When the my modem internet in the village failed to work well, I had to travel from Kyangwali Refugee Settlement to Hoima about 80Km to access internet. As always I opened my Facebook to see what is happening around the world and also to reply to my friends messages. However, I was overwhelmed by the pictures posted by all US Embassies around Africa showing President Barack Obama and the President of each country. Many things ran into my mind as I browsed through the pictures. 1. Why did the meeting have to be in America? I know the location is not a big deal. It is not that important that this is in America or anywhere in the world but I think that when Obama proposed for a meeting to be in US, no one of the president here suggested another option. It would cost less and be more relevant if this was to be in Africa since the main purpose it to support/ develop Africa. 2. Do these H.Es have lot to learn from Obama? Or will they really implement what will be discussed? We all know that most of these presidents have been in power for more years Mr. Obama himself. Some of them went to power when Obama was a teenager. They therefore have all the knowledge of what the problem is and should have accumulated skills to solve the problem if they have the willingness to do so. 3. Obama will not give any better advise than what he already gave during his visit to Africa, Africa needs strong institutions not strong men. This is right for any nation around the world. What I know for sure is that these guys know the problem and sometimes they are big percentage in the root causes. I am saying this because the problem Africa has failed political institution that has prevented other institutions from moving forward. Didnt Obama say this when he visited Africa? Is there any more important advise than this that he will give to these guys? Why dont they keep Calm And create strong Institutions? 4. Does my President have to go to Washington to know that 7.3 million children are out of school? Do our neighbors have to go to Washington DC to know that neighbors should work together to strengthen their relationships and support each other instead of killing millions of innocent people? Do they all have to go to DC to remember that more than 250 girls are still missing? 5. We continue to fail to learn from what we have faced, experienced, suffered. Sometimes, its like people expect exported solutions. Of course, I do believe that solutions which worked in other places can sometimes work in our areas but this is not copy-pasting approach and it can be possible if we ignore all the local solutions which have so far worked. While most of our leaders appreciate and celebrate Nelson Mandela, I think they are the only leaders who have learnt any lesson from his leadership. He was in power for only one term and become a strong mentor to others. He showed love and opened the door to a new type of leadership. He was resilient, gave so much to people and took nothing back. Obama mentioned many things which he learnt from Mandela...does he know or can he relate to Mandela more than African leaders who are like Mandela brothers leading communities with almost similar economic and cultural context? I know some leaders are trying their best and all these may not apply to them equally but I think it is time for these guys to work as brothers. Some of them are attending the event and may only come back with the picture. We need a different Africa and I truly believe we have all it takes to make Africa a peaceful and prosperous continent ever. Meetings are good but I am worried that some of these people just attend meetings with no clear agenda and others know it all but never do anything for the people who have given them power. Even though I am young, I know that being a President is a big responsibility. But I also know that when those who are trust with much are expected to deliver more. I also believe that if you cannot fulfill the promise you need to give others the opportunity to do what you cant do. We all fail once or many times in life..its normal but not cool when you insist to continue to do what is costing others lives. In addition, it does not make sense when you stay in power for years as if you are the last man God gave knowledge to lead the people..even if you may have done very good it is good to know that great leaders create other leader. All this said, I still wish all the best to the African president and Obama a wonderful and fruitful meeting. Tomorrow I will go back to the village to do my part before going back to school. I know that tomorrow will be different and that Africas future will be bright if every African child realizes the power in him/her and applies it to change what is not right. Thank you God for giving us the Africa that I call home.
Posted on: Wed, 06 Aug 2014 18:37:44 +0000
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