Prime
Does God impose incompetent leaders on the people He loves?
Last Saturday, Ms Barbie Kyagulanyi posted on Facebook a quote she attributed to her beloved husband. According to the husband, “God does not choose the qualified; he qualifies the chosen.”
This quote carries two messages. First, husband and wife inadvertently confess (proudly and cheerfully) that husband is not qualified for the job. This is very positive because knowing that you don’t know is the first step to ‘healing.’ The second message is that God has chosen husband to lead the country and that by faith, the husband will magically develop the requisite competencies. In other words, God is going to impose an unqualified person on us.
Now, the idea that God chooses ill-suited people for significant tasks is common among believers. To illustrate this, we point to the likes of David and Saul (Paul) as people who were chosen despite “being ill-suited for their respective tasks”. In Ugandan politics, we point to Museveni, who captured power in 1986 despite “being a novice in 1980”.
Both interpretations, biblical and political, might be flawed. To begin with, being competent and being known for it are two different things. One can be capable but unknown to the masses. Secondly, although desirable in its own right, being a good person may be irrelevant to completing a task. Someone can be both flawed and highly skilled.
In David versus Goliath’s story, we tend to perceive David as an unskilled person who, but for God’s love, stood no chance.
Yet, by the time he faced Goliath, David had killed a lion and a bear and mastered the use of the sling, a simple but highly effective weapon. All the competencies he needed on the day of battle were already present in him. What changed is not so much his competencies but how they were organised and applied.
Museveni, too, was not a novice in 1980. By then, he was a battle-experienced and ideologically grounded soldier, military leader, politician, and intellectual.
For example, between May and December 1980, he was vice-chairman of the Military Commission, which effectively governed Uganda. How did he get up there? For a fact, Museveni wasn’t appointed as a romantic gesture or an act of faith; he had demonstrated competence.
So, the idea that an unprepared or incompetent person can become suitable by sheer faith is not supported by history. It is very dangerous logic. If such reasoning were sound, we would close all medical schools, replace them with Bible classes, and generate competent surgeons on account of sheer belief and commitment to God.
But we don’t do that for any job (engineer, pilot, lawyer, mechanic) because, deep down, we know it takes more than belief and commitment to God to get any job done. Why should we ignore this timeless principle when it comes to the highest office in the land?
Husband now finds himself in deep-waters. However, in such situations, we shouldn’t quote non-existent verses or rely on dangerous logic. God created skills and a way for us to self-improve. If found wanting, we should develop our skills and use available avenues for self-improvement. We should not romanticise incompetence.
That said, if God were ever to impose an incompetent leader on anyone, it would be on the enemies of His people. And I don’t think Ugandans are the enemies of God’s people to deserve such punishment. If we are, then join me in saying, “Eloi Eloi lama sabachthani?” (My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me?)
Mr Kibudde is a sociopolitical thinker
[email protected] Twitter: @kkaboggoza
