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Is there a Tyrant
in Every Ugandan?
[Sunday
Monitor March 2002]
You walk into an office and the not-so-beautiful secretary looks
you over like you are some fly inadvertently fallen in her favourite
soup. After spending several minutes talking about obviously non-official
business on the phone she impatiently listens to your request
and rudely tells you that you were directed to the wrong office
in the first place and ought to have gone a few more doors down
the corridor. You gnash your teeth in frustration at the bad treatment
and time wasted.
This spectacle, which I bet every one of us has come across, is
only one of the several forms in which tyranny rears its ugly
head. Actually at all levels and in many situations, many a Ugandan
will jump at the first chance to exercise some tyrannical power
– however little that power. One only has to think of few
examples to see that tyranny permeates every crevice of Ugandan
society.
Consider our ‘honourable’ members of parliament, who
because they have the power to determine their own emoluments,
award themselves hefty salary increases without the slightest
conscience for the millions of impoverished masses whom they purport
to represent. That abuse of power is common to all is attested
by the fact that even the seemingly genuine democratic-minded
MPs among them overtly supported the emoluments venture or, true
to the traditional etiquette of maintaining silence while eating,
kept their mouths shut.
Or take the case of the taxi conductor who, because you gave him
a big denomination of money, exploits that little advantage (and
therefore power) he has over you to drive you quarter way back
to the start point of the journey because he insists he must look
for change. Such a selfish disregard of the passenger’s
priorities and lack of empathy can only be explained by the tyrant
in that taxi man.
Thus it not surprising (given our dictatorial traits) that people
think the surest way of getting anything done is through coercion,
not persuasion: Put on a tough expression and use harsh words,
and your will will be done. That this dictatorial trait is passed
on to the children is a natural consequence. With grown ups coercing
them every step of the way – the kids obey in sullen silence
and bide their time until that time when they too will be adults
with power to abuse wantonly. It sends shivers down my spine to
imagine that those innocent faces are unwittingly being groomed
into the next generation of tyrants.
The culture of tyranny is so ingrained in Ugandan society that
it is being benignly tolerated in the workplace, at school, and
other institutions by practically everyone. In fact many Ugandans
cross the line from mere neutral tolerance to active encouragement
of tyranny by their false humility. Your typical Ugandan will
embrace any chance to bloat the ego of anyone with bit of power
and therefore capable of granting favours. It is no wonder that
despite the ubiquity and debasing nature of tyranny, no united
and persistent voice(s) can be heard against the vice. The journalist
and politicians, who raise rather weak and isolated voices against
tyranny, just do so to earn a living (I dare say).
Next time you are talking to that fellow in the bank, a shop,
or office, or even to your landlord and (s)he exhibits some ‘unreasonable’
behaviour that you somehow fail to find the right phrase to describe,
chances are that the elusive phrase is ‘tyrannical behaviour’.
That fellow has something you need – and therefore a modicum
of power over you – at that particular moment. They will
therefore exercise that power in the only way that Ugandans know
how. And woe betide anyone who dares try to deny them that moment
of glory!
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