The naked war; Stop the nonsense of tribalism, embrace rationalism

it did not start because they belonged to different races or tribes but rather because of a conflict over duty.

But Ugandans on social media have turned the conflict into a racial affair, as people threw barbs at Mamdani  accusing him of being a foreigner while Stella Nyanzi’s roots as a Muganda belonging to Mbogo clan, has overshadowed her nude performances.

The online discussion is a rather disappointing turn of events especially in the way Ugandans are polarized along tribal and racial lines, today compared to say 30 years ago.

Just when you thought that Ugandans had become part of the global village with its attendant diversity, it comes as a shock that seemingly sensible people are going tribal and disregarding sensible arguments.

You will read simple arguments like; Oh that one is not a Muganda, or so and so is an Indian and not Ugandan.

I have seen many people referring to the social media war between Kadaga and Asumani Kiyingi both from Busoga as bad because the two are both from Busoga, therefore the tribe-mates of these two think the two should not quarrel.

You’ve probably heard Ugandans say that Kadaga cannot become president of Uganda, not because she is incompetent but because she is a Musoga.

Others have also lamented that they did not want to support any of the presidential candidates during the Presidential elections because all the contenders were referred to as Banyankole obviously disregarding their competency. So may people castigated Baganda for not supporting their own Abed Bwanika who is a Muganda and opting to support Besigye or Museveni.

In Busoga, the only female presidential contender, Maureen Faith Kyalya, thought her major qualification for presidency was because she was a Musoga and therefore appealed to her fellow Basoga to give her votes so that they too could share in the national cake. And when her tribe-mates did not give her all the votes she wanted, she threw a tantrum, lambasting them as beggars.

There are many other incidents of tribal talk that you have come across that simply have no space in today’s modern world. If we are to advance as a nation, we have got to abandon stereotypes and embrace diversity. Tribalism blurs ones vision from seeing the truth and saps energy.

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