Dear Robert Kyagulanyi, let’s get down to work

Dear Mr President — I should call you so because there is no doubt that you actually won the 2021 presidential election, with all its calamities.

I know it sounds somewhat funny, because, in all fairness, there was actually no election – but a military operation as many have called it. But as all agree, you are inside people’s hearts as their president — and that is your victory. It is again against this fact — that your statehouse is the hearts and minds of Ugandans — that I am writing to you.

You have work to do. Robert, if I may, you are in a very privileged and special position in our history. Not many people ever get to sit in this position ever.

Not even the Museveni of 1986 to 1990! This is special: Hajji Nasser Ntege Ssebaggala was in it at one time, and Col Kizza Besigye was in this position under a different set of circumstances. The love you have now is only likened to the love that Baganda have for the Kabaka. But good for you, you have this love across the country.

But remember, as was with Hajji Ssebaggala and Col Besigye, moments like this are often fleeting, very short-lived. (Only Kabaka’s love lasts forever). Partly, thanks to Museveni’s long-stay (it becomes boring seeing the same guy over and over again), and the emptiness of his reign, and partly to your individual talents — as an eloquent and solid entertainer — and youthfulness, this moment is a gift.

It is the envy of many powerful people, not the least, myself, but people with money and power. But while you enjoy it as it lasts, you have to make it count. You have to put it to use in a more solid way, beyond confrontations with Museveni’s men over simple whimsy political things such as processions.

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote that you can actually govern without Nakasero. And if you govern — by which I meant, leading — Nakasero will come to you by itself. As the man who resides inside people’s hearts, please lead from within their hearts. You are the president, be confident about it, and lead (within your circumstances).

I will not repeat the suggestions I offered the week before last, but I want to demonstrate how this can be executed. (It is tough, but it is the work itself ).

NOT TAXES, BUT PROJECT DONATIONS

You are old enough to remember those times when Ugandans trusted their leaders. Nothing was off-limit for them to give away. People donated chunks of land for public projects ranging from schools, hospitals, roads to playgrounds. People took pride in paying their taxes, and flaunted receipts of payment at drinking joints.

(I know women who were content to make love to revolutionaries/ rebels, counting this as their contribution/ sacrifice to the cause). The point I’m building here is that Ugandans will give you land, materials, money, labour if you directed them to a project.

I will return to one example: a state-of- the-art vocational training school. Call it any name. Begin with the traditional seven regions of Uganda. If this were identified as the project, there is a person or people in Kigezi or Ankole waiting to give their beloved president, a piece of land, big enough for this project.

There are people in the same region willing to supply materials, money and labour — and technical expertise — for THEIR school. All they want in turn is visibly COMMITTED leadership and willingness to do the work.

Be ready to pitch camp — with a team of your trusted inner circle — in the areas where the project would be ongoing. Don’t be like those “telephone farmers.” People work with their idols.

Not visitors. You have to be ready to spend a month in Kigezi or Lango working, probably not till the project ends, but make it stand. And be ready to spend week-long stays in the time ahead. After the school is built, I have no doubt that you will have the money to actually run it, offering bursaries to youths across the region. In the long-term, these schools (in Luweero, Busoga, Bugisu, Rakai) will be modelled towards self-sustainability.

COUNTING THE COINS

Allegedly, four million people voted for you. But let’s (problematically) work with your Twitter handle. You have more than two million followers. Let’s consider half. If one million Ugandans gave you a monthly donation of Shs 1,000, which is affordable by many across jobs and education qualifications, this is Shs 1 billion a month.

Convinced of value for money, they will proudly give it, and much more—even weekly! “Bobi Wine’s 1k,” or “Omusolo gwa Bobi” they will call it. (And you/they are more creative than I am). Mr President, tell me you cannot supervise a project, and a team receiving Shs 1 billion a month, or that you cannot do something serious with Shs 1 billion. I assure you, once you start rolling, “Bobi Wine’s 1k” will not stop coming.

I know, once money starts coming in, it is a poisoned chalice. There are vultures from within, and enemies from without. But this should be the test of your leadership as regards mobilising, managing and supervising public funds and actual resources.

At present, there is no law against any of these things — and this stuff is confrontation-free. It is development work. But there’s no doubt, people in this Museveni government will want to see you fail, and will work tirelessly to see failure. But I would rather you brawl with this government (and young people are imprisoned) over projects like this than mere processions.

You will need a real team of serious people — a public service if you like — but formed by professionals and technicians, accountants and admins that you will put on a salary from the people’s funds. You will be hiring. This is the work, comrade brother.

MUTUAL INTERESTS

I need to return to the point of sabotage from Museveni’s government. The major objection to these proposals of mine, which you will hear a lot, is that Mr Museveni and his men will not allow you to work. This is agreeable. But look, Mr President, your men and women in parliament have a good working relationship with Museveni’s people — especially the speaker, Anita Among.

This relationship ought to be improved from just money to delivering actual tangible things. (I still wonder why you haven’t used this working relationship towards the release of political prisoners, but that is a conversation for another day).

If you mean to do this work, which calls for a lot of careful planning, you will need to use these relationship and networks to ensure Museveni’s men simply let you work. Not that the ideal of “removing a dictator” is all forgotten, but that negotiating a principled relationship ought to be considered.

Your men are already working well in parliament; this should be the beginning point.

yusufkajura@gmail.com

The author is a political theorist based at Makerere University.