{UAH} To the opposition MPs, it's better to lose in unity than to win with cliques*

*To the opposition MPs, it's better to lose in unity than to win with cliques*

The recently concluded speaker election exposed the opposition Members of Parliament on how they aren't ready to co-operate & work together for the good of the struggle & subsequently the country.

Whereas we failed to have a formal working relationship in the last election as opposition groups, the manner in which we lost & the subsequent problems we faced in the hands of the state should have given us enough reasons to accept that working together is inevitable.

It appears some MPs or opposition leaders have suffered arrivalism mentality of thinking that they are at the top of the game simply because they won some political positions, forgetting that no one can be safe in a capsizing boat!

I have seen counter-accusations mainly regarding failure by opposition MPs mainly NUP endorsing Hon Kadaga over Hon Semujju. Some of these Opposition MPs argued that Hon Semujju was too weak to win the election and that's why they opted to support Kadaga. I find this argument stupid & misguided, not every contest must be won, some contents can be to make a statement others can be for future strategic interests!

It's now clear that Museveni has successfully put a crack within the opposition MPs & he can now pick one by one like grasshoppers!  

Even if opposition MPs wouldn't agree on supporting Hon Semujju, having time to discuss as one house & generating consensus on the strategic interests of the opposition in the house would be good enough to formulate the opposition bargain even with NRM candidates who were in the race ! Any candidate dealing with a block of 120 plus votes or MPs would not only take care of their expectations but also regard them as a serious force to reckon with in future.

By knowing that the opposition MPs can easily come together around a national cause, the MPs would have not only demonstrated high level of maturity but also commitment to the struggle! Leadership is about influencing, directing, organising, rallying people behind a cause, lack of it meant lack of leadership capabilities by the leaders of opposition parties in Uganda.

Hon Semujju claimed several times to have wrote letters to the opposition parties but he never got a response, the party leaders of NUP, DP & UPC kept dodging the question of Speakership until the last minute when they declared their support for Kadaga, which in my view was deceit & treachery!

For example the matter of Hon Kadaga was a direct confrontation with Gen Museveni and Opposition can be excused, what of the deputy Speaker? Why didn't opposition support Hon Nsereko or Yusuf Nsibambi? Was Hon Anita in any way the best suitable to become deputy speaker? Even if they were to lose, wouldn't it be better to vote a losing candidate & make a statement but also demonstrated their credibility than voting for Museveni fixer? You see when there is no meat, a lion can't feed on grass!

So what was the strategic interest of the opposition MPs as they went into the speakership election? What did they want to achieve? What was their game plan?

Assuming the opposition negotiated with Hon Kadaga team & they dropp Hon Semujju candidature & front him for deputy speaker and agree that all Kadaga supporters would vote for Hon Semuju, do you know what such would mean? Perhaps Museveni would drop the idea of Oulanya in sensing that opposition could take the deputy Speakership! Remember Hon Tayebwa was pro-Kadaga, and when he accepted to step down for Anita it meant that Oulanya support automatically raised since the gender question had been addressed by having a male speaker & a Female Deputy speaker. 

But if the opposition had agreed on a male Deputy speaker like Semuju & a female speaker like Kadaga, Tayebwa who was pro-Kadaga would step down and the calculation on which Oulanya got Kadaga votes would be no more.

Museveni used Tayebwa & Anita vote as a litmus test for the support of Kadaga-Tayebwa axis against Oulanya-Anita axis, absence of it would leave Museveni without any assurance of victory & this would lead either to dropping Oulanya plan & opting for Kadaga or else Kadaga would win as a speaker & Semujju as a deputy of which opposition would have won!

Even if we lost, losses can be different or can have different consequences, for example in Togikwatako opposition lost the battle but they lost as heroes, in the Speakership race the opposition lost as a disgrace, this loss will not only haunt the opposition but also will contribute to bickering & cliques in the opposition now & in future.

Lastly, opposition unity does not necessarily mean agreeing on each & every step, for if two men always agree on each & everything, one of them is a fool, unity can also mean disagreeing on principle or even trying to understand the other person's point of view, it can mean unity in diversity but it can't come without deliberate efforts. Did the opposition especially NUP even create an environment where Semuju would get to know their point of view? Did they even respond to his letter? What did they mean? If their plan was good for opposition why would they keep it a top guarded secret against fellow opposition?

Lastly when shall we the opposition create an agenda for the country?  Why should we always jump on Museveni agenda? Why should we become reactionary to whatever Museveni says than trying to initiate or stimulate a discussion? Today he sacks Kayihura we jump on that, tomorrow he disagrees with Mbabazi we jump to Mbabazi, then he fights with Kadaga, we jump onto that war, what's our agenda? So when Mbabazi finally joins Museveni will he take with him opposition views? Will he be our ambassador in the regime or our tormentor?

Opposition Party leaders & MPs should demonstrate Leadership & change their ways!

Muhimbise George, muhimbiseg@gmail.com, 0787836515

The author is a member of the Alliance for National Transformation

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