Museveni’s social media gamble

In recent months, our ruler of more than three decades, it has to be emphasised, has ramped up his social media presence, often making posts on Facebook and Twitter. He likes to purport he is addressing ‘the bazukulu (literally meaning his grandchildren). Many Ugandans may find this utterly insulting and unacceptable.

But Mr Museveni’s knack for referring to Ugandans as ‘his grandchildren’ bespeaks of his paternalism and the mindset of rulers deluded into believing they are on a special mission. This paternalism comes from a self-appointed sense of occupying the higher position in the lives of those he rules.
His wife, the First Lady and senior Cabinet minister, has not wasted time getting into the mix. She too has her own way of inserting herself on a higher social pedestal – she often points out at the outset that she is addressing Ugandans who “call her mama by choice.”

Unfortunately, for Mr Museveni and the cabal ruling Uganda, the current era presents a daunting atmosphere. It is a tricky combination of hostile social groups and slippery social media. The rapidly changing demographic distribution arguably poses the biggest threat to authoritarian rulers, especially those seeking to rule for life.
Today, Mr Museveni has to confront a tough demographic dilemma – young Ugandans whose language, ambitions, ways and aspirations are far removed from the narrative of the saviour mentality we have been told since 1986.
His stories of how he fought Idi Amin and Milton Obote have no appeal to the majority youth desperate to find meaning in life, who face a hopeless present and are up against an uncertain future. This is made worse in an environment of information explosion and unfettered communication channels.

The same social media Mr Museveni wants to leverage in the hopes of winning over the masses of young Ugandans is the very force that is stacked against him and the agenda of misruling Uganda. The handlers, perhaps eager to make an impact in their jobs, have persuaded the chief that he needs to speak to the youth directly. That he should engage them from where they are active – on social media. There is a newly added dimension of reaching out to the ghetto youth.
In the wake of the shakeup and the unprecedented anxiety wrought by Mr Robert Kyagulanyi, aka Bobi Wine, the urgency is palpable and the panic is evident. But taking the fight to social media is a poisoned chalice for Mr Museveni. It is a double-edge sword. It may cut his enemies as much as it exposes him to injury as well.

For a man who likes to dictate the terms of debate and the rules of engagement, especially when he faces his opponents, he has zero control over the rules governing social media. It is a fair game. Where he would have expected applause, he mostly gets ridiculed by many who have the convenience of anonymity and who operate under faceless accounts.
Mr Museveni’s chances of swaying the thinking of the social media crowd are close to zero. Yet, to be sure, he engages them, he is damned, he ignores them he is still damned. This is the inevitable outcome of a ruler overstaying his welcome. It is a sad commentary on African politics.

Once a modestly respected leader and progressive reformer, Mr Museveni is now frowned at in street alleys and openly insulted on social media platforms. He easily gets booed at a public gatherings and his motorcade can come under attack from angry stone-throwing youths as happened in Arua last year. Caricatures of his person have become commonplace on Facebook and around the web.

Young Ugandans who have come of age under his rule simply cannot comprehend the rationale of an aged potentate presiding over an incompetent government, a decayed public sector and a generally dysfunctional system of rule. We have a complex social landscape and a surging young population yet the government is in the hands of an aged and clueless coterie, incapable of mustering the tools and tactics to keep pace with the demands and pressures of a poor society.

A bloated Cabinet and a huge public administration bill, a crazily packed Parliament that makes little sense to a young graduate seeking a productive career, plus the billions of shillings at the disposal of the ruler’s oversized patronage machine all add up to a scandalous state of affairs abhorred by many Ugandans. The ruler and those around him may pretend otherwise, but the trends are quite clear and matters can only get worse.