My Second Review for Africa Reading Challenge: Apollo Milton Obote: What Others Say

This is a collection of various articles, letters and commentaries, mostly published in newspapers, on Dr. Apollo Milton Obote, who led Uganda to independence in 1962 as Prime Minister, and was President twice, 1966-1971 and 1980-1985. Dr. Obote is a figure in Uganda’s history that draws a variety of emotions from various people depending on how they experienced his regimes, interpreted his achievements and failures or Uganda’s history, interactions with him at the personal and professional levels, their political aspirations and their perceptions.

The authors include former Ministers and former civil servants in his two governments, his wife, parliamentarians, journalists, academicians and members of the public, among others.

As such, the editor has organised these articles and commentaries into four parts: Obote the Hero, Obote the Villain, Obote the Victim, Obote the Mixed Bag. While the latter is the longest part, the second one [Obote the Villain] is the shortest, perhaps showing the man, who is the subject of this book, was to a significant extent influenced by external factors much as he was a victim of the circumstances for the events by which he was labelled a villain. A case in point is the attack on the seat of Buganda Kingdom that eventually led to establishment of Uganda as a unitary Republic. From this, the reader is left to form his or her own view of Dr. Obote basing on how he is presented in this book from several perspectives.

The book opens with two statements from the Uganda People’s Congress, a political party that he headed for several decades until his death in 2005. These highlight his vision for the country and the achievements that were made by his governments. The final article is written by the editor, who bases his argument on his legal grounding to assess whether Dr. Obote can be prosecuted for the “crimes” he has been accused especially by President Museveni and his National Resistance Movement (NRM). Also noteworthy is the coverage of the NRM government’s efforts in facilitating the return of Dr. Obote’s body from South Africa, where he died, through Zambia, where he spent 20 years in exile, to Akokoro village, where he wished to be interred. President Museveni’s seemingly conciliatory speech is ironic considering that he had never said anything positive apart from demonising the ex-President.

In light of the fact that there is no autobiography or memoirs by Dr. Obote, Omongole Anguria has contributed significantly to how the founding father should be judged by posterity instead of the skewed way that has been perpetuated for so long by the NRM and the Baganda or Buganda.

This review was published by The Ivory Post at http://www.theivorypost.com/entertainment/08/oct/ent011008.html

Dishonourable Discharge for Hip Hop

As a fan of hip hop, I thought this story on www.hiphopdx.com was quite interesting. I don't know what I would do if someone destroyed my music collection? At least, Mr. Jackson was able to get new roles from that discharge...for me, you will be dearly departed [just joking....]

US Soldier Dishonorably Discharged For Hip Hop

September 11th, 2008 Author: Anthony Springer Jr

Former US soldier Martin Jackson takes his Hip Hop seriously. So seriously, in fact, that he was dismissed from military duty because of it.One of Malone’s sergeants burned his nine year collection of Hip Hop magazines after a heated argument. Malone’s reaction earned him a discharge for dishonorable conduct. At the time, Malone had served three years which included a stint in Korea and service after the attacks of September 11.

Not taking the discharge lying down, Malone—who goes by the alias Muggsy Malone—hit the studio with Conrad Dimanche [click to read] of Bad Boy Records/Making the Band. The resulting effort is an album titled Probable Cause, which he is dedicating to the military. Malone has remained active since his military days and is a volunteer for the Barack Obama campaign in addition to his duties as an emcee, signed to Warpath Records.

In addition to Probable Cause, which is slated for release in March 2009, Malone is also prepping a reality show scheduled to air on Myspace, titled The Making of the Next Big Thing.

Another Inspiration Between The Lines

I cannot remember the last time, my alma mater had a positive, feel good story on the front pages of a major newspaper--like The Daily Monitor has done this morning. The story below is the kind that I always wished for [worked towards] during the time I managed the PR Office of Makerere University. But it makes me prouder as an alumnus that my university and the students are doing great things at the international level.

Makerere students build car

by Walter Wafula
Kampala

The first model of Vision 200, a four-passenger vehicle, which has partly been designed by a team of 11 Makerere University engineering students, is set for public viewing in Europe. The model of the hybrid power vehicle, which is expected to be ready for commercial production in 2010, will be showcased in the World Design Capital, Torino in Italy, according Mr Steven Jeremy Ntambi, the Makerere team leader.

Mr Ntambi told Daily Monitor last week that the prototype of the car, which has been in production since October 2007, will be moved from its workshop in the same location, to the Torino Museum on September 5, as part of this year’s Dream Exposition designs.

“The Vehicle Design Summit’s Vision 200 concept car will be showcased alongside vehicles like Ferrari, Fiat and other big global names,” said Mr Ntambi, a final year Bachelor of Science Electrical Engineering student at Makerere University. The car will be the only student-designed product at the show. Vision 200 final version, is aimed at creating a global solution to the energy and pollution challenges as well as lowering the cost of eco-friendly cars.

It is being designed by a consortium composed of students from at least 27 leading technology research universities and colleges including Harvard, Princeton, Germany’s FH Bochum University of Applied Sciences, Imperial College of London in the UK and Dehli College in India, with support from several private companies and institutions. Once completed, the car is expected to reduce gas emissions and increase the efficiency of fuel consumption.

Mr Ntambi said the student’s research observed that a normal car uses about 5-10 per cent of the fuel put in for movement but Vision 200 is expected to reverse this, and make use of about 95 per cent of the fuel used and yet offer extra power options, from its three sources.

The car is expected to achieve up to 50 kilometres per litre of fuel, compared to the 10 kilometres most saloon cars achieve on average.
The Makerere University team, which has been tasked with building the main system of the car, was charged with the duty of developing the low power electronics and the data networking system for the vehicle.
The project is part of the students’ requirements to complete their studies in Electrical Engineering, Civil Engineering and Information technology degrees.

“The general point of the research is what we are doing- the Power Train, which is the heart of the car. We are in charge of the battery, the motor and power train which move the car,” he said. A video of the making of the car also shows that Makerere students emerged as the best hands on team, providing the best welder (Douglas Bibita) who saved the team $800 per day and the best micro-programmer (Emmanuel Ssebaggala).

Because of his outstanding welding skills, Mr Bibita was asked to remain with the team that will finalise the first prototype, as his friends returned home last week. Prof. Tickodri Togboa, the associate professor, Department of Engineering, at the Faculty of Technology at Makerere said the participation of Makerere students on the project,means that Uganda is building the necessary human capacity to provide local solutions to our problems.

He said given resources, Uganda can borrow a leaf form China to become a global power in production of technologies because the human resource is under training.

“Some decades ago, you couldn’t hear about China, today, every product you buy the label is ‘Made in China’ no matter which market you go to. We would like the same thing to happen here,” Prof. Togboa who is one of the mentors of the Vehicle Design Summit’s Vision 200 (VDS) students said, in an interview at the university, on Thursday. VDS is the research on which the car is based.

In Torino, the car will be showcased to the public and the world’s leading car firm’s which could show interest in the model for a future partnership of a deal.

Mr Ntambi said, although the team may not surpass vehicles’ from Italy’s Ferrari or Bughatti, who have been around for several decades, exhibiting at the expo is a major achievement itself. “Being part of the exposition shows that we are part of the solution to make more environmental friendly cars,” he said.

Inspiration Between The Lines

It is one of those stories that show how blacks can indeed be prosperous and have the drive to create wealth. This is from the Forbes website, my purpose for posting here is what I find noteworthy in this story: look for the key words, work ethic and focus.

This should serve as an inspiration to only musicians in Africa [or in UG in particular] but to all the youth on this continent [who are 50's fans] that they can indeed go out and 'buy the mall'. Work hard and keep the target in focus.

The 50 Cent Machine
by Zack O'Malley

When it comes to records, 50 Cent knows what it takes to go platinum. But in a mine shaft thousands of feet below the surface of South Africa, he's got metal, not vinyl, on his mind.

Last May, 50 paid a visit to billionaire mining baron Patrice Motsepe in South Africa. Flanked by select members of their respective entourages, the unlikely duo descended into a subterranean trove of platinum, palladium and iridium, growing like moss on the earth's warm innards. A spectacular backdrop for a bling-drenched music video, to be sure.

But 50 was there for other business: to forge a joint venture with Motsepe that could soon bring him an equity stake in the mine--and 50 Cent-branded platinum to the world.

"Things that people wouldn't actually expect me to be involved in," 50 muses a few weeks later, reminiscing on his trip. "I've got a diverse portfolio."
In Pictures: Inside The 50 Cent Machine

Here, in the comfort of a midtown Manhattan office, just miles from the Queens, N.Y., streets where 50 once dealt cocaine, the glowering rapper whose lyrics are often punctuated with gunshots is nowhere to be found. In his place is Curtis Jackson, businessman. Less gangster, more Gordon Gekko, he ticks through the contents of his portfolio: stocks, bonds, real estate, investment pools, all carefully monitored by brokers at Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley.

Over the past 12 months, 50 has added $150 million to his substantial coffers. He hawks clothing, sneakers, videogames, movies, ringtones and flavored water. His earnings were nearly twice as much as last year's hip-hop cash king, Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter, and over four times the sum garnered by Sean "Diddy" Combs, who ranked third for the second year in a row. After topping Forbes' inaugural Cash Kings list, the trio released a modified version of 50's "I Get Money" called "The Forbes 1-2-3 Remix."

Diversification is crucial for rappers. Record sales are declining, new media are playing havoc with the music industry, and it seems unlikely that hip-hop acts will ever lure stadiums of deep-pocketed baby boomers with the ease exhibited by geriatric rockers such as the Rolling Stones and the Police.

Perhaps as a hedge, Jay-Z signed a 10-year, $150 million deal with concert promoter Live Nation in April. Kanye West headlined the traditionally rock-focused music festival Lollapalooza in Chicago earlier this month. 50 is looking to secure his own long-term relevance with deals like the one currently in the works with Motsepe.

"The financials of the music business have changed to the point that we have to find ways to make money in other places," says Barry Williams, 50's circumspect brand manager. "I didn't think six years ago when we started trying to sell music that we'd be selling VitaminWater and shoes and clothes. Now we're moving into other directions, and four or five years from now, it's exciting to think about us looking at natural resources and raw materials and other businesses."

50's first mega-deal was completed a year ago. He snagged $100 million when Coca-Cola bought Glacéau, VitaminWater's parent company, for $4.1 billion. The rapper had received a stake in Glacéau as compensation for peddling the "Formula 50" VitaminWater flavor. He'd continued to add to his holdings as the years went on. Although observers praised 50's financial foresight as soon as the deal was announced, he was far from satisfied.

"People were talking about how much money I made, but I was focused on the fact that $4.1 billion was made," says 50. "I think I can do a bigger deal in the future."

Looking one step ahead of the business has always one of 50's trademark traits. He grew up rough in Jamaica, Queens, in the midst of the 1980s crack epidemic. His mother, a drug dealer, was murdered when he was 8; soon after, he began running cocaine for his uncles. He realized he could make more money by charging a markup in the neighborhood of 25%. This precocious business sense earned him plenty of dollars--and three arrests--by age 19. He avoided jail time by agreeing to attend a six-month, military-style boot camp in upstate New York.

Returning to Queens, the fledgling rapper scored a $65,000 deal with Columbia Records. But in 2000 his past caught up with him. Days before his first album, Power of the Dollar, was set to hit stores, 50 was shot nine times and left for dead in front of his grandmother's house. Columbia dropped him, and the record was never released, though it has since been heavily bootlegged. Undeterred, he returned to the studio as soon as he recovered from his wounds. He started churning out "mix tapes," which are informally circulated at parties, and soon he had become an underground rap sensation.

The tapes earned him a following--and a big break. In 2002 star rapper Marshall "Eminem" Mathers heard his driver playing one of 50's songs. Eminem was so impressed with the music that he invited 50 to Los Angeles to meet with him and producer Andre "Dr. Dre" Young. Within days, they signed 50 to a million-dollar deal for five albums.

But from the start, 50's career was more about business than music. He spent his first $300,000 registering the "50 Cent" and "G-Unit" trademarks; in 2003 he brought on veteran talent manager Chris Lighty to head up his business entourage. Today, Lighty is part of an informal board of directors for brand 50 Cent. The team helps 50 sort through endorsement offers, brainstorm new ideas and operate his businesses.

At the top of that pyramid is 50 himself. Ask any of his associates what sets him apart, and they'll all tell you it's his fiendish work ethic. In a recent 24-hour span, he started by filming scenes for Streets of Blood from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. (He will star in the flick, due out next year, alongside Val Kilmer and Sharon Stone.) He then went straight to the mobile recording studio he keeps on set and worked on his new album for four to five hours. After snagging a few hours of sleep, he went right back to the studio.

"I don't think he'll ever stop working," says Laurie Dobbins, chief operating officer of Lighty's company, Violator Management. "He's got the work ethic of a robot. I think he works 24 hours a day."

50 will always be a performer. While he spent the daytime hours of his Africa tour kibitzing with the likes of Motsepe and Nelson Mandela, nights brought concerts--and crowds upwards of 100,000. He watched as his music broke the language barriers between scores of local dialects. He says the rush he gets from performing is the reason he doesn't need drugs. But don't be confused about where his priorities lie.

"Closing a deal," he says, "is a bigger deal."

Why Hate on Us?

There is something about racism or xenophobia that really makes me very angry. Two articles in The New Vision newspaper [one a letter to the Editor and the other an article from a reader]. They are both about how Ugandan students [and I guess other African or black students] are treated or mistreated or sometimes killed in Ukraine. They go there for university education which is relatively cheaper but end up with more than they bargained for.

And every year, in Uganda, there is presentations about Ukrainian universities and the favourable conditions there...blah blah with representatives from these places and from our own country. Below are the said articles to reflect on. Does being black mean we have to undergo all kinds of mistreatment and be subjected to dehumanising acts? Is because of the skin colour that they hate on us? I have not heard of any incident where a Ukrainian was stabbed in Uganda and even his body not traced in more than a decade!!!!

Listen to Ugandan students in Ukraine

Benjamin Egesa says he was mistreated

EDITOR — I was disappointed by the response of Eng Davis Matovu in The New Vision of August 20 to a special report, which was published in the Saturday Vision of August 15, 2008. In the report, a Ugandan student, Benjamin Egesa, claimed harassment and racist treatment.

But it was quite disheartening for Matovu to justify Ukrainian police harassment of Egesa. In a press release, Matovu wrote: “So, as Benjamin claims the police harassed him, we, as an association, say it is better because the police had to keep checking on him since he was a suspect.”

What Matovu forgets is that ill treatment does not only entail physical beating. Harassment leads to depression and poor health. Many people commit suicide and murders as a result of severe depression. Does Matovu want us to believe this is good?

To justify harassing Egesa because he was a suspect is wrong. Even in Uganda, the Police and other security agencies are under a lot of criticism for some of the officers who harass suspects. While it is true Ukraine enjoys cordial relations with Uganda at various levels, it is wrong for Matovu to sit in Kampala and simply defend acts of individual Ukrainians. In any society, there are criminal elements, who may not reflect the official policy. What is pertinent is how the matter is handled.

The Universities in Ukraine often advertise seminars where they market themselves to students in Kampala. But who really cross checks what they claim to own? My friend in Namungoona was duped into the same scenario by claims of lower tuition by Ukrainian professors. But when she got there, the fees were more than triple what she was told in Kampala during the presentations.

The poor girl could not complete her course or pay the hostel fee and her passport was withheld by the university till she coughed the money. This was a shortcoming on the Ukrainian side because the girl’s budget and money for upkeep were endorsed by the university’s office in Kampala. We had to raise the money and, after a year of agony, my friend is now in Makerere University.

Mr. Matovu, you should encourage Ugandans who have problems with Ukrainian Universities to report them. Let the Kampala office raise it with the Ukrainians and find a sensible solution.

Kikonyogo Kivumbi
kikonyogo.k@gmail.com

This article can be found on-line at: http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/8/21/645643


Yes, it is not safe to study in Ukraine

By Patrick Oyulu

I wish to respond to Benjamin Egesa’s article in Saturday Vision of August 16 titled, “Racial violence: How safe is it to study in Ukraine?” in which he gives an account of the alarming rise in the number of racially-motivated attacks in Ukraine.

My family became a victim in 1996 when my brother, Alex Onencan Oyulu, was murdered in the Kiev, Ukraine, by goons. To make matters worse, we failed to bring his body that was allegedly cremated due to bureaucracies in the Ministry of Education.

Alex went to Ukraine in 1984 on government sponsorship. He completed his Bachelors degree and commenced a Masters programme. In 1996, and having just joined my first job posting, I received a call from the Ministry of Education informing me that Alex was stabbed in Kiev, a traumatising experience up to today.

We immediately sought the help of the ministry in transporting the body to Uganda. In light of the transport costs we could not afford then, we opted for cremation and transportation of his ashes to Uganda. A contact was provided to help us in this venture. This was Alex’s fellow student who claimed to know where his body was but refused to reveal the exact location of the hospital.

So we kept wiring money to this man who turned out to be a conman because he kept asking for more money for this and that. The climax was when he asked for money for ‘refrigeration’ for an already cremated body (according to him) without providing the much sought after pictures of my brother in whatever mortuary he was in. Refrigeration for ash? We smelt a rat.

This gentleman, who today owns one of the numerous ‘Study in Kiev’ agencies, went further and requested me to contact another family who had lost their own, saying he would help. Was he dealing in other people's misfortunes? We ignored him and became resigned to the fact that we would not bring Alex’s body home, God bless his soul. Three years ago, we received another message from another fellow, who said he knew the late Alex, claiming that his body was still lying in some mortuary in Kiev.

Asked to reveal the hospital, he was evasive. It appears there are many people dealing in people’s misfortunes to earn a living in the Ukraine. Why go there in the first place? Egessa did, and learned the hard way; at least he completed his mission.

My brother earned a scholarship, and ended up stabbed and murdered. As a family, we live with the guilt that we failed to bring Alex back for a decent burial in Uganda. To the Ugandan who got all our money saying he was helping in his cremation and never sent us pictures of his body, God bless his soul.

Egessa’s story has again brought sadness to our lives. Even Amnesty International, in a report, recognised the alarming rise of racism. The Ukraine government fails to recognise the gravity of the problem, the report states. The government of Ukraine only frequently registers the attacks as acts of hooliganism.

The Ministry of Education did not help us to return Alex’s body home. They only relayed the messages that my brother was stabbed. I always pray that the story of Alex’s death is a hoax. But going by the trend in Ukraine, it might be true. Those folks are dangerous. Alex, may your soul rest in eternal peace.

The writer is the Production Manager of QG Saatchi & Saatchi

This article can be found on-line at: http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/8/459/645644

Africa Reading Challenge: Capitalist Nigger, My First Review

Capitalist Nigger The Road to Success: A Spider Web Doctrine
Author: Chika A. Onyeani
Publisher: Timbuktu Publishers, New York
Pages: xx+180 pgs
ISBN: 0-9678460-9-9
Reviewer: D. Mwesigye Gumisiriza

In this hard-hitting analysis of the economic status of black people around the world, Chika Onyeani, a Nigerian who has lived in the US for more than three decades, develops his ‘thesis’ that the black race is a generally non-productive consumer race. He uses the term “black” to refer to not only Africans from continental Africa but also to those in the Diaspora, African-Americans and those of African descent from anywhere in the world.

Drawing from various scenarios to support the view that the black race is at the bottom rung when compared and measured against yardsticks of success in different categories; the conclusion is that blacks are economic slaves—“a people who produce nothing and consume everything that others produce”. This is the refrain that is repeated throughout this book to press home the point and to realise the author’s aim of opening a debate on the state of the African race.

Africans tend to blame slavery and colonialism for all their problems and failures; African-Americans and other blacks in the Diaspora put this blame on racism. So, this victim mentality has held them back from economic empowerment. The author claims to have conducted a long study of East Indians and Pakistanis and came up with the idea he has called the Spider Web Doctrine. This is named so basing on how spiders behave; they build a web, when a fly enters it, it is prevented from leaving. That this race is the most adept at applying this doctrine and subsequently have become a major economic force. “When a dollar comes into the community, because of their spider web mentality, that dollar does not leave the community, they reinvest it by buying from other Indians”. It is this mentality and behaviour that will liberate blacks from economic slavery.

Onyeani clearly attributes economic advancement to race and stresses over and over again in his book an admiration for the Caucasians or the whites. In particular, he notes that Caucasians have the killer instinct and ‘Devil-may-care’ attitude that have enabled them to develop their societies and nations to a level that is universally admired.

To put this in context, he uses several scenarios. For instance, in 1998, General Motors, a Caucasian-owned company, earned revenue of US$ 161 billion making it the first on Fortune 500; a list of top-rated American businesses. By comparison, the number one black-owned company, The Philadelphia Coca Cola Bottling Company, earned revenue of US$ 389 million! Onyeani also wonders how a handful of Caucasians could round up 36 million Africans into slavery. In addition, he cites people like Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and George Soros who exemplify the killer instinct and daring attitude of whites and Jews.

However, he does not only criticise but also advocates for capitalist niggerism, a movement that seeks to empower blacks. A capitalist nigger is defined as an economic warrior who loves money and seeks wealth and in this way helps his or her community to grow. Alongside this, he develops a set of rules to live by—the Capitalist Nigger’s Canon. But first, he suggests that there should be a Day or Days of Atonement—“the day that the Black race decides to confess for its transgressions against its race, and to promise forthwith to correct such transgressions…”

It is strongly recommended for every black person, everywhere in the world, of at least a university education, and those at all levels of leadership to read this book.

Sex Athlete

I don't know what to make of this, Sean Combs thinks sex [or put bluntly, fucking because sex can encompass many aspects] would be his ticket to the Olympics. It is the most amusing story I have read this week at www.hiphopdx.com

Though admire him a lot as an innovative music producer and showbiz entrepreneur, I think this was rather lousy. He should remember that he has teen sons [or children] and this should not be on record as what their famous dad said about the 2008 Olympics. At another level, he is in his thirties, the older a man gets, the less stamina he has in this 'game'. For his info, it becomes increasingly harder to sustain an erection longer than in the teens or in the twenties. Hmmm

By the way, I think it is only teenage boys/adolescents who brag about their 'sexual prowess' [include in that bracket, guys in the early twenties]. For Diddy, who has probably fucked more than one woman, is there anything left for him to prove in that arena?

Amidst the hype of the Olympics, Diddy spoke on his favourite event to watch in a recent interview with NYMag.com during his spring-summer 2009 Sean John presentation. "Track and field!" answered Diddy, who ran the New York Marathon in 2003 to raise money for children in the area. But what if there was a new Olympic sport - something that Diddy would have a shot at winning?

"Who could have sex the longest," the entrepreneur said. "I think that's an event I can do well in. And probably who could stay up the longest."

"Just so you know, that's supposed to be funny," he added. "Even though I am serious."

And who would step to the evidently confident Diddy in this imagined competition? "Whoever's up for the challenge."

Diddy's new show, I Want To Work For Diddy, airs on VH1 Monday nights at 9:00 PM.