>
>This is a free advice to Uganda's President. It probably applies to the
>Gambian. Have a go at it.
>________________
>
>
>    Feb. 7, 2003
>    Hello Mr President
>
>    Power -- especially the political one-- is never for ever.
>    But how often people forget about this truism as they go about loading
>    it on others.
>    However long it takes, it is a matter of time and it will surely fade
>    from someone's hands.
>    The dictator next door ? the late Mobutu Sese Seko -- ruled his country
>    with an iron hand for donkey's years. But just as he was basking in the
>    glory of power in old age, he was sent packing into exile. Out of
>    power, his body quickly gave way to ailments and he died a miserable
>    fugitive in Morocco.
>    Even the billions of dollars he had stolen form his country and stuck
>    away in accounts abroad ended up being of little use to him. He had
>    grown too much used to power that the slightest absence of it sent his
>    body disintegrating in just days.
>    Uganda's own history probably offers the best examples. At one time
>    Uganda was almost synonymous with names like Milton Obote and Idi Amin.
>    To the extent that 23 years after Amin left power, he is known more
>    than the country he led abroad.
>    The first time Obote was ousted by Amin in 1971, his exit attracted an
>    assortment of ridicule. There was a Luganda song that described him
>    begging the late Tanzanian president Julius Nyerere for asylum in
>    exchange for washing his (Nyerere's) under clothes!
>    These were some of the people that had waited for ages to see Obote out
>    in disgrace. They waited for long but as it was bound to happen, their
>    wait was not in vein.
>    Those with political power know this even better. They are aware that
>    their bad actions will earn them all sorts of reprisals one day. But
>    while the logical thing would be to cut the costs short by quitting in
>    time, they do often succumb to the temptation to hold onto power. In
>    the process, they even make their bad record worse.
>    I was told of some president in the Southern Africa region who is
>    considering absurd laws to deal with waning popularity rather than
>    quit. He is considering introducing a law that would make it
>    treasonable to stare or laugh at the presidential motorcade. Just
>    because the presidential motorcade no longer attracts waiving and
>    cheers in town!
>    I was also told of a government official who landed himself in trouble
>    for shaking the first lady's hand a second too long.
>    Such responses to dealing with political challenge simply worsen one's
>    record. But it is never too late for those who still go around
>    bullying, torturing and jailing others at will. A crime is a crime. And
>    a case never dies. It is a question of falling out of power and the
>    case will be resurrected.
>    The case of Maj. Gen. Yusuf Gowon illustrates the point better. He was
>    arrested last year on charges of murder, almost three decades after the
>    purported crime in the early 70s.
>    The Kenyan experience is another lesson to those who may want to learn.
>    A number of contracts, land allocations and deals sealed in corrupt
>    ways during the Daniel arap Moi days are being revoked. A judge is
>    being hounded for his role in cases of political persecution. Many more
>    heads will roll soon.
>    Let no one think that these things will not happen in today's Uganda.
>    If you are a corrupt leader, do not forget that you will one day have
>    to account for it, or at least your offspring. It is never too early to
>    return your ill-gotten wealth.
>    If you work in security, you probably may want to start making good of
>    your past unlawful adventures. Reach out to those you arrested,
>    tortured and injured unlawfully. Remember regimes can come and go but
>    cases never die.
>    Those that have distinguished themselves in political arrogance should
>    not lose sight of this logic either. For all the years you spent acting
>    the big bellied and hurled abuses at the politically weak, the people
>    could be waiting around the corner for the day power will dodge your
>    steps. Perhaps it is time you scaled down on your arrogance and abuses.
>    Start calling your challengers political opponents, not pigs or ducks.
>    There is always a reward in treating people nicely. Even when your sins
>    outweigh your good acts, people will always try to judge you by the
>    former.
>    There is more to this. Besides disarming the opposition, it will go a
>    great way in dealing with the negative images associated with our
>    politics.
>    Power is not about threatening the public into submission through
>    political monopoly, arrests, and detention in safe houses. It is about
>    winning their support to implement programmes that will change their
>    lives.
>
>
>>


sams

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