking cruel steps like banning political pluralism, dissolving talk of a national language (in this case Luganda) and reconstituting cultural monarchs. With that in mind how would we be able to divorce the two, Amin and Museveni from Ugandan nationalism, most especially when their sincere efforts were in national interest.

One thing is for sure though, that our nationalism has managed to divide us than unite us. Both Amin and Museveni tried to create a Uganda for Ugandans in their capacities, however the 'feeling of community' has made us think of other people as fundamentally different from us. Obote's bigger picture of universal comformity by eradicating hereditary monarchs, Amin's iron hand in abid to create a one Uganda and Museveni's efforts to consolidate the former's achievements could not deter Bugandaism for instance. In modern times, the notion that nationalities ought to be able to preserve their cultures and govern themselves according to their own customs has become widely accepted and in a post colonial world, it strengthens countries to resist renewed outside occupation. The effects of this has been fragmention into tribal identities under the disguise of cultural preservation and then sky rocketing defence budgets. Equally important, the concept of popular sovereignity is replacing the outdated concept of the divinely, hereditary and historical appointments. Should this therefore qualify Museveni for recognizing that political power legitmately resided with the people and thus his insistence on a democratically elected Lukiiko in Buganda?

With the problems facing Uganda today, both within and without, would it be safe to conclude that the principle of nationalism and its authority no longer correspond to the objective requirements of universal common good? Do we all agree with the current state of affairs in the great lake region that Ugandan nationalism easily led to insularity and a feeling of superiority over our neighbouring nations like Rwanda and DRC? Because of that sense of pride and national awakening, we as a nation have become xenophobic, suspicious of any undertaking or development in say Nairobi or Kigali, and committing crimes perpetrated in the name of nationalism. I say we the people at the grassroots are the unsung heroes, we are the nationalists to be counted, and we are the ones to make a change. Think about it, if such a conviction was annihilated, wouldn't it be fair for all humanity to share this globe and its resources equally as 'human nationalists'?