By Betty Nambooze
What would you say to a winner who is celebrating victory ? Is it proper for anyone to use that time to point out the weaknesses of a celebrant on her day of glory ?
If you’re one of those to receive a winner returning from a successful mission, you have an obligation to be courteous to say the right things and be kind enough and offer support he/she need at that moment to feel that they merited the victory.
However, as a leader maybe you would have loved to use the attention of that function to pass out a word of counsel not only to the celebrant but to the whole country….you’d be trying to balance all of that while trying to make sense of the situation and feelings of the celebrant.
It’s also very possible that the last thing that person returning from a mission wants to hear will come rushing out of your mouth before you have a chance to stop it. Because if not careful your carelessness and insensitivity may spoil the moment for the celebrant.
In our Countries People think that you fight for leadership positions and then rule. Our leaders are not taught decorum and courtesy. Why would a President take time to welcome back a beauty Queen and then use that opportunity to criticize her beauty? Surely Museveni’s lecturer to Quiin Abenakyo on the use of artificial hair would have come another day.
Yesterday was a day to celebrate Abenakyo who won in China and not to discredit her. The counsel on hair would come on the youth day or another opportune moment after all Mr. Museveni himself brought here and licenced the Darling factory that makes artificial hair. If he doesn’t expect our women to use them, why do we have the factory here?
It is so sad that Mr. Museveni having imposed himself on Abenakyo out of insensitivity or even intentional move to belittle a young lady in front of the World that had just given her a crown. In summary by dismissing the presentation Abenakyo made to the World with her artificial hair, Museveni said that Abenakyo is not a true Miss Africa!
Mr. President this is why the young people are opting for leaders that fit their generation because the old have refused to respect them.
Although am a great proponent of carrying natural hair…. I have no right whatsoever to ambush the Abenakyos of this world on their days of glory and declare them less African; that is the Africa they inherited, women including those in your cabinet wear artificial hair.
This is the true story of Africa,a continent that was colonised and partly accepted that some of the original African things be dropped. That is the very reason you were also speaking English and not Runyankole at that function. It’s not Abenakyo’s problem that women wear artificial hair and make-up,she was born in that culture.
Welcome back Abenakyo bask in your glory and we need to celebrate you as you’re, congratulations.
The writer is a Member of Parliament for Mukono Municipality.
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