“Leadership crisis in West Nile region in Uganda”

Council for United West Nile leadership in the UK & Ireland conference takes place in the Hook arena in Chessington Surrey, England on Sunday the 22nd November 2009. New members un-aware of the venue please contact the secretary general of CUWNL (Mr. Kabenge) on his email: kalmasticson@yahoo.co.uk to make arrangement(s) for them.
All Uganda West Nile Community members in diaspora are invited to participate. Professor. George Hammond from Accra, Ghana and Professor. Robinson from London, England as guest(s) of the council and hope the meeting will be as enlightening as the first.

In his acceptance speech the new Chairman Mr. Kabenge A. A. Swaleh Bsc (Hons) Geography WSET, NCPLH said these words: one of the conspicuously common themes of speeches often heard in conferences, and community forums are unity. Nonetheless the more subtly communicated message is the desperate lack of unity among West Nilers today. Examples regularly cited to prove the point are lack of one leadership, too many divergent schools, many competing organizations and flagrantly conflicting decisions. The clear conclusion that an observer would draw from listening to these speeches is the existence of a growing anxiety and concern over unity among us. This kind of anxiety shouldn’t come as a surprise. Unity in West Nile is not only a practical necessity, but also a collective political and social obligation that has the potential to render a community sinful if it fails. That said there is an abundance of incidence from the past that highlights the importance of unity and warning from friction and division.

Practically speaking, there is no doubt that there is a lot to be desired when it comes to West Nile unity. It is obviously clear that West Nilers of today are far from the ideals of unity as prescribed by our elders. This sad reality, leads some, rather frustratingly, to raise the question of why, despite all these forum speeches, reminders and discussions, West Nile unity still remains a distant and apparently elusive dream. By accepting the chairmanship I am saying certainly, there is no easy answer to this question. However, before making any attempt to answer this question, we need to examine two important points. First, we need to examine whether this anxiety over unity is warranted and whether the situation is as dire as it might be perceived. Second, we need to identify the key essential elements for establishing a solid, sustainable and lasting unity. I believe that in my new role as chairman of CUWNL we can only succeed together by working as a team. The aims we’ve set-up here today are not easy ones but can be overcome by us all chipping together as united force. Only then we can realise where we are heading. Thanks very much and may almighty “God” show us more wisdom in our struggle(s) ahead.