Besigye: A legend hanging his boots too early
By Abbey K. Semuwemba
11th July 2011: I still can’t believe Dr. Besigye has announced his decision to retire from front line politics. At first, I thought it was one big joke; that was until I realised that people were talking about it. So the reality has started to hit me. What has confused me most is why he is retiring at a time when his party needs him more than before.
Did this 'Arinaitwe' incident for Besigye into retirement?
FDC looks divided, and there is no ‘sellable’ alternative to take over from Besigye right now. Michael Jordan’s team was still making the playoffs when he quit. Jordan didn’t bail out because his team was in the sewers. But Besigye is bailing out when his FDC needs him the most. It’s when your guys are down that you hunker down and prepare to fight the “good fight”.
Besigye has not been the same since the ‘Arinaitwe Gilbert’ incident. It somehow feels like he was hounded off the streets by Arinaitwe. It just feels like Besigye is rewarding Arinaitwe for spraying tear gas into his eyes and ears. I don’t wish to see the FDC constitution changed but I think the timing of the announcement was wrong.
Besigye came back recently from a US trip that looked successful. He got audience with The Washington Post, New York Times and CNN. Announcing his retirement now must therefore be a big blow for everyone who made a deal with him. Why didn’t he wait until the party was in good shape before pronouncing himself on such a big issue?
One may reason that Besigye has decided to move on while he is still popular and capable. But there is a lot going on now that needs his attention for that, I don’t think he has made the right decision. It’s not like he has been a party leader for as long as Museveni. He only took the FDC leadership in 2004.
That said, I think Besigye will be remembered for a lot of things. Most important among those things is his rare combination of intellect, energy, determination, and performance. He seemed to have an answer for almost every question asked by anybody.
His name will go down in history as a prominent citizen who expressed what most Ugandans are only beginning to feel are important. He is real legend hanging his boots at a wrong time. I once heard somebody say “you will never get rich making money for somebody else”.
Most people find it easy to let someone else take the financial risk of owning a business so that they simply sell their labour to him or her. But we don’t expect Dr. Besigye to seek any employment anywhere else. I believe he has planned for his retirement.
He should, however, do us a favour and write a book. We are bored of seeing the President, his son, and his wife’s books on the stalls. I believe a Besigye book right now would be a hot cake compared to that of both Museveni and his wife.
As for me, I am going to start searching for another politician who will take my breath away like Besigye did in 2001. Those who have been rumoured to succeed him may not bend it for me like ‘Beckham’. See you later “Besi”! END. Please login to www.ugandacorrespondent.com every Monday to read our top stories and anytime mid-week for our news updates.
