Hogwash!
NO, There is NO crisis!!
Latigo should be thrown out if indeed he is hobnobing with Mu7. There is
nothing for the FDC to gain from such a LOP. NRA/M must be thrown out of power,
to save Uganda resources! Latigo, with his so called "soft spot" for Mu7 is by
and large aiding and abating the sail of Uganda natural resources to conmen
posing as foreign investors!! Throw him out. Period.
And if he joins the NRA/M attacks on him shall even widen.
Ocii
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Press Gallery: Opposition in leadership crisis?
HE finds himself in yet another unenviable position. And it really doesnt
matter much that he is an astute politician or a brilliant insect scientist who
has changed the face of Ugandas frail opposition.
The guns are now cocked and ready to blow Prof. Morris Ogenga Latigo, away from
the highly coveted position of Leader of the Opposition (LOP) in Parliament.
TIGHT MARKED: Prof. Latigo is fighting the fight of his political life
against FDCs Reagan Okumu.
His Achilles heel, it has been said, is that he nurtures a soft spot for
President Museveni and his ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) party, and
that he has abandoned the oppositions prime crusade of fighting for democratic
reform.
Because he has dined with the NRM, has been seen in public walking besides Mr
Museveni, Prof. Latigo is now persona non grata in the opposition ranks. He has
jumped officially, into bed with the NRM, so it has been claimed.
But as word did the rounds last week, of the ill-omened plot to oust Prof.
Latigo, it was pretty obvious that his detractors were back at work.
Have you forgotten the chaos that greeted his ascendency to the LOP throne? It
is only a year ago; a battle that pitted him against Sam Njuba, the Kyadondo
East MP, who then, and now, was main candidate for the LOP slot.
Not much has changed since, because even then, Prof. Latigo was regarded a
softie who didnt have rock-solid gusto to battle with the NRM, unlike Mr
Njuba, a stubborn radical who would not budge to NRM machinations.
But, as it turned out, that argument was flawed. That Mr Njuba has been
mentioned again, even before Prof. Latigo enjoys his second anniversary in
office, can only say so much about the predicament that the opposition finds
itself today; in a massive leadership crisis.
However, in tracing Prof. Latigos woes, we must understand the circumstances
under which he was elected LOP, comprehend the environment in which he is
working and predict whether he will weather this latest storm.
For the last decade or so (and still counting), the opposition in Uganda has
been preoccupied with one singular agenda-dislodging President Museveni from
power. It is no secret that all those attempts have been thwarted by the aid of
the government machinery, and also with much help from the inherent weaknesses
of the opposition.
But the crusade has inadvertently propelled FDC President Kizza Besigye, into
an exceedingly imposing, larger-than-life leader during the elections, and
little if at all nothing, afterwards.
With the advent of a multiparty political system, it was necessary to create a
level playing field for all political actors and so the oppositions (minority)
interests had to be accommodated.
That process gave birth to a government-in-waiting (shadow cabinet) headed by
the Leader of the Opposition. Because of the northern Uganda constituency,
which has always bankrolled the opposition, Prof. Latigo easily beat Mr Njuba
to the LOP slot.
But he finds himself between a rock and hard place for the singular reason that
he is being asked to become a Besigye in Parliament, in a post-election period,
in which he is dealing with a different set of issues which do not involve
overthrowing the incumbent president.
Critics will ask; is it not a case of sheer paranoia from the anti-Latigo camp,
or are the concerns that Prof. Latigo is hobnobbing with the NRM legitimate?
More worryingly for the FDC, it is a clear manifestation that the partys
problems are now defined in terms of individuals and not institutions, a vice
they have often claimed is typified by the NRM regime-one they crave to
replace.
To his credit, Prof. Latigo has always preached the gospel of dialogue. So many
times he has told me, Is it not better to obtain reform through dialogue than
swallowing teargas? I have always nodded in the affirmative, but we all know
that the more radical opposition will go for the latter.
In dealing with his predicament, however, Prof. Latigos philosophy has always
been, that in the absence of a broad opposition agenda that goes beyond change
now, out with Museveni, he relies on what he calls cumulative error; wait
for the NRM to make mistakes until it runs itself out of power.
Thats an ingenious strategy given the NRM regimes enchantment for mistakes,
but one that can easily backfire if the incumbents clean up their act.
For being cool-headed, Prof. Latigo has taken unjust bashing, and he shouldnt.
He must stand his ground and fight back because the quest for his neck is also
really about a power battle in the northern Uganda constituencies.
His predicament also speaks volumes about the contradictions of a southern led
opposition with Besigye at the helm, and the large northern block of the
Acholi, Langi, West Nile and also Teso region that actually carries the votes.
It is said that northern Uganda politicians are the chief architects of Prof.
Latigos looming political demise, but that agenda is not so much about party
politics. It is much more about what a colleague described as simple nugu
(envy).
And more ominously, the exit of Prof. Latigo (if it does happen) will not
deliver a more robust opposition; it only will weaken it.
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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