By Absolom Lubwama
Self First has made us desert “ For God and My Country” and turned to “ For God and My Stomach” . This trend describing and destroying our society has been seen vividly in our country.
Recently, the government moved in to curb road accidents by enforcing traffic rules on Bodaboda riders who are recorded as the biggest offenders. Public awareness through shared videos of the accidents on social media, seminars for the riders, and forewarning before the set date of implementation were made.
The defiance of some riders saw their motorcycles impounded. The “cheap talk” ran rife that some big person in the government had imported reflective jackets and wanted the market, that is why the police were enforcing their use.
Self First: Simple matters are politicised for self benefit
There was a post by one of the leading opposition politician castigating the police for impounding the motorcycles of the offenders reasoning that they had families to feed. He chose to use this for political mirage without putting forward an alternative to reduce on the accidents. (because he knows that the population always wants to hear someone in their support even in cases where they are wrong ).
It would have been better for the politician to guide the riders on the importance of their safety and remind them how he would love to see them alive come 2026 and also follow the laws that the government may not find justification to throw them out of the city.
In their gullible minds, the Bodaboda riders felt a sense of concern from the politician’s statement forgetting that the clash helmets, were for the protection of their heads in case of accidents and not for the headlamp where they are normally positioned. The reflective jackets help drivers identify them from a distance but some in defiance stance choose to use non-reflective jackets or not put on one at all.
Self First assumes we are always correct
Self-pity is what describes us. We justify our wrong moves because of our low position on the economic ladder. We have a right to break laws in the name of “kweyiiya’(survival ). Choosing the wrong places to vend our merchandise and park even under construction sites with clear warning signs to watch out for falling debris and NO PARKING. Reason; we are single mothers abandoned by heartless men, widows, orphans, war veterans, and unemployed youth who “deserve sympathy “.
We aim at profit maximization, anything that stands in our way is met with all kinds of opposition. We hate an organized environment. Order eats away part of our profits. In crime, we prosper we proudly call it beating the odds. We love to gamble not only with our lives but also with our savings. We are the biggest betting houses customers.
We are fleeced by fake miracle-working pastors in the name of “sow a seed to get your breakthrough fast. It’s not surprising that BLQ, Telex, Dunamis, and one coin all ran off with our money and we shall embrace another con group before we come and cry out a few days after our money is stolen.
We are Daredevils looking for self-gratification. We ride with no helmets, drive with no seatbelts, have wild sex with no protection, seer kids with no reflection, and bleach our skins with no formulation. We then turn up with broken limbs, sexual infections, many children with less education blaming the government for lack of medication, and medical workers for lack of affection.
In school, we used to call it “kukekereza magezi” (using less of one’s intellect). In our self-resignation, we are going for self-medication to get self-satisfaction yet we are heading for self-destruction. We ought to make some self-reflection.
About the Author
Absolom Lubwama does printing write ups, language translation and events planning. He began writing his debut novel during the first covid out break and world lockdown in 2020 with the use of a mobile phone. He is the author of Behind the storm and Marriage an African man’s perspective When he’s not writing, he offers a free hand at counselling, plays a saxophone , takes nature walks , travels taking photographs or does journaling at a coffee shop.
