Dear Ugandan Mothers, Political games are finishing our sons; Make your Country better not bitter

 

My son bought me a smart phone to catch up with the current trends. I sometimes spend time making funny faces on tik tok with my grand kids. Today as I was scrolling, I landed on a post by Uganda Radio Network on Twitter.

This was about the 15 Nationals of Eritrea who were arrested on Tuesday 26th October while crossing into Uganda through the porous borders.

It got me thinking about how as Ugandans and majorly opposition leaders are busy telling the world about how bad Uganda is and fronting their propaganda that Uganda is a bleeding country. Then I started thinking of how as mothers and wives, we protect the image of our husbands and families.

If we are to be real to ourselves, the issues that divide us notwithstanding, would you rather stay in another country? Would you leave your marriage because your husband keeps dirtying the floor after you have mopped? 

My answer is definitely a resounding NO! Like any objective human being, East or West home is best.

Let's just assume you are on the side which prefers a home country besides Uganda. My question is, what is it about our country that keeps drawing people from all over the world wanting to make this country their first or second home?

Let me share a little story of my unpleasant experience at our Neighbors home.

In 2003, while visiting friends in Kenya on a 3 months holiday, I fell terribly sick and had to be rushed to hospital. The hospital they rushed me to, refused to treat me because I did not have an ID - under normal circumstances this can't happen in Uganda. There is no hospital that will require an ID to treat a patient. Since then I learnt to love Uganda for its love for people and for humanity in general. It's not a coincidence that we are host to such vast numbers of refugees from all over the world.

 

It's not to say we don't have challenges as a country, there is no such country! I will not blame it entirely on my leaders. I take responsibility as a Ugandan citizen and aspire to be part of the solution.

I will not be part of corrupt civil society organizations which blow the loudest trumpet of how President Museveni is corrupt and yet they are repatriating economic returns to the countries funding them. That is always the deal before they are funded. I won't be part of those who assume Ugandans are so naive that you can have double standards right before their faces.

There has to be a sense of responsibility and ownership for us to make this country to what we want it to be. That is what we should groom our children to be, not to help them to make abusing video clips for their social media accounts. What happened to courteous manners from our fore mothers? Mothers wake up!

 

All countries have their challenges just like every healthy marriage.  Just because you are not married to my husband doesn't qualify him to be the best. You just don't know him.  Comparing Uganda to other countries is an insult because they even have more problems. If you have been married for 30 years like me, you will understand that running away is not a good option. Trust me when I say, the grass at your neighbors is not greener.

Make yours green instead. Stay and work out the challenges, after all they say two are better than one. You don't stand on the other side and throw stones to your wife because you have disagreements. She is still your bedmate, mother to your children and you are entangled forever.

The question is, have the Ugandan opposition accepted to entangle with government to be part of the solution. No, they are on the verge of divorce. They are waiting to fight for the achieved wealth over the years, take away the property and leave the children divided between which parents to follow. Utter chaos! Total break down!

Fellow Mothers of Uganda, lets breast feed our children and nourish them for the future. Give them the discipline they deserve and remind them that there is no place better than home. That the Western world is against Uganda and it’s time to fight for our home.  If others are running to the pearl of Africa let's embrace it, build it and keep it safe today, tomorrow and the generation after us.

The writer is a housewife and Agriculturalist from Kapchorwa District