An index known as ‘Postcards from Hell, 2011’ reveals that Uganda ranks among the failed states in the world. The country has scored poorly and is ranked below other neighboring countries in East Africa such as Kenya and Ethiopia. The news has a mix reaction with other people claiming that the political turmoil and leadership issues in the country are the major perpetuating factors that have driven the country into a failed state tag. The term failed state is used to describe countries that face civil unrest. These are states that are “ tense, deeply conflicted, dangerous, and contested bitterly by warring factions (Suruma, 2014). In most failed states, government troop's battle armed revolts led by one or more rivals. Occasionally, the official authorities in a failed state face two or more insurgencies, varieties of civil unrest, different degrees of public discontent, and a plethora of dissent directed at the state and groups within the state." In this article, Uganda as a failed state is the basis of discussion. Within this context, the focuses are on the factors that have led the country into such situation, traits of the failed state, military interventions to rescue the country from this state and the benefits as well as the challenges Uganda may face when it collaboratively fight the factors that have pushed it into this unworthy status.
Traits of a failed state
When should a country be branded a failed or fragile state? Such a country must meet all or a significant percentage of the following traits; first, such a country must have a weak government that has little power to control its territory. This implies that such a central government is ineffective to the extent that it is powerless to control people or any pressure both from internal and external sources. Further, such a nation is weak to the extent that it fails to provide necessities for its people. It means that such a government has reached a situation where it fails to deliver public services such as security, health, education, and other foreign affairs services to its citizens. Also, a failed state implies that a country has perpetual corruption and the government is powerless to have corruption controlled in its territory.
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Further, a failed state means that a country faces a high rate of criminality. Criminality, in this case, means that there is theft of public funds, a high rate of incarceration, high rate of corruption, and brutality from the police and other security agencies. Moreover, a failed state normally has a declining economic status ( Jones & Ingersoll, 2013). This stem is from massive criminality, corruption, and theft of public funds. Lastly, a failed state has a high rate of refugees and involuntary movement caused by high tension in the country embedded with civil and political unrest.
How did Uganda found itself in this situation?
History states that Uganda is one of the countries in East Africa and Africa as a whole that had a glamorous economic future. The situation has changed, and currently, the country is ranked among the top thirty countries that are tagged failed nations. How did the country reach this state? Different causative factors led Uganda to a failed states status. The first factor is poor leadership and inflexible regime led by Yoweri Kaguta Museveni. Uganda joins the long list of countries, mostly in Africa, whose presidents have failed to step out of the presidential seat despite the poor performance and the public discontent. Museveni rose to power in the year 1986 and has remained on the seat till today despite civil and military pressure from the Ugandans, and other countries in the world. Museveni has vowed through his supporters to rule until he dies or when he will be willing to hand over power to either his close friend or a relative. In the next coming general election in the country, Museveni will be 77 years old. The president is currently battling the public opinion to amend the constitution that has set the age limit for president aspirants at 75 years old. His main intention is to be allowed constitutionally to vie for election.
Museveni’s persistence to remain in power has done havoc to Uganda as a nation. As a result of his persistence in the supreme seat in this country, there has been civil unrest from opposition led by leaders such as Dr. Kizza Besigye. Reports from internal and external newsroom claim that his brutal arrest of Besigye is one of the factors that brought the country to a spotlight. Besigye was arrested in June during “walk to work” occasion orchestrated by the president. The situation provoked many opposition supporters, and mass protest was organized. The protest attracted the attention of many people, and it remains a strong factor behind Uganda's slide to failed state situation ( Dempsey, 2018).
Further, the president has failed to give the country economic freedom, and as a result, the country has been on the decline economically. The government has refused to adjust to economic changes in the current economic arena. The state still relies on the hands of invisible market forces and laissez fair. These are strategies that were used in the past and are not achieving much for Ugandans. The president and ministers are still basing their ideas on controlling inflation and exporting raw materials.
Further, the president is a dictator and has been against approval of any economic policy or bill that could be helpful to the country as long as that policy is against his ideology ( Dempsey, 2018). Together with civil unrest, this has reduced economic performance. The last factor is the high influx of refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs). Uganda has been generous with regards to welcoming refugees running away from their countries due to political unrest. Further, the state tops the list of the countries with the high number of people who are displaced from their homes, otherwise called the internally displaced persons. Reports indicate that such people are putting a lot of strain on the country’s economic stability.
Corrective Measures
The situation looks bad, but the positive issue is that it is not too late for the Ugandans to clear their name in this fateful list. The corrective measures need to begin by the military department in the country. In Uganda, it is apparent that the military is no longer acting under the law, but above the law. The military department is experiencing influences from the president, and it has become so weak that is has no voice in the country. This is a situation that needs to change. The military department should pressure the government to have a national dialogue with the people under their governance ( Titeca, Edmond & Reuss, 2018). This should also include a talk to kick out the president from his seat and give someone with better leadership skills to take over the country’s affairs. Also, military need to step up and press the president to be professional in his dealings mostly with regards to creating order in the country, reduce the police force and improve leadership. Refraining from using the military to attack the innocent protestant and also inducing ethical leadership in the country should be a key topic as asserted by Belardetti (2018). Further, the military should refrain from using forces while managing those protesting against presidential, regime.
Also, the military should rely on other agencies mostly non-governmental agencies to ensure that people are protected, and dictatorship leadership comes to an end. They should also rely on other agencies that fight for the human right to facilitate justice and ensure that the government is responsible for protecting its people than killing them. External agencies such as Africa Union are also important, and the military department can rely on such a union to create a peaceful existence in the country between the opposition and the government ( Fund For Peace: Fragile States Index). However, dealing with such unions is normally expensive, and the department must prepare financially. Also, letting other agencies to know the secret of a country is dangerous to its security.
In summary, Uganda is listed among the countries that are termed as failed nations. There are many factors which have to lead this country into such a situation. These include poor leadership, poor economic policies and a high number of refugees. Though the country has been crippled by such kind of political and economic misfortunes, the military department together with other agencies can come up with different strategies that would be favorable to save the country. In my view, some strategies can help this country get back into its root and wipe its name from the list. First, the president needs to improve the local government to make an impact at the grass-level politics. Further, the government should consult on land reforms at the grass root level. The government needs to sign reforms that promote economic growth.
References
Suruma, E. S. (2014). Advancing the Ugandan economy: A personal account . Brookings Institution Press.
Titeca, K., Edmond, P., & Reuss, A. (2018). Generation gap: what# FreeBobiWine tells us about Ugandan politics. African Arguments .
Fund For Peace: Fragile States Index. (2018). Retrieved from: https://fundforpeace.org/fsi/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/951181805-Fragile-States-Index-Annual-Report-2018.pdf
Jones, B., & Ingersoll, G. (2013). The 25 Most Failed States on Earth. (2018). Retrieved from: https://www.businessinsider.com/the-25-most-failed-states-on-earth-2013-6#23-liberia-tie-among-the-poorest-countries-in-the-world-liberia-suffers-from-a-near-total-lack-of-infrastructure-like-clean-water-public-telephones-or-sewage-the-west-african-country-also-has-a-huge-problem-with-refugees-and-internally-displaced-persons-2
Dempsey, J. (2018). From Suez to Syria: Why NATO Must Strengthen Its Political Role. Retrieved from: https://carnegieeurope.eu/2016/12/08/from-suez-to-syria-why-nato-must-strengthen-its-political-role-pub-66370
Belardetti, G. (2018). NATO’s Role in Democratization Processes: Lesson Learned and Way Forward. ISPI Analysis. Retrieved from: https://www.ispionline.it/it/documents/Analysis_143_2012.pdf
