Prime
Address sectarianism collectively or perish together like fools
Habib Sseruwagi
What you need to know:
- Civic educators should get to the ground and stamp out the evil of sectarianism before it becomes a full-scale scourge and endangers national security.
I recently visited a police station to report a case and left crestfallen because of the sectarian nature of the information they demand to collect from their visitors. One of them is, which tribe do you belong to?
I left scratching my head, up to now asking myself what one’s tribe has got to do with getting service at a police station. It’s sectarianism.
While sectarianism is often labelled as ‘religious’ and/or ‘political’, the reality of a sectarian situation is usually much more complex. In its most basic form, sectarianism has been defined as, ‘the existence, within a locality, of two or more divided and actively competing communal identities, resulting in a strong sense of dualism which unremittingly transcends commonality, and is both culturally and physically manifest.
If not addressed strategically, Uganda sits on a ticking time bomb despite strides made in evolving as a unitary nation. The third point in the NRM Ten Point Programme of 1986 is “Consolidation of National Security and Elimination of All Forms of Sectarianism”. The first and second points are “Democracy” and “Security.”
In the revised Ten Point Programme issued at Kololo by President Museveni on October 9, 2012, during the golden jubilee independence celebrations, “Eliminating sectarianism” was number 2 after “Fighting ideological disorientation.”
Sectarianism based on race, ethnicity, religion, gender and other forms is the worst form of backwardness that has endangered human existence and kept us back for long. It led to the holocaust of the Jews by the Nazis, the Rwanda genocide of 1994 and post-genocide mop-ups that have since thousands decimated in DR Congo; mass killings in Sudan, Central African Republic (CAR), the Kenyan post-election violence in Kenya (2007/2008) and the unending Somalia problem.
The public should be reminded of NRM’s Ten Point Programme and what it set out to achieve; it has never expired but continues to challenge today’s generation which is good at ignoring wise counsel and lawful sanctions intended to safeguard national unity and social cohesion. People are quick to think of themselves as being special or attribute any action done to other considerations warranting resorting to tribal or religious identity.
Why should one person do something wrong and the whole society they come from is blamed? That is a sign of deep ideological disorientation which makes people look at small differences instead of thinking big and working together as one bloc of Ugandans.
The Department of National Guidance under the Ministry of ICT should pay significant attention to upgrading the mindset of Ugandans as a collective people. There is no day Uganda will cease being a republic and revert to being fragmented along ethnic and fiefdom lines. Identity is something to be proud of but it does not address the greater question of human existence which is to overcome challenges together and succeed together. Poverty, disease, criminality, illiteracy, and climate change, among other daunting challenges of the world, do not care for one’s identity and suffer the hit equally.
There is no single person who has achieved much by discriminating against others or harming them just because of identity differences. They have only held themselves back.
President Museveni always says that he has made his wealth as a cattle herder by selling the milk and beef harvested from his cows to people who are not indigenous to his Nkore region since most of his neighbours and tribesmen have their herds to provide for them. He sells his products in Kampala and elsewhere- even beyond borders.
That is just one prominent case but there are many others everybody should think of. Musicians; Are there any of them whose music is listened to only by their tribesmen and peers; are politicians voted solely by their family or tribesmen or believers in the same faith? Discriminatory habits and talk are the work of people who have given up on life and wish to project their failings on others by disregarding social and religious decorum and law. They are very dangerous and should be helped fast!
Civic educators should get to the ground and stamp out the evil of sectarianism before it becomes a full-scale scourge and endangers national security.
By failing to address, and in some cases actively supporting, sectarianism in Uganda, seeds of disunity are sown among our people. For a society facing many pressing economic and political challenges, this disunity is a convenient tool, helping to divert public attention from the most important task of all – the battle for freedom and social justice in the country.
Mr Habib Sseruwagi is a member of the Equal Opportunities Commission.
