By Kyarisiima Israel
On May 8, 2025, the First Lady of
Uganda, Hon. Janet Kataaha Museveni, delivered a timely and sobering reminder
in response to a provocative Daily Monitor article titled “When a Revolution
Eats Its Children.” Her words deserve serious attention especially from us
in Gen Z: It takes much more to build than it takes to tear down.
As National Coordinator of Gen Z for
Generation Seven, I see this truth not only in history but in our current
responsibility to preserve and advance the legacy of the National Resistance
Movement (NRM). Our generation must inherit not amnesia, but purpose.
At the recent Commanders’ Meeting
and Defence Forces Council on May 7 and 8, President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni
called on young Ugandans to uphold the values of Uzalendo a patriotism
rooted in duty and service beyond party lines. Yet while this message called
for national cohesion, some voices particularly in the opposition worked to
distort it.
Led by Mr. Robert Kyagulanyi, alias
Bobi Wine, this campaign seeks to divorce young Ugandans from their national
memory. It is an attempt to replace responsibility with rhetoric, and context
with chaos. That is not leadership; it is sabotage in the language of
rebellion.
Let us be clear: the NRM’s legacy is
not simply a political record, it is the foundation of our peace. While Eastern
DRC is plagued by violence, and Sudan reels from repeated coups, Uganda remains
stable and open. That is not coincidence, it is leadership. Stability is not
spontaneous; it is built.
Look at our infrastructure. Uganda
today has more kilometers of tarmacked roads than in all the years before 1986.
Power lines, water systems, and rural connectivity are not headlines, they are
the arteries of growth. These aren’t abstractions; they are the reason a farmer
can reach a market or a child can access school.
And yes, education has been
transformed from Universal Primary Education to vocational hubs that equip
youth who don’t attend university. The tools are here. The question is whether
we choose to build with them or waste time pointing fingers.
President Museveni was the Gen Z of
his era. He chose resistance over resignation. His legacy isn’t a story of
slogans, but of sacrifice. Today, our generation stands at a similar crossroads.
Will we echo empty outrage or take responsibility for tomorrow?
The President’s push for economic
empowerment through commercial agriculture, youth enterprises, and mindset
change is not about charity. It’s about dignity. About shifting from dependence
to productivity. And this shift begins in the mind.
Peace, too, has been a constant
pillar. Whether through negotiations with the Lord’s Resistance Army or
reintegrating former rebels, Museveni’s approach has prioritized reconciliation
over revenge. In a region where vengeance often rules, that restraint is rare and
remarkable.
International Lessons in Ruin and
Reconstruction
Ukraine’s war-torn infrastructure
tells the cost of destruction: over $524 billion needed for recovery, three
times its GDP. Roads, housing, power grids, industries, all wiped out in
months. In Libya, where war left institutions fractured, reconstruction remains
stalled amid political instability.
These examples remind us that
building takes vision, time, and peace. Destruction takes only noise and
neglect.
When the First Lady says it takes
more to build, she is right. We may not have fought in the Bush War, but we
must fight for unity, independence, and generational memory. Because even a
smartphone needs memory to function. A generation without history is just as
dysfunctional and loud, yet empty.
Opposition politics should not mean
opposition to truth. It should not glorify dismantling what others labored to
construct. The propaganda flooding our feeds, often bankrolled by foreign
donors, is not empowerment. It is manipulation. The West funds the drama, but
we bear the damage.
So I challenge fellow Gen Zs: reject
the seduction of destruction. Embrace the challenge of building communities,
businesses, ideas, a nation. Let us be remembered not for breaking the
foundation, but for taking it higher.
Because truly, it takes much more to
build than it does to tear down. And we choose to build.
The writer is the National Coordinator of Gen Z for
Generation Seven
