On role of a university in a modern country

Regular readers of this column will recall that I have previously written on the subject of today’s opinion, especially with regard to my alma mater, Makerere University. I decided to return to the subject matter after reading a story published in Daily Monitor of December 30, 2019, titled, “Use academic disciplines to create wealth - Museveni.”
According to the story, Sabalwanyi has called upon Makerere University Business School (MUBS) and other public universities in the country to use their academic disciplines to promote his pet project called “wealth creation” which is run more or less like a private family business and whose real, hidden motive appears to be “wealth accumulation” by the usual eating class.

At a meeting with a delegation of staff members from MUBS, held at his posh country residence at Rwakitura, Sabalwanyi told his guests that, “Your academic disciplines should be used to promote the struggle to create wealth. MUBS administration should assess the market of employment for the students who graduate from the institute. You need to improve the quality of students at the institute. If you are an educationist, you must start with science for survival,” whatever that means.
Quite amazing stuff, coming from the leader of a regime which seasoned observers of Ugandan politics believe has deliberately and systematically impoverished Ugandans, in order to make wananchi powerless, gullible and susceptible to manipulation and control by a corrupt and decadent ruling clique.

Let me state upfront my position on the role of public universities in Uganda. I believe that the primary role of a university worth its name is to advance the frontiers of knowledge through rigorous research, teaching and dissemination of knowledge, not to create wealth for some greedy men and their cronies to feast on, as appears to be the gist of a rather disingenuous directive.
Universities are citadels of knowledge and centres of excellence in the search for the truth. As institutions of higher learning, universities epitomise humankind’s relentless struggle against ignorance and poverty of the mind which are hallmarks of many African leaders, including some in our neck of the woods.

If government of Uganda is serious about wealth creation, it should begin by increasing substantially the budgetary allocation to the agriculture sector to a minimum of 10 per cent of the national Budget; urgently eradicate endemic and systemic corruption; recover trillions of shillings stolen during the last 30 years by regime operatives and cronies who are known; abandon cronyism, nepotism and tribalism and restore meritocracy at all levels, beginning from the top; and drastically cut down resources wasted on public administration, the military and many totally unnecessary security agencies.

There is no serious threat to Uganda’s sovereignty and territorial integrity to justify the colossal amount of resources squandered annually on defence, a sector whose primary function and role is to guarantee regime survival, not protection of the people and sovereignty of the Republic of Uganda.
As I have argued convincingly in this column many times before, Uganda should follow the good example of one of the most peaceful countries in the world, namely, Costa Rica and abolish the army altogether. A small, professional and well-remunerated civil police force recruited on merit, from all districts, is all that Uganda needs. Uganda should, in addition, encourage formation of an East African Defence Force to guarantee regional peace and security. I was pleasantly surprised by overwhelmingly positive feedback received from Ugandans on this proposal. I urge the gallant youth of Uganda to pursue the matter to its logical conclusion.

In conclusion, my unsolicited, but sound advice to academicians of Makerere University and other Ugandan public universities is this, disregard any directive you may receive to promote wealth creation because that is not the mandate and role of any serious university.
I tell you, the verdict of history on African leaders, like Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe, Samuel Doe of Liberia, Gen Omar Bashir of the Sudan and Yahya Jammeh of Gambia, who think they can fool all the people all the time and who routinely take wananchi for a ride will be merciless and unpleasant.
Mr Acemah is a political scientist and retired career diplomat.
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