UPDF director of ideological development Col Deo Byate Karikona. PHOTO/FILE/COURTESY
In their protracted smear campaign against the Commander-in-Chief of the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) and leader of the Ugandan people’s revolution, the Monitor publication on August 3, in a posture of gloves off, splashed a screaming headline, “Tale of two Musevenis” purportedly authored by Emmanuel Mutaizibwa and Robert Madoi.
I am using purportedly deliberately because it is clear that the Monitor publication has hyped their protracted war as a counter-revolutionary mouthpiece and, therefore, Mutaizibwa and Madoi are a mere facade of a [veiled] front.
Since the Monitor is openly on a war path, as UPDF, we have a duty to fulfil our constitutional mandate and stand by our oath of alliance to defend “the territorial integrity of Uganda and always protect the Commander-in-Chief”.
However, in this case, responding to the Monitor smear [campaigns] and misinformation [is challenging, as their] shallow ideological presentations [are] always devoid of scientific tools of analysis.
On the issue of “From Musevenism to Generation Z: Different strokes for different folks”, it must be noted from the outset that if Musevenism is a philosophy, ideology and strategy, Generation Z is not anywhere comparable.
Generation Z is simply about the age bracket, it does not necessarily represent a philosophical or an Ideological Epoch. It must be understood from the outset that Yoweri Museveni as a student, a young leader of the armed resistance and now a revolutionary senior statesman, is one and the same. Those who do not appreciate the naked fact are simply those who are shallow in ideologically and cannot differentiate between a theoretical formula and the practical processes of implementing [it].
Secondly, the facts of Museveni’s philosophy and political-military paths have fundamentally been his concern to cause the social metamorphosis of society. To rid Uganda and Africa of the centuries of backwardness and underdevelopment to have a transformed, modern and prosperous society, be it for Uganda and Africa at large.
His recourse to violence and use of the strategy of protracted people’s warfare was imposed on him when all options of pursuing peaceful discourse to engage in social mobilisation were clearly closed when Gen Idi Amin usurped power in the coup d’état of 1971. When Amin, as a front of Imperialist forces (Britain, USA and Israel) [took power], resorting to armed struggle remained the viable option available to the young Museveni. To his credit, he had used his time as a student and young person to do sacrificial preparation [by] deeply studying social phenomena as they pertained at the time.
Instead of squandering his youthful energy by engaging in useless youth extravaganza, he took time to read and study, trying to understand the dynamics of the world but particularly trying to answer the questions of the paradox of Africa’s underdevelopment.
His fundamental question was; how come Africa, which is better endowed than the rest of the world and being the greatest in size, could at the same time be the last on the ladder of prosperity and development? Of course, he was able to realise that Africa had been afflicted by several calamities namely slave trade, genocide, colonialism, [marginalisation] and then neo-colonialism.
Through his devotion to ideological studies, he came across many theories and practices of different world actors and in his conclusion as a young man was to choose the path of a revolutionary as opposed to the comfort of being a careerist. This is the real tale of the revolutionary, the most consistent Museveni.
Monitor publication is this time around pretending to be objective by trying to posture that they are students of Museveni’s philosophy by selectively misrepresenting what Museveni has authored in his world-class works of Sowing the Mustard Seed and also to vulgarise the thesis of the Commander in Chief, as a university student about Frantz Fanon theory on violence. It must be noted that those who read with eyes and minds which are open and sober will notice the consistency of the President’s thoughts showing that his philosophy, ideology and strategy have never wavered.
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That is why it is common to hear the cynics and enemies of development always [ignorantly saying], that the President is not telling them anything new. Those who are used to damaging as opposed to ideology and strategy, expect the President to be giving lavish rhetoric speeches for [their/his] own sake. It is those who understand ideology and strategy and issues of tactics who follow his preaching and guidance.
President Museveni inspects a guard of honour during the pass out of soldiers in 2023. Museveni’s philosophy and political-military paths have fundamentally been his concern to cause the social metamorphosis of society. PHOTO/FILE
Therefore, those bent on countering the revolutionary “Train of history”, be humble enough to realise that you simply do not understand the dynamics of revolutionary transformation. Mainly, so-called intellectuals have not bothered to improve their tools of thinking. As a result, they are so frightened and feel desperate. The humble advice we give you is to be calm and seek knowledge so that you are able to make a distinction between falsehood from the naked truth.
Those who [accept] falsehoods will definitely get confused because, at the end of it all, they either become a problem to society or are simply not able to provide answers to the complex challenges of transforming society. However, those who are disciplined and take time to dig out the truth (digging out the root cause of contradictions) will clearly understand and once you have an understanding of social and natural phenomena, you are then a problem solver and, therefore, be counted as a useful citizen.
In this article, I wish to clearly guide our young people, the so-called Generation Z, that it is important to stop vulgarising age matters. One fact is undisputable, whoever you look at as a senior citizen – an old man or woman – that [person] has at one time been a youth and understands the experiences a young person goes through. As an old person or senior citizen, such a person has also amassed a wealth of experience that is fondly called wisdom.
It is also, therefore, a fact that while as a young person, you are looking forward to that time when you will be fully in charge as a mature person, you definitely lack the experience the old person has. There is no way you can be privy to an experience you have not reached, you can only speculate.
For this reason, my counsel to all the youth is to be humble and use your time now as a young person to:
• Study to understand and avoid being swayed by falsehood, but also acquire relevant skills and correct attitude that will be handy once you are fully in charge.
• Exercise restraint and avoid living a ruthless and reckless life to avoid suffering irreversible dangers of disease, drugs and dropping out of school.
• Respect and practice voluntarism and serving your family, community, and country without always demanding pay. Such an attitude helps you get appreciated, respected and opens doors to networks.
Therefore, remember youthfulness is a time for preparation so that when you are of age and in charge, you are actually adequately equipped and ready to assume full and effective responsibility.
The [stance] by young people, and the shallow talk of some negative forces to the effect that all problems of society are due to government actors needs to be re-examined. For example, the recent riots in Kenya by Gen Z exposed this gap. [Meanwhile,] Khartoum is in ruins, Sudan is in pieces and the Gen Zs are nowhere on the scene, [except for] those who have joined the marauding sectarian armed groups wreaking havoc on innocent citizens in the countryside.
Yes, government should be critiqued but this phenomenon that youths should wreak havoc with street demonstrations is a big fallacy. Anarchy can never be a solution to challenges that confront the painstaking process of transformation. Anarchy by Gen Z only plays in the hands of the archenemies of Africa, who are the “lords of poverty and chaos”. Remember imperialism thrives in “troubled waters”.
An American writer called “Peter Little” has authored a book he calls Somalia: Economy Without State. He is advocating for the state of Somalia where there is anarchy, as the best model for Africa. Little claims that Somalis are receiving better services from charity organisations than when they had a standing government, imagine!
As we continue engaging, we need to warn those who romanticise the misuse of social media spaces to remember that [they are] just one of those innovations and advancements in technology like other times before. From the Stone Age to the Iron and Bronze Age, to the Machine Age, to the invention of nuclear technology and now information and space technology, there are those who always use technology for the advancement of human civilization. But there are also those who use technology to cause havoc and destroy humanity. The case of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan by the USA is still stuck in the minds of everyone.
We are witnessing human catastrophe in Gaza against the Palestinian people and many other misuses of technology. Hitler is remembered for having eliminated millions of Jews in gas chambers. Therefore, those who misuse social media be aware of this historical reality about using technology.
So young people being misguided by users of the so-called X and TikTok, among others, be aware that the Ugandan revolution will be guarded at all costs. So, when the government puts measures to foil anarchy, it is not that the revolutionaries have betrayed the cause of young people but rather, the revolutionaries are guarding the revolutionary gains from the known enemies of Africa; namely imperialists and those who aid imperialism either consciously or in ignorance.
Once again, all the so-called intellectuals and our beloved Gen Z remember that biology is not ideology. Therefore, pay attention to study so that you deepen your ideological consciousness.
Col Deo Byate Karikona is the director of ideological development at the UPDF.
