President Yoweri Museveni has said that youthfulness alone is not enough to transform a country, arguing that without the right ideology, young people risk misdiagnosing society’s challenges and missing opportunities for wealth creation.
Speaking to a group of youths during the Jazz with Jjaja, Museveni stressed that ideology is the “medicine” for solving social and economic problems. “The young people without ideology, you are lost. Ideology is medicine for social economic issues. How can you be a doctor when you don’t study medicine?” he asked.
Drawing from history lessons commonly taught in schools, Museveni cited Europe and North America as examples of how ideological clarity shaped economic transformation. He noted that what is now Germany was once made up of small kingdoms until 1871, when industrial and capitalist forces backed Otto von Bismarck to unify the country and remove internal barriers to trade.
Similarly, he said Italy only became a unified state around 1860, while the United States grew powerful partly because its states united after independence, creating a larger common market. In contrast, many former Spanish colonies in Latin America remained fragmented after independence, limiting their economic strength.
Museveni argued that the lesson for Africa is the importance of unity and market expansion. “One reason for lack of jobs is that businesses are not expanding enough. This is because of lack of enough market,” he said, adding that deeper regional integration, particularly within East Africa, would widen markets for locally produced goods and services.
He criticized what he described as misplaced activism among some young people, recounting a recent interaction with Kenyan Gen Z youths who said they were protesting corruption. “I told them corruption is a problem, but if you don’t solve the issue of producing goods and services and selling them, even if you are not corrupt, you will be stuck,” Museveni said.
According to the President, sustainable prosperity begins with production. “The only way to ensure prosperity is producing goods and services and then worry about issues of markets,” he said.
Museveni also questioned why some African youths look down on local products or seek opportunities abroad under harsh conditions. “When you go to Europe and find these people freezing, what are they doing there?” he asked. “Because of ideological disorientation, they left what they would have done and went to Europe.”
Reflecting on his own youth, Museveni said that at 22, while working as a teacher, he used his first salary to purchase land in Rwakitura instead of spending his earnings on leisure like some of his peers. “I left my colleagues in Mbarara learning how to dance with girls and bought land in Rwakitura. It was bush then. Development came later,” he said.
He maintained that while the area appeared undeveloped at the time, it held long-term value. “Whereas there was bush in Rwakitura, there was wealth. You need eyes to see substance, not mirages. Wealth and jobs are here,” Museveni said.
Photo Credit: Eddie Ssejjoba
The President urged youths to analyze society’s needs holistically and adopt a clear ideological orientation if they are to meaningfully contribute to national development. “Whether young or modern, if you don’t correctly diagnose problems of society, you are a quack,” he said.