{UAH} Thanks to Idi Amin Dada for Indigenising Uganda's economy*

By James Wire

This year marks fifty years ever since President Idi Amin Dada begun his reign. Alot is said about him in the negative and it is indeed true to the best of my recollection. The killings, economic wreckage (never mind that it could have been a result of sabotage) among other things.

However, today, I want to confront an issue that for long I was shy to come out open about and have decided to let it off my chest.

In my view, Idi Amin's greatest contribution to Uganda was the expulsion of aliens. Over the decades I have been around, I have talked to numerous elderly individuals and realised that by the time of their expulsion, the aliens had permeated the entire economic structure of Uganda and established a stronghold on it that kept out the indigenous majority.

The Hindu Online talks about Indophobia in Amin's regime and states in reference to the aliens then, "They had significant influence over the economy. In fact, even though they constituted only one per cent of the population, they made up a fifth of the national income. They were also in charge of serving the elite healthcare and schooling services. The tariff system too had historically been oriented towards the economic interests of South Asian traders."

The BBC states that, "At the time (1972 when they were sent packing), they owned 90% of the country's businesses and accounted for 90% of Ugandan tax revenues."

I want you to pause abit here and deeply reflect on this statement. Only then will you realise the shit hole we had been dumped into.

Wouldn't this worry any nationalist? I have been to India numerous times and seen how protective they try to get against foreign interests in their economy. Why would someone expect a Ugandan nationalist not to think the same? Amin, with his deep rooted lack of classroom exposure used his natural intellect to appreciate the need for indigenous Ugandans to take charge of their economy (although the move was birthed during Obote's first tenure, so it was not a dream as he stated. But he had the balls to implement it.)

True, many things went wrong but despite the mistakes made, over the years, locals have upped their game. From merely being consumers (remember a time when we used to import milk, beer, pens, books etc) to production that we seem to be mastering and while we may have shortfalls in this area, the ground is being prepared for the next generation to push our dreams even higher.

Had the economy that as far back as 1972 was largely controlled by aliens to the tune of 90%, been left unchecked, today they would be controlling 99.9% of it unashamedly. We would be serfs in our own land. We would be job seekers on farms and in large industries with no hope of being in control of any sensible resources. South Africa is a good example. When you see the lives the majority of those black africans lead, working on farms of the loaded whites from generation to generation you cant help but shed a tear.

How would the son of a one time herdsman be able to climb up the ranks economically if the environment is strategically skewed to support aliens?

You may say that, "We are full circle back to the same era. So, there is no difference." I choose to say, No!!!

We aren't as bad as we would have been. Amin did his part and gave us a ten year headstart that despite the economic descent we faced helped us.

It is a pity that subsequent leaderships have taken the issue of indigenisation lightly and instead opted to sleep in bed with the aliens (which in itself is not entirely bad). However, they sleep with the aliens as individuals and are not interested in enabling the indigenous people to sleep with the same aliens.

Take a walk around most business hubs that serve the lay man, you will find numerous indigenous people running the shops and supermarkets (a sign that makes me very proudly Ugandan). At least for sure, the economic spiderweb at the lower level is largely run by the locals.

Despite the economic domination by the very aliens, all is not grim, I like the way we as locals are rebounding to self correct. Most of what we are initiating right now will yield results within or after out lifetime. Afterall it is very clear that many of these aliens can hardly sustain their business operations outside political godfathering.

I want to use this opportunity to openly thank the late HE Idi Amin Dada (RIP) for planting a seed whose tree is still struggling but very much alive. I am more sure today of my children's ability to reign in on the alien invasion in future than I would have been had Amin not interrupted the serf destiny that was looming.

PS: I hope I am not misunderstood for being racist. I have a very open attitude to dealing with everyone in this world but that does not mean I have no nationalistic feelings and attitudes inherent in me.

James Wire
Twitter - @wirejames

References
.https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-36132151
.https://www.thehindu.com/features/kids/read-about-how-idi-amins-vengeance-drives-the-asian-community-out-of-uganda/article7507451.ece

****************************
Wire James
Consultant

Agri-Business & Technology

Blog: http://wirejames.com

Twitter: @wirejames

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