There is something about the Ugandan spirit

To be honest, there is no special feature. I thought of Rwenzori, but it does not get Ugandans worked up. Perhaps River Nile, but that too does not get one into some excitement. It could be that we have this abundance of the natural, that the gods have gifted us with beauty, it is not something to get us excited. If something comes natural to you, then you do not spend your whole life obsessing about it. Ethiopia has Habesha, Tanzania has Swahili. You are not accepted in Tanzania until you worship Swahili. And South Sudan, because their Independence did not come easy, that alone gives them a reason to fight.

If there is something about Uganda, it is the Ugandan spirit. You must live long in Uganda to get this, you must move across this country, interact with every element of this society for you to land on this conclusion. There is something about the Ugandan spirit.

There is something about that spirit that negotiates potholes Monday to Sunday, yet still shows up with a smile. There is something about a spirit that cannot be destroyed by suffering. There is something about a spirit that smiles through its pain. It is the Ugandan spirit.

Dostoevsky must have had Uganda in mind when he wrote, “Pain and suffering are always inevitable for a large intelligence and a deep heart. The really great men must, I think, have great sadness on earth.”

Ugandans have a large intelligence and a deep heart. For it is only a large intelligence that can live through one unsolved murder after another, and still find a way to live the next day. There is always a reason to show up for Ugandans. The reason may not be clear to the onlookers, but Ugandans will always show up.

Ugandans will show up to party, Ugandans will show up to drink, Ugandans will always show up. We don’t need money to show up, we just need a place to show up. In fact, Ugandans do not need a place, they just need someone to shout; “people please show up.” That’s why our pockets may be crying, but our tables will never run dry in a bar. There’s always someone ready to sponsor the next round. There’s always someone who has ‘beaten it.’ And we celebrate when one of us ‘beats it.’ It doesn’t matter how they ‘beat it.’ But we shall celebrate, we shall honour the moment.

The Ugandan spirit never stops trying. By the age of 30, a Ugandan has tried different businesses in different industries. Just tell us where the money is, and we shall move there. Just tell us what’s currently working, and we shall jump on. We have grown Vanilla, we have grown Hass Avocado, you will find us in Kombucha, we are Ugandans, we shall do everything, plant Pine trees, move from that, rear rats. If there’s a new idea to try, Ugandans will not cower from it.

Ugandans will create relevance and jobs out of thin air. There’s something about the Ugandan spirit that sees opportunity and milks it. If you attend a Ugandan funeral, people will show up with calendars featuring photos of the deceased, you will have those roasting our ‘ka meat.’ We are Ugandans, in pain, in sorrow, in hardness, the Ugandan spirit cannot be suffocated.

We have those selling connections. In Uganda, there is always the spirit that can get it faster, do it cheaper. We are always plugging each other. Everyone is a plug in this country. We all know someone who knows someone, it is in our spirit.

Watch our weddings, they have evolved because of the Ugandan spirit. Look at the Katumwas at the kwanjulas. Again, it is the Ugandan spirit, to try harder, to last longer, to transcend our struggle. A friend recently narrated that you can always tell Ugandans from a group of international students. You know when an issue happens, Nigerians will be vocal about it, threatening to make a fight out of it, Kenyans will be in that fray. But Ugandans, Ugandans will be laughing about the whole situation. For laughter takes away the power from our tormentors, when we can laugh about the things that hurt us, then where is their sting? It is in the Ugandan spirit that even when squeezed to the wall, I will laugh about it, I will maintain the last of my freedoms, the freedom to humorise it.

We need not sell anything in Uganda, we have something that cannot be stolen, something that can never be destroyed, it is that Ugandan spirit. It is in everyone. It is in our ability to keep our public secrets, our patience through the struggles, our humorous wails. If there is anything that keeps us together, it is this Ugandan spirit. In the words of Fela Kuti, we are ‘shuffering and shmiling.’

Twitter: ortegatalks