Museveni rallies CID officers on patriotism

President Museveni has urged the Criminal Investigations Directorate (CID) officers to believe in the patriotism because the principle is crucial in the prosperity of citizens. 

“The authority we are establishing over the country must recognise patriotism. It must be guided by principle; every policeman, soldier and civil servant must believe in the patriotism of Uganda. Loving Uganda, why? Because you need it,” he said. 

The President made the remarks yesterday at State House Entebbe while delivering a lecture to CID officers who have been undergoing a refresher course at Kabalye Police Training School. 

President Museveni explained to the officers that during their student movement days in the 1960s, they set up their historical mission which was later adopted when they came to government and this mission involved, among others, how they could make Ugandans prosperous. 

“So, if you are a service provider or if you come to provide leadership, why don’t you emphasise the needs of the people? That is why the student movement said, number one is to create prosperity. If you address the issue of having enough food, better housing, clothing, medical care, education, a market for what you produce, and security, then you will be able to create prosperity for these people. That became our historical mission number one,” he said. 

He added: “Prosperity is to come from two channels; producing a good or a service and selling it. But also the other channel will be education because, with education, you get rid of ignorance and superstition. Education, therefore, enhances prosperity but then the major factor that will support prosperity is somebody to buy what you produce.”

The President, however, explained that in order to fully achieve the prosperity of Ugandans, citizens must emphasise patriotism instead of sectarianism of religions and tribes. 

“If you look at the whole country, the complementarity of buying and selling within the tribes is very low. There’s more buying and selling between the tribes. That is why this student movement said instead of emphasising sectarianism of religion and tribe, let us emphasise patriotism. Patriotism means loving your country. This principle of the NRM (National Resistance Movement) is not just guesswork, it was scientifically arrived at,” he said. 

President Museveni further expounded that when Uganda settles down, establishes peace and production starts on a large scale, people will realise that the internal market is not enough and start looking at the East African and African market.

“That is why the second principle of the NRM is Pan-Africanism and we are working patiently. We revived the East African Community, and we are aiming at the East African Federation; to have one East African country so that you can create a good structure for our wealth creators,” he said. 

He said ignorant and poor people cannot benefit from such initiatives. 

“How can we benefit from these African markets? You cannot benefit from them if you are ignorant and if you are not engaged in wealth creation. You must be a money maker with food security to benefit from these markets. That is why we talk of socio-economic transformation through education and participation of wealth creation. We go further and guide you that wealth creation sectors are four; commercial agriculture with ekibaro (planning), artisanship and manufacturing, services and ICT. This is the guidance of the NRM in the issue of prosperity,” he said. 

Strategic security
The President also revealed that the second historical mission of the NRM is strategic security. 

“In order to ensure strategic security, again we need to work on a Pan-African basis. Here in Uganda, we are secure and much stronger but there are some problems in some East African countries. That is why it would be easier to solve problems of security on the continent on a Pan-African basis or at least on a regional basis and that is why we insist on the integration of East Africa. Fortunately, we have the Swahili language, we can talk and therefore we can build a very powerful state here,” he stated. 

“The third one is undugu, the brotherhood. Why don’t you use this undugu to help to build a powerful state to guarantee prosperity and our strategic security?” he wondered. 

The Director of CID, Assistant Inspector General of Police Tom Magambo, thanked President Museveni for always giving them inspiring advice on how better they can serve the people of Uganda. 

He said part of CID’s effort as they train is reorganising and redeploying officers to  enable them  do their work better. 

The Director of Human Resource Development in Uganda Police Force, Assistant Inspector General of Police Godfrey Golooba, said they are planning to redevelop the six police training schools to better standards.

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