We need ‘big picture’ thinking (Part II)

Last week, we discussed the hostility that greeted DP’s resolve to take charge of its destiny. The hostility was driven by several forces. The first are the indisciplined opportunists who put their personal interests before that of the party. 

The second are the provincially minded elements who don’t believe in building a strong national party. To put it plainly, they believe that DP is one of the clans of Buganda! It is on these two pillars of weakness that the external forces, whether from the Opposition or the ruling party, latched to undermine DP. Let’s get back to our narrative.

The bad blood continued and became worse around the time of East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) elections. Before DP went to court to open up the EALA elections, NRM and FDC would share the nine EALA seats at a ratio of 6:3 and the plenary of Parliament would simply rubber stamp it. When we kicked open the EALA door, FDC announced that all the other Opposition parties in Parliament should get at least one EALA MP, FDC gets two and NRM takes the rest. 

With all the time constraint the negotiations failed. FDC proposed that we should boycott the EALA elections, but they continued campaigning for their candidates in Parliament. I realised that they were preaching water but drinking wine. We decided to go full throttle for the EALA polls with a laser-sharp focus to have DP in EALA. 

The coward of the county was at last fighting back and would take no nonsense from the so-called leading Opposition party. We reclaimed our voice and our power to decide for ourselves. We would no longer be a wagon to be towed around aimlessly. We were determined to be an engine. Captains of our souls. Masters of our fate!

The IPC was stillborn because it was seen as a special purpose vehicle to perpetuate the Museveni-Besigye political feud as opposed to presenting a clear alternative to the NRM. Indeed, soon even UPC under Olara Otunnu left the coalition. Michael Mabikke and his SDP soon abandoned the IPC on account of the FDC double dealing. Mabikke was the official IPC candidate for Kampala Lord Mayor but behind his back FDC negotiated with Ssuubi to front Lukwago as an independent candidate for Lord Mayor. Mabikke walked away and in his wake spewed many unkind words about FDC and Besigye.

In 2015, another attempt at coalition was made. But FDC didn’t want its position as the “opposition” to be challenged. In was at the heart of the most delicate negotiations and the day I open my mouth some people will leave town. That time hasn’t come yet. Fortunately, I kept meticulous notes of the whole process and they are intact.

As we faced the prospect of the 2021 elections, we launched the Reunion Caravan. I drafted the mission statement of the reunion as follows: The goal was to “shape a collective future”. The strategy was that “the fragmented forces that have valiantly stood in the gap fighting for democracy should consolidate, realign and coalesce at the head of the democracy seeking forces in Uganda”. 

Once again this lofty ideal motivated by our big picture approach to issues was derailed by meal card politics and the manipulation of what the “Opposition” is. I will share my record of how this happened and why. My faithful journal has a clear account of this. Once again our generation didn’t miss the opportunity to miss an opportunity. Because of selfishness and narrow-mindedness, the word “Opposition” has lost meaning. 

Each group now has its own “public”. DP should identify its “public” and cultivate it. There are people who DP will never win over even if we walk on our heads over water! Let’s consolidate our base of true believers who share our ideology of pragmatic nationalism. Let’s be the party that will be the tiebreaker in our politics. Let’s be the bridge over which Ugandans will walk to a new and better future. Let’s be the healing balm for a hurting country. 

We will always be misplaced among the radical individualists. The Acholi say “lacene pe tuk kacel ki bonyo” (Grasshoppers do not fly together with locusts).  Our history should guide us as we redefine our identity and goals. Sticking our finger in the air to find out which direction the wind is blowing will only take us where we don’t want to go. If we know where we want to go, all we have to do is set our sails right. Any wind will take us where we want to go. Even the turbulence of the seas will not deter us.