Opinion: Mao’s naivety and the tragedy of Uganda’s politics

So much has been said about Norbert Mao’s decision to work closely with President Museveni, a person he has often (and rightly) criticised in the past.

The DP president general said the main motivation in working with Museveni is to open a new chapter in Uganda’s politics which for now is very fractious and combative.

"Ugandans will thank me for this in future," he remarked.

For most part, Museveni has been mute about the deal leaving his hangers on to do the talking.

This is vantage Museveni!

Mao calls it a cooperation agreement where each side retains some leverage. Others have called it a marriage where NRM [read Museveni] is going to be the dominant partner.

Personally I think it is the start of Museveni's attempt to annihilate DP. Whether he succeeds or not is another issue

If you have followed politics in the country and particularly Museveni’s modus operandi when it comes to these matters, you only have to conclude that Mao was naïve at best or he is pretending that he does not know what will come next, when he agreed to work with the president.

In interviews and TV shows, Mao likes quoting Bernard Shaw’s popular saying that "only fools repeat the same things over and over, expecting to obtain different results."

To paraphrase the above: Only ‘political fools’ agree to work with Museveni expecting a different outcome from a president who has used and dumped others.

Mao knows for a fact that Museveni has repeatedly lured opposition members and critics to the eating table with grandiose promises and the result has always been the same: They have been sued and dumped.

The list is long and I can’t exhaust it here.

Having lived long on our political streets, Museveni knows that many people [certainly not all] who oppose him or are very critical of his leadership are essentially looking for some form of reward.

Therein lies the tragedy of our politics.

Young promising opposition politicians join the field each day, talking tough, speaking of justice and human rights, displaying some determination to somehow take on Museveni.

These people have a dream. To transform the politics of this country, in their view.

So they fight, fight, fight and fight. They attack, attack and attack. Some fall off by the wayside and do other things. A few persist at great personal cost.

Majority, unable to wait longer, decide to join those who they have been fighting to remove.

Mao, whatever good English and analogies he will deploy to justify his decision (including the ridiculous one of overseeing a smooth transition of power) essentially falls in the last category.

See, there comes a time in our lives when we all fall for the “if you can’t beat them, join them” mantra.

For many of us the reasons tend to be personal even if we justify our decisions using “broader vision” paradigm like Mao has done.

Imagine you are going through a financial crisis and the person you have been critical of dangles that carrot, many will go for it.

Imagine a leader you have been critical of, offers you a well paying job complete with a 4X4 car and a body guard to boot? Only a fool will reject such offer in these biting times.

Imagine your close friends you went with at the university have all built nice houses, drive fancy cars, take their family for holiday to Dubai and you are still stuck in that Muzigo. Why wouldn't a tantalising job offer from someone you have loathed move you?

So that critical journalist who eventually joins that public institution they have constantly criticised may claim that “they are also Ugandans who are entitled to work to advance the public good” as if they were not serving the same public in their previous roles. In truth, they want to better their lives even if it means going against their principles (principles, need I remind you, do not put bread on the table).

It is the same with that opposition politician, that critical academic or civil society actor who eventually kisses the feet of his/her tormentors.

Personally, I have no problem with someone choosing to uplift their status.

This is why we wake up everyday and do this and that.

Remember we all live once and THAT IS IT (don’t get me started on those mythical resurrection stories).

My ONLY ISSUE is that we must not lie through our teeth as we go about changing our lives because there is no shame in this

Former Rubaga South MP, Kato Lubwama, said clearly that he had come to Parliament to eat.

At least he was honest about it and did not claim that he would transform his constituency into a sort of New York.

Prediction:

A few years from now newspapers, social media platforms and web portals will be awash with lamentations from Mao, after being sacked by Museveni.

He will talk about how he was betrayed, how his ideas were never considered in cabinet, how some people fought him because they viewed him as a threat and how Museveni never fulfilled part of the bargain.

These tales will not be new. Other people used and dumped by Museveni, have said the same things before.

"Only fools repeat the same things over and over, expecting to obtain different results," Bernard Shaw said this long time ago.

The author is editor of The Nile Post. Views expressed here are out of his personal observations/convictions.