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| Ebenezer T. Bifubyeka (Ten) |
Uganda at 50
By Ebenezer T. Bifubyeka
Author
of 15 books.
S
|
he is 50
At 50, one is
mature.
Are we mature?
We are
celebrating 50 years of independence,
Independent but
dependent!
Depending on the
colonial education,
Whose introducers
are long gone, gone some 50 years ago!
At 50, Uganda
still cherishes colonialists’ barren education!
Education that glooms our
graduates to be nothing but white-collar job seekers!
Graduates that have not
manufactured anything on their own in 50 years, not even a toothpick!
Save for Makerere University
that manufactured Kiira EV at the close of 50 years of independence. Even then,
we are yet to see Kiira EV vehicles dominating Ugandan roads and beyond.
At 50, we are wise enough to
concentrate on inventing and manufacturing.
Japan makes aeroplanes and
satellites,
Uganda still imports razor
blades!
Japan’s education breeds her
graduates to be inventors and manufacturers.
Uganda’s education breeds
her graduates only to be professional labourers!
However, Uganda celebrates
50 years of independence.
Independent but depending on
colonial language!
Colonialism folded on
October 9, 1962;
But its legacy stayed behind
as a ghost,
A ghost of cultural
imperialism,
We adore the imperialistic
culture,
We want to be whites in a
black skin!
We still want to speak their
language,
The British language that
has suffocated our indigenous languages!
No wonder we don’t have a
national language after 50 years of independence!
South Africa has 11 national
languages!
Uganda has 65 indigenous
languages but with no single national language!
All the same, we are 50
years old as independent Ugandans.
50 years of autonomy, but
still entangled,
Entangled and vulnerable to
diseases, infant and maternal mortality rates – besides the walloping
unemployment!
At 50, crippling poverty
still shortens the lifespan of many Ugandans!
But we are 50.
50 years working for money
that we even never see!
When will money ever work
for us?
We are 50 today,
50 years as citizens of
Uganda, the Pearl of Africa,
50 years of depleting our
forest and wetlands in the name of corruption!
Do we independently protect
the environment?
Do we care to sustain the
unrivalled beauty of this country?
This is not my country, it
is our country.
The onus is on you and me to
jealously conserve the unsurpassed beauty of this country.
Uganda is gifted by nature;
And it is lugubrious to
disappoint nature that endowed her with such prestigious beauty!
We are 50,
50 years of underpaying
teachers and doctors, the most important professionals on the land!
50 years without funding the
few Ugandan authors and lyricists!
But she is 50; half a
century old.
Our legends are little known
simply because our education system hardly teaches us about them!
We only learn about Eskimos
and the western prairies,
But we don’t learn about the
Batwa and the Acholiland!
Are we proud of being
Ugandans?
What is your contribution
towards developing Uganda?
Uganda railway crawls at 50!
Her agriculture still
staggers at 50!
Yet she has managed her
affairs for 50 years.
50 years of dreaming to
participate in World Cup!
It’s at 50 that Uganda has
seen light at the end of the tunnel as she begins to get women leaders;
Talk of Janet Museveni,
Margaret
Zziwa, Rebecca Kadaga,
Miria Matembe, Betty Kamya, Agnes Akiror Egunyu, Maria Kiwanuka, Amelia
Kyabadde, Jennipher Musisi…
But
Uganda is yet to see a woman Bishop!
The
woman Archbishop is still a far-fetched dream for Uganda!
Uganda has struck oil at 50;
Let’s wait for what the
future holds for us.
As we wait for what the
future holds for us,
Let’s love our country and
care for her.
We selfishly care about
ourselves;
We want big salaries and
excessive allowances,
We use bribery,
We accept bribes
Uganda is a Christian
country as exemplified by her motto: “For God and my country.”
But we are not righteous!
We satisfy the stomach
sector,
We dissatisfy the health
sector!
Are we patriotic?
But we are 50.
Wow,
a smile begins to crack on our faces as load-shedding promises to retire at 50
–
Thanks
to President Yoweri Museveni.
But
Uganda is yet to change her education system!
Anyway,
congratulations Uganda upon your 50th independence anniversary!
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