In Museveni's world-view of convenience and make-belief, the problems of the Acoli begins and ends with Joseph Kony, the LRA Supremo. He has pumped this line of farce into people's heads such that even the ones that should know better in the region parody the same song and dance. Why is that?
First, in the region there are the spaced out ignoramous who possibly dont't know why they are even on this earth. They just exist and take anything that comes--thanks to the break-up of whatever semblance of pre-1980s social structures. These are the ones who probably cast their Museveni/NRM votes in the belief that Museveni saved them from Kony and heralded peace.
Then there are the mentally defeated who were exhausted from the chaos that prevailed and a respite was welcome. Any meme could be slid into their consciousness which the NRM/Museveni obliged with an occupation army and well ochestrated propaganda techniques.
The interesting groups are the mixed of characters Museveni has dubbed the"progressives" ( Museveni-woos-Acholi ) at a pretentious wedding ceremony of one of them. These, in his mind, are replacing the "bad leaders," the negative forces who have stymied his plans for the Acoli. Many wonder how in a short period of time Acoli could turn such loyalists to a man who was shunned not a while ago. This is not something new and peculair in history. The Stockholm Syndrome can help us out here, where in Freudian fashion the victim adopts the aggressor's values in order to protects his or her ego. The aggresor then poses not a threat. To some of us, these are quislings in the manner of the Norwegian collaborators with the Nazis in 1942-1945.
Many of us who think Museveni is a common village thug are not into the hatred business. Hatred would be giving away our power to the manner of the man. We would be selling our souls to the devil and depravity. We are, however, convinced that the attrocities that spawned the emergence of Kony must be kept forefront until it is addressed conclusively. That is what we stand for and will impart on generations to come.
Mr. Museveni may say he has his so-called "progressives" and he may now embark on advancing his vision for the Acoli.We don't want his vision. We want our vision as was wonderfully articulated by one Ateng in the Monitor commentary:
As the writer said, we want to cultivate professionals in various fields. We want small-scale farmers in cooperatives interpersed with medium-sized (not plantations) individual farmers. The investors can buy land in the towns. The rural land is sacrosanct to the Acoli and Luo way of life. That is why every holiday we head to the village to recharge in the quiet under the moon with punctuation of allulations, and sounds of Aguma, Nanga, Adungu and drums.
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