>
>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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