Is Bobi Wine’s People Power Heavy Weather?

Parties are founded on the principle of common vision and interest of the promoters. An individual can moot the idea that later is sold to others who appreciate and coalesce around that vision to foster the nascent party. This calls for a convergence of minds to smoother the rough edges, given that the promoters could be coming from different political backgrounds.

This stage is too critical to insulate the budding party from possible contradictions in the future. This formation is more palpable in a “movement” system where people converge to form a special purpose vehicle to surmount a specific challenge while retaining their individual ideologies at bay, till such a time when victory evinces. It is a delicate balance between personal interest and the collective vision. It is at this stage that the buoyancy of parties is tested. The question that arises is, can Bobi Wine’s People Power be any different or is it just heavy weather?

When Bobi Wine was launching the beret week in Kamwokya, he made a profound statement that is likely to call for soul searching among People Power enthusiasts. The statement was so loaded that it caused a lot of jitters among politicians who had hoped to use People Power as a vehicle to deliver them personal victory at whatever political level. Bobi was categorically clear, that no one should clutch at People Power mantra to impel personal political ambitions. This statement was immensely racking that it sent tongues wagging, questioning the core principle of People Power formation. People Power has been delineated as a “movement” intended to upstage the status quo through a popular mass of voters. That means that anyone with political ambitions joins it with a clear sight of changing the current politics throughout the political spectrum. By this statement, Bobi Wine is interpreted to mean that he is focused on the presidency alone without taking into account that the other People Power supporters, could be supporting it, in the hope of using it as a vehicle to win a seat at local or parliamentary level.

Any political formation must be a reflection of the wishes and aspirations of its members, the moment it fails to address these two, then its obituary is written in capital letters sooner than later.

There has been an illusionary slant that People Power is strong, the truth is that the cosmetic popularity is etched in the thinking of politicians whose political fortunes are pegged on whinning People Power maxim. People Power is not a structured party, so, support from any quarters must be welcome, but alienating those who eye a political seat is placing the cart before the horse. It is no brainer to see that the gusto with which people like Dr. Abed Bwanika started with has long since faded after realizing that they were edged out of the regional teams that were instituted by Bobi Wine. This clearly explains how personal aspirations play a big role in party dynamics.

The glaring question is, why would one support a party or movement if there are no personal benefits envisioned in the broad objectives of it. Bobi Wine thinks that the surmised popularity of People Power should only benefit him alone and not the other members. This is disastrous unless People Power is a scion of DP which is a regional outfit, masquerading as a national party. Bobi Wine could have some support in the central region, but he needs other regions to boost his profile, unfortunately, he has been sucked into the politics of intrigue and backstabbing common in the central region. That statement is rooted in the fact that the DP block is pervaded with factionalism and his attempt to steer clear of these contradictions has instead bred undesired effects.

Such statements are only familiar with political younglings like Bobi. Experienced politicians know how to sail the roiled waters, a case in point is Museveni, who realizes that the official flag bearer and the independent, each have support in a particular constituency, he calls both on the podium and showers niceties on both and tells the electorate to make an informed choice. This ensures his support without alienating the voters of the contesting candidates. This is what Bobi has to do not to blow the wind out of sails.

This calls for serious wise counsel from experienced political pundits and actors, who Bobi seems to have in short supply. He has surrounded himself with a genre of riffraff upstarts whose advice is too suspect and superficial. Seasoned politicians have kept their distance, invariably denying him that wealth of experience. Parties are a blend of the youthful and the seasoned, but Bobi’s stance tends to portray the old as past their prime and the youths should be the vanguard. This may appeal to the youths but deprive him of the experienced hands at the political craft.

I have talked about lack of structures in People Power before, this puts it in a sea-saw sublime. So, its visibility is reduced to the individual aspirant in a particular area, that means that by alienating such people means a lack of visibility on the grassroots. What is clear is that most People Power diehards belong to established parties, they can easily slide back to where their presence is honoured.

There are politicians who are not easily swayed by whirlwind popularity. These constitute a big percentage of the lot that views Bobi as a talented musician but not the best choice for the politician they desire to replace Museveni. The yardsticks are totally different, though his cohorts find it hard to accept the dichotomy.

They tend to take his music prowess for political capabilities, which is a total absurdity. If People Power has to make any in-roads, at this time it is about numbers and the ability for aspirants to drum up support and keep it in the news, it is not yet a product that has nurtured its brand loyalty not to mind the dissenting voices.

Our political history has had people who came with incandescent pomp on the political spectrum but faded like a meteor. It is a long time held view to learn from history if he is in doubt let MR GOOGLE look for Dr Olara Otunnu, an accomplished diplomat who can only be found on the political seen using a microscope. It is not late to pick a cue.