Prime
Actions speak louder than words
What you need to know:
Despite running one of the most successful road construction companies in the country at the time, he was also famous for his foul language. He never missed an opportunity to throw around some vulgar words
Those who were of understanding age in the late 1980s and early 1990s will most likely remember one outstanding businessman called Mukalazi. He ran a fairly successful road construction company called Mukalazi Technical Services.
Despite running one of the most successful road construction companies in the country at the time, he was also famous for his foul language. He never missed an opportunity to throw around some vulgar words.
A story is told of how he was once summoned to his son’s school because the son had used inappropriate language.
Mr Mukalazi heeded the summonses and promptly appeared at the son’s school to take corrective action.
Upon arriving at the son’s school, he was briefed about the son’s offense. He was then asked by the school staff to discipline his son. He obliged and picked a cane to discipline his son. In those days, the disciplinary methods were nothing short of lashes of the cane. This stuff of grounding, naughty corners was reserved for toddlers.
Mukalazi decided that before he could proceed with the task, he would give his son a lecture.
Speaking in Luganda, his preferred language of communication, he went on to lecture his son. But used obscene language to put his point across.
The teachers were left amused or rather in shock. By the time he was done with disciplining his son, he had thrown around many obscenities. The teachers were no longer angry with the son. They now knew where the problem stemmed from.
This story is similar in many ways to what is happening in our beloved nation.
Our leaders are preaching against some vices while they continue to indulge in them. They preach patriotism and yet their actions are a far cry from the patriotism they are preaching.
Last week, we were all left in shock after learning about the Speaker’s vast wealth which she had allegedly tucked away in foreign lands. It is yet to be proved, though. This is on top of other exorbitant investments in the country. One wonders how one is able to squeeze all that wealth from an ailing economy.
This is a common practice among our leading politicians who are illegally “milking” our ailing economy. Many even go ahead to tuck this wealth away in foreign lands.
What makes their actions treacherous or unpatriotic is that while the government is struggling to run its affairs due to a shortage of funds, they are mercilessly “milking” our ailing economy.
While some government workers are going months without salaries, some of our leaders are stashing away billions of shillings.
So we need to ask the question, how does one expect the wananchi or muntu wawansi to act patriotically when our leaders are acting otherwise.
How do our leaders expect the common man to stop engaging in acts of corruption, nepotism when they themselves are doing the same?
Our leaders are not acting differently from Mukalazi who was disciplining his son without realizing that the son was simply replicating the behaviour of his father.
Let our leaders learn to lead from the front fully aware that the behavior they flaunt will be copied by the followers.
For God and my country
Edward Makobore, Afronomist and farmer
