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Opinion: Guild presidents are irrelevant to National Politics
how relevant is or are the guild presidents to national politics? Why have political parties vested a lot of time in student politics that over time strikes a dead end?
•They don’t mobilize students into national political party activities and neither do they set up patriotic and nationalistic fellowships in universities.
Do we have them as just prestige that the guild president of KYU or Muk is NUP? And so what? This has now lost meaning! Besides most of these guild presidents leave power with completely no reputation; they leave having secretly misled GRCs into working with state agents like Salim Saleh. For example the #FMF military compensations in Makerere. Where students leaders were blinded into selling a common cause to Salim Saleh in the name of compensation. I up to now still wonder why one would be compensated during a war.
Leaving that aside, Makerere University for decades has been the epitome of activism not only at home but across Africa. Between 1978-86 Makerere University students joined the Sam Nujoma and South West African Patriotic Organisation to demonstrate against the brutality of the racist South African police in Colonial Namibia. In the early ’80s students protested the overthrow of former Vice-chancellor Yusuf Lule’s president. This spirit of activism is dying out. The guild presidents think they only have a task of winning and campaigning for guild presidents in different institutions yet we expect them to lead the mobilization of their parties in universities.
That’s why the NRM has branded herself the Pan African party in Makerere. The student community makes the largest percentage of Uganda’s youths. However, the students’ fraternity is misguided on her role in this struggle. Many of my colleagues are locked in the thought of a day’s meal of which offered by anyone, he is the song of that day and tomorrow will have a different fate!
Byayesu Agrippa
January 8, 2022 at 3:46 pm
Talking about the activism that Makerere University has been of recent showcasing and spear heading and someone never praises the radical hands that groomed this state is surely a sign of un appreciation because these strong men created golden times sacrificing their degrees and risking their stay in Makerere, forever Talk about the famous Generals like Obed Kwokboth, Roy Rugumayo and others but then the guild President’s of the golden days had the very spirits like these Generals Talk about the 1996/97 Galo Githo who even up to now has never been re-instated back to the University.
These fellows before us shaped the University politics and the brand that we have failed to maintain now, but still if I don’t talk about the soon extinction of the culture in the University I will have surely disobeyed the hub of the university that apparently has been diluted by not only the pandemic but also the leadership of the University. Some students hobnob with the administration to be funded to run these expensive campaigns that have rather changed from merit; voting for a Leader who has balls by action to articulate points, activism and command to Monetary gains” Ekigati”.
All these have diluted the University relevance especially the role of a guild President whose voice was equated to a Presidential envoy, in the golden days , alas the golden days, a Guild President was a President and the Parliament of Uganda couldn’t pass some issues if he didn’t debate about it.
This is the relevance of the student’s voice, but the voice has been suppressed and held down by yes the administration which is obvious but the student’s themselves who has been chicken hearted.
Chinua Achebe in Things fall Apart, says
” no man has been left in Umofia, but I need to stand and support the culture of my people” Okwonkwo after his return from exile.
However, all this is in vain, the student’s are never awake to this cream call, they have not respected the sound of the trumpet.
The relevance of the Guild President in the national politics was the relevance of the student’s voice, the ability of the students to blow the same trumpet and sound out their dissatisfaction incase any violation has been made by the government to the common Ugandan or anything in contrary to the student’s cause.
Sauti, Kelele, Voice, and Sound of frustration was the prime reason to the relevance but this is dying out.
So sad, gone are the day!
Okumu David Kadoketch (MAK LION 🦁)
January 8, 2022 at 9:26 pm
History has it that the relevance of Guild Presidents of Makerere University in the recent in National and Continental Politics Is no more! I remember a quote by one Africa writer and a Political Analyst who was once in Mitchel Hall in 1980s Mr. Ochieno Joseph ‘During our time we would see the core value of our nation as Students of Makerere University and more so as leaders, but now student leaders have lost value that’s why they aren’t seen in the National Politics’.
What I saw next for the Student leadership?, is it because of the multiple Universities mushrooming everywhere in Uganda today?
I have two reasons why I think Guild President aren’t participating in National Politics anymore.
1. They sound incompetent as they seek selfishness gain and the Saccos of the called mafias in the system.
2. Current Leadership at the University is based on wave on structure, UYD has been a strong party in early 1990s, FDC early 2000s and now NUP. Do you think NUP will last further in student leadership?
#I felt to write more on an Article on day!
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