I am a man on a mission to liberate this country- Museveni

President Yoweri Museveni, who is also the NRM presidential candidate has scoffed at critics whom he said think he is seeking for a job yet he is mission-driven.

“They think I am here to look for a job and this is all because they don’t bother to get the facts. In 1971, I was a research officer in the president's office and it was a good job but when Idi Amin took power, I left after our group meeting to go and fight him,”Museveni said.

“We abandoned positions to fight. Those who say that I am looking for positions are wasting their time. We are after missions and not positions.”

The NRM presidential candidate made the remarks on Monday while meeting NRM leaders from Kumi, Bukedea, Ngora and Serere districts at the Kumi district headquarters.

Museveni told the ruling party leaders from Teso sub-region that whereas he was serving in government, he was looking at mistakes that were being done by past governments and was determined to change the status quo.

He insisted that he made it his mission to ensure he changes the political landscape of the country, a job he said he is still doing.

“Like Jesus’ mission was putting forward a vision of life but the illumination of life after death, my mission is to solve the historical problem. We(NRM) here to achieve this mission.”

Emphasizing the nature of the country before the NRM captured power in 1986, Museveni explained that Uganda and Africa were ungovernable adding that he then embarked on a mission of salvaging the country.

“You could not have stability anywhere in Africa. It was chaos. There was bad governance, no development, large number of dead people, and refugees. However, the good thing is that some of us were part of the old groups and had that rare chance of seeing what people were saying and compare with other parts of the world and it is how we were able to distill thinking that later alone led to NRM ideology.”

According to Museveni, the NRM ideology is one of emphasizing problems of the people of Uganda and Africa at large, as opposed to politics of identity like tribes and religion.

Politics

The NRM presidential candidate also aimed a jibe at opposition politicians whom he said are not fit to lead the country.

“When i hear people talking of Amuriat that he is a son of soil and not what he has done, it is disgusting. We are talking about what someone talks and does. They(opposition)  are not the type who can handle the historical mission like NRM has done,” Museveni said.

He emphasized that because of wisdom, the NRM government has done many things that would ordinarily not be done by mere strength.

Leaders make demands

The leaders from the four districts asked the President to consider the issue of compensation to war veterans and property including cattle lost during the LRA war and to cattle rustlers.

President Museveni was also asked the local leaders to consider an affirmative action scheme for tertiary education for the area’s children through scholarships and infrastructure projects among others.

However, in response, the President who on some occasions mentioned specific words in the local dialect to drive points home told the NRM leaders that it was there to preach the gospel of the ruling party and the achievements to the voters to ensure the party is voted back into power in the forthcoming general election.

“When you go to campaign among our people, tell them what is crucial now is to budget well. We may not do all things at ago but the important things we shall do them. I am going to work on compensation for cows. That issue has been ongoing for a long time. We have put in shs50 billion for each of Lango, Teso and Acholi sub-regions,” he said.

The NRM presidential candidate on Monday concluded his campaigns in Teso sub-region and will now turn to Bugishu.