Every political party in the world would like to build its political base on numbers by always persuading members with a different ideology and those with no political idea to join their party. As we head to the 2021 general elections, the National Resistance Movement has embarked on welcoming members from the opposition political parties like the National Unity Platform and Forum for Democratic Change.
Kudos to all the committed cadres of NRM who persuade these opposition members to join this well-structured political party for good leadership of this country. We greatly welcome Basajja Mivule, Andrew Mukasa famously known as Bajjo, Ashraf Kato alias Ashburg Kato and many others from the entertainment industry for their decision to join NRM.
However, their coming should not be like gambling but make them follow the procedures of being confirmed as NRM by going through the confirmation classes where they can be rehabilitated. It is true people can be ideologically disoriented but they do not get oriented by merely declaring that they have joined you nor does it make them look good because they are throwing stones to where they have come from. This is what NRM needs to address immediately.
Before equipping the new recruits with materials like big cars, money and other privileges, these newcomers should be oriented with the NRM ideology so that they can be fully transformed with a clear party message. A political party can grow with opportunists of selfish interests whose aim is to benefit with materialist gains leaving other cadres in economic scrunch.
Transformation is a process and once adopted, the public can identify that there are new values someone with a different ideology has adopted in the new political party. The party should make use of the National Leadership Institute, Kyankwanzi to sensitize and lecture these people about what NRM is and offer them good leadership skills.
The NRM I am seeing is a political party that will stay strong in the minds of the people yearning for more years of leadership, development and transformation. If the effort now is put on who is shouting on social and electronic media, you recruit him or her and make him enjoy the warmth of expensive cars and money, then the party is losing the aim of building cadres with ideology that even without cars or money, they can still support you.
Lastly, Mukulu Balaam Barugahare should also know that our oriented NRM cadres from Luwero do not have any problem with cars like the way Basajja Mivule is.
By David Serumaga
Luwero