Life in my eyes: A RENEWED SPIRIT OF LEADERSHIP

Life in my eyes: A RENEWED SPIRIT OF LEADERSHIP: Ugandan history has really been at war; a war that never ends. It is not always fought on the battlefield. It is a war that has been...

A RENEWED SPIRIT OF LEADERSHIP

Ugandan history has really been at war; a war that never ends. It is not always fought on the battlefield. It is a war that has been a brutal struggle for good and accountable leadership. It has been a struggle that has always involved the formulation of new constitutions, deposition of totalitarian regimes and a continued hope that one time we will finally get it right and have true democratic processes in this country. And hope that in the end the people and good leadership with a larger vision will triumph.

In a country that is being governed by old people and nothing seems to be going the right way as we are lagging behind. It is important that young people realize that they have a higher stake in the future of this country and they have to do more to get back this country.

In a country with unemployment shooting through the roof, unprecedented corruption, high taxes, non competitive markets, a very weak currency, an outdated education curriculum, tribalism, the poorest health system, a nonexistent manufacturing industry and poverty, young people have to renew their spirit of leadership and take charge of their country.

In a country where the leadership think they own it just because they spent five years in a bush and become leaders and as such have the natural right to loot this country in bid to make us pay for their years they spent in the bush even though no one asked them. They think that Uganda would not have existed if they did not go to the bush as if it did not exist before.

Make no mistake, it is true that these guys have had a contribution towards this country as did my ancestors and every other Ugandan’s ancestor before we were was born but that did not give them the right to own Uganda and destroy this country.

Contrary to what these guys tell themselves to justify their theft in this country, the development of Uganda has been a partnered effort of hard working Ugandan teachers, nurses, doctors, lawyers, engineers and business men and women all of whom have contributed their fair share towards the development of Uganda through Service and sacrifice and payment of taxes. These people are unselfish Ugandans and their only want is to see the next generation prosper and move forward.

However for some reason we have a leadership that thinks they own our country, they steal public funds and their defence is ‘Where were you when we were in the bush fighting?’ They are non patriotic Ugandans who prefer holding on to power rather than caring for what is best for this country.

Ugandans have to understand that Uganda’s development is not only attributed to the present generation but also to the past generation and as such we are also accountable to the future generation to ensure that we live Uganda better than we found it.

 No single Ugandan owns this country; it is a nation that has always belonged to the people who existed before us, to the present generation and to posterity (those that will come after us).   

Young people in this country have to renew their spirit and change the events of our country. We the young people have to end this era political intrigue, tribal politics, politics of appeasement, and politics of manipulation and usher in a new era of change that gives a fair chance to every Ugandan, where positions in Cabinet or in any government office are not used as political pawns but rather are given on merit and ability to serve.  

Those who expect moments of change to be comfortable and free of conflict have not learned their history. -Joan Wallach Scott

 In order for us as poor and oppressed people to become part of a society that is meaningful, the system under which we now exist has to be radically changed… It means facing a system that does not lend its self to your needs and devising means by which you change that system. - Ella Baker

One of the things that have to be faced is the process of waiting to change the system, how much we have got to do to find out who we are, where we have come from and where we are going. - Ella Baker

Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek. – Barack Obama

ECONOMIC INTRINSIC VALUE OF MARRIAGE PARTNERS

Well this is a principle that women in Uganda have mastered more than men perhaps because it has been embedded deep in our cultures. Uganda has been a predominantly a patriarchal society however this is changing and however much hostile Ugandan men are towards this fact, they will have to change and adapt. In the words of John F. Kennedy (1917-1963) Thirty-fifth President of the USA, Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.  Uganda is heading towards equality. This means that Uganda will be a society with both Patriarchal and Matriarchal tendencies.

A matriarchal society is a society in which females especially mothers have the central roles of political leadership, moral authority and control of property.

It is no doubt that Uganda is heading towards being a society of both male and female dominance. The Marriage and Divorce bill may have been successfully shelved again but make no mistake it will one time and soon pass in to law and total equality of women sought in that bill will be achieved.

So then since it’s passing in to law can only be delayed but not prevented what is the way forward for the Ugandan men?  

 Charles Darwin (1809-1882) English Naturalist said,” it is not the strongest of the species that survive, or the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.”

Economic Intrinsic Value of Marriage Partners is a theory I have developed that I think is the solution.

This essentially means that before you enter a relationship with any woman; make sure that they have a certain economic value in themselves that they are willing to bring to the table in that relationship. This is because partners with an economic intrinsic value can be regarded as an end in itself.

As a previously male dominated society, what mattered most for guys in marriage was the pretty face and some basic kitchen skills since at that time her sole purpose was reproduction and house work. However with the current change of the tide women are taking on similar roles as men. This means that it is no longer prudent to just marry a pretty face but rather a face that has economic intrinsic value.

There are people with a dangerous stereotype that women with pretty faces and economic intrinsic value do not exist, this is false. Consider the current Commissioner General of URA, Allen Kagina, she is a pretty face with economic intrinsic value, am sure her husband is a happy man because even though the marriage and divorce bill is enacted in to law, he will never be affected.

If you are a young man or a rich man in Uganda at this point thinking of marriage this is some good advice for you. The deal maker for marriage should not be simply love or a pretty face but the rather the economic intrinsic value of your woman. Is she going to also among other things contribute economically to you marriage or relationship or she is going to be the type who relocates you to the village after the hefty and costly divorce of 50-50% property division.

If you are cohabiting (not that I Condon cohabitation) is your cohabittee also actively contributing to the wealth of the household? Passive contribution is no longer important, she has to actively contribute.

Women have been employing this principle when choosing a marriage partner; its time men did the same.     

In summary you can’t expect to meet the challenges of today with yesterday’s tools and expect to be in business tomorrow. When change comes, you up your game so as to survive. In the words of Winston Churchill (1874-1965) British politician, “To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often.”

ALL ENDS WITH BEGINNINGS

This may be my best quote at this time in my life, ‘All ends with beginnings’. Looking at nature its easy to realize that this is another law of nature. From the practical perspective, when the sun sets, the world will not remain dark but rather the moon and stars come to life. When a day ends, it’s not the end of life but rather another day springs up and no matter how long and dark a night is, morning will surely come with relieving light.

It is not only a theory but rather also a scientific fact: looking at the life cycles of every living thing you will realise that every ending is a beginning. Every day and second on earth a life ends but also a life will be born. Scientists call it the balance of nature. And even out of dead bodies, plants will grow.

The theory was popular among the Egyptians and Greek Mythologists.  It had been captured as the Legend of the Phoenix.  In Greek mythology, a phoenix is a long-lived bird that is cyclically regenerated or reborn.   The legend of the Phoenix has been around for centuries. The Phoenix was a supernatural creature, living for 1000 years. Once that time is over, it builds its own funeral pyre, and throws itself into the flames. As it dies, it is reborn anew, and rises from the ashes to live another 1000 years.

The legend of the Phoenix was also popular among the early Christians who for them the phoenix was a symbol for renewal.

Looking at the story of our Lord Jesus Christ, out of his death sprung new life, he rose powerful and a conqueror.

The rationale for this article is that often when things end in our lives, we feel like the world has come to an end be it an ended relationship, a job, a friendship gone sour, a loss of a loved one or even a bad ending to one career especially for sports people. However, like as the legend puts it, you ought to know that endings are beginning for new stuff in our lives. You should see endings as beginnings of new things in your life. But whether that new life is good or bad depends on you.

There are people who after a relationship has ended they think it’s the end of the world well am telling you on the contrary that it is the beginning of another time in your life and you can chose to make that life worth living.

Yes it’s true that usually after losing a job it’s only normal to feel bad but that is not the end of your life. When such endings happen, you should be like the phoenix which at the end of its life, new life sprung.

I’m currently at the point in my life were I have just completed my LLB degree and well it’s the end of a certain era in my life BUT it’s also the beginning of another era in this same life. The design that should fashion this new beginning in my life is entirely my choice and am bent on making it worthwhile. One of the things am thinking of at this time is that its time for the young lion to leave the parent pride and start a pride of its own.

Well all endings are beginnings and this end in my life will sprout new beginnings for me.

I encourage those people who are going through endings of whatsoever sort that those endings are beginnings for whatever sort of life you choose.

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SUFFERING SHAPES ONES CHARACTER

Popular belief is that everything in this world has a purpose and today I was in the showers and it hit me that even pain and suffering have a purpose in this world.

We have all heard of sayings like ‘when life gives you Lemonade make Lemons and life will look and be like-WHAT!?!? Or ‘What doesn't kill you makes you stronger or “Rise above the tide.’ and more. All these saying are driving at showing us that pain and suffering are meant to build our character and resilience. 

 Never understood why the tales of most successful people always start with suffering? Well this is because the pain they experienced at that point in their lives drove them towards a profound character that guided their way to success.  Drake in his song calls it ‘Starting from the bottom’. I also went through hardships some time back in my life. Those hardships have since changed me in to who I am right now; they have built and shaped my character and philosophy in this life. Am not the kind that wears my hardship on my face for everyone to see but rather the kind that puts makeup  on and pretends to be happy so most people who know me didn’t even notice but that time in my life has changed the way I look at the world and sure as hell changed my attitude towards people. Guess this is what Kelly Clarkson calls coming out stronger in her song ‘stronger”

Of course not everyone who goes through hard time comes out with a built character, for other hardships destroy them and that’s why the worst people have too gone through hardships that turned them bad. We all face hardships but how you deal with them is what differentiates all of us. whereas some of us chose to draw insight from them others will chose to curse every one and become terrible people.

Suffering and pain are can be emotional as well as physical and any one of them has an effect on people’s character. Whereas some people commit suicide due to emotional or physical pain others chose to rise above the tide and surf it to the shores.

Often we find people that have endured a lot of pain in their lives and these guys are happy and have moved on to become better people.

For the Christians we all know that Jesus Christ too went through hardships, he spent 40 days in the desert and came out stronger, he suffered death and upon his resurrection he was stronger and defeated death. Job who was formerly a wealthy man went through hell and back, he lost his kids, animals and all his wealth but his faith in God and his character never wavered, he did not turn in to a thief or anything of that kind but embraced his suffering and in the end his character was built.

So when you go through hardships remember that they are part of life and do not let them destroy you but rather rise above them and come out stronger.

BEAUTIFUL MESS.

There are very many kinds of women, today i’m looking at the type I call ‘BEAUTIFUL MESS’..

A beautiful person is one that is pleasing to the senses or mind aesthetically.

A mess on the other hand is a dirty or untidy state of things.

Jason Mraz in his song ‘beautiful mess’ defines such women as strong but needy, humble but greedy. He adds that their style is quite selective but their mind is rather reckless. They are the kind that will hurt you without any remorse. You will love them and they will leave you without any reason why and they will tell everyone how you deserved it. Perhaps the only reason they may give you is that “…it is not you it’s me…”.

When they hurt you they will leave you messed. Usually the messed up guy will stay messed for most of their life unless they figure out a way to move on. Most of these guys resort to being players or bad boys.

Many women have never understood why some guys are bad boys or players, well the answer is that they fell in love with a pretty girl, they enjoyed sweet love until the bitch woke up one day and left the guy in ‘cold blood’.

Many of you have seen marriages were the couple loved themselves so much and after a while even with kids the woman says she no longer loves the husbands and opts for a divorce leaving the guy messed. Well this is the example of beautiful messes.

These women usually have no idea what they want, it’s about convincing them and if something or someone else convinces them more than you do then they will leave you.

A characteristic of these types of women is that they don’t stick to one man; they fall in love with many guys and usually have many marriages and break ups or divorces.

To draw this in perspective I’m going to use examples of celebrities since we can all associate with them.

Jennifer Lopez’s has been with Sean Combs, before being with Ben Affleck while still married to her second husband Cris Judd. Her first husband was Ojani Noa and recently got divorced from her third husband Marc Anthony.

On the other hand we have Beyonce Knowles who even though she is pretty, she has been married once and is still married to Jay z.  So before you fall in love or even get married make sure you woman is not the Jennifer Lopez type but rather the Beyonce type.

So then those two examples should help you understand what I mean by BEAUTIFUL MESS.

One characteristic of beautiful messes is that once you date them and break up with them, you usually never remain friends or at least you never stay in contact.