Owekitiibwa Apollo Nelson Makubuya has praised the late Martin Luther Nsibirwa for contributing to education in Uganda and called for the decolonisation of the current systems.
Makubuya, a senior advocate and senior palace advisor to Kabaka Ronald Muwenda Mutebi II, was speaking Friday during the second Annual Nsibirwa Public Lecture held at the Yusuf Lule CTF auditorium, Makerere University.
The 2nd Nsibirwa Annual Public Lecture themed ‘Situating the Role and Relevance of Cultural Institutions in Modern Uganda’ was hosted by Makerere University to commemorate Martin Luther Nsibirwa, a two-time Katikiro of Buganda, 1929-1941 and July – September 1945.
Katikiro Nsibirwa is remembered for having assented to the bill which enabled the Colonial Government to take possession of the land where Makerere University Main Campus stands today.
In his opening remarks, Makerere University Vice Chancellor, Prof Barnabas Nawangwe, said Makerere started as a very humble school in grass-thatched houses.
“The Makerere you see here today is highly attributed to the signature of the late Martin Luther Nsibirwa who facilitated the procurement of the land the University sits on today,” he revealed.
Charles Mudiwa, the CEO and Managing director of DFCU Bank, said the group celebrates the legacy of the late Nsibirwa who valued education since it values facilitating access to education to all generations.
“We are proudly associated with the education sector because it is a key player in the transformation of lives in Uganda, East Africa and Africa at large. An educated child is the letter we write ourselves to the future,” he noted.
On his part, Makubuya, who was the chief guest, praised Makerere for standing tall as a centre of excellence, and knowledge and the raising of generational leaders for this nation because this University has been resilient.
“Today, we are reminded of the power of education and resilience. As a product of Makerere, I was able to thrive in Cambridge University because of the profound Background of this great University.”
He hailed Martin’s Luther Nsibirwa who taught himself how to write and read.
“This is why he was very passionate about the growth and establishment of Makerere University. He showed the nation that leadership is born, as he demonstrated throughout his life.”
“I joined the university in 1987, soon after the war had ended. I was a resident of Northcote Hall. We were often referred to as noise makers but we were grooming within ourselves virtues and values of leadership through the hall’s leadership structure.”
He hopes that the University will find some space to name after the great alumni of the University in the bid to decolonize the nation and truly represent Uganda’s heritage.
He cited “alumni like Ngugi Wa Thiongo, the great leaders of East Africa and many more…”
He said Martin Nsibirwa wasn’t formally educated but grew up under the tutorship of Apollo Kaggwa.
He served the Buganda Kingdom for an uninterrupted 43 years and “this is proof that leadership is born and even without Western education, we had and still have remarkable leaders”.
“We ought to ask, 1. Can we have a governance structure where traditional and cultural institutions, co-exist with democratic and political institutions? 2. Are these institutions capable of providing solutions to issues such as poverty eradication, fighting crime, and unemployment to mention but a few? 3. Can these institutions foster modern development in the countries in which they exist with a focus on Uganda?”
He added: “Today Uganda has about 29 traditional institutions with 13 officially recognized and the rest pending recognition. The growth in the demand and interest of recognition of traditional institutions doesn’t directly translate into a positive contribution to the political economy, due to a number of internal reasons.”
Makubuya said the budget of the Buganda Kingdom has grown from Shs10bn to Sh200bn and that this money is collected from the goodwill of the people of the Kingdom.
“This is a testament that the kingdom remains vital to the livelihoods of its subjects as it has contributed to socioeconomic development. 30 years later, it is up to us to shape the future and pave the path for the future generations to come for the co-existence of traditional institutions in a modern Uganda.”
At the same event, Makubuya launched a book titled, “Thrones & Thorns: Thirty Years of Restoration of Traditional Rule in Uganda” authored by himself.
