Equality or Equity? 

Someone asked me a question this morning; a question that over a period of time has proven tougher than i had anticipated, and one that i should have applied more diligence in answering. To my defense however, i was born Ugandan, which means it is right there embedded within my genes that i look at things my life depends on with the shallowest approach humanly possible. The question i am referring to was whether or not we are equal before the law. if you know me perhaps you already know my reaction; Having not deliberated on the question whatsoever, I quickly and rather unpleasantly furnished him with a very unthought out response which i realize now that it was uncalled for and unwarranted. It is for times like this that God should have created an undo button for our lives, Anyway, Back to the question at hand, truth is there are more than meets the eye in these circumstances or as the case is in mine, more than meets the mind. On one hand people will agree that perhaps we are indeed equal before the law, then there are the other passionate lads like myself who will always disagree. Disagreeing is our thing, that we do not know what we disagree with notwithstanding. This position we hold is mostly based on the attitude we have acquired of the law; an attitude that the law will never serve its purpose which is to serve its purpose. i know what i said, just tag along, you will get my point in due course.

The latter school of thought is a conceited one; in fact there is a ninety percent chance that all narcissists belong here. To this group (whose membership to i hold sadly) the law has failed and they recall not a single moment when it flourished. Law they will tell you, has put the poor on the receiving end. they will remind you that poor people having commissioned actions that attract the same punishment as a rich fellow, will most likely suffer more owing to their economic inabilities to meet the financial wants of the judicial system. Before you respond to that they will most likely whip you with that argument of affording legal representatives or securing property in the interests of bails, bonds and sureties. Invoking civil proceedings will be your worst mistake because they will push it down your throat till you choke on their rather preemptive opinion that those are in fact the worst kind because in such instances, not even actions speak louder than money. they will paint out rich folk as very slithery characters and the poor as holier than thou and inevitably victims of circumstances; circumstances forged by monetary equilibrium and which the poor have no control of whatsoever. Moments ago, these were my exacts sentiments.

That was until the question was altered to evade the ‘narrow and myopic’ assessment such as the one i had merited it. supposing we get money off the equation, and everyone is placed on an equal footing such that we are all on an economically level playing field and we are equally as poor as we are rich. supposing there are not any rich or poor people, only people, how about then? Shall the people be equal before the law? and at this point i stared blankly in the air hoping for the hand of God to appear and inoculate my head with a thought. the more time went by, the more desperate i got for a thought; any thought. it got to a point i could have settled for figuring out a polite way to decline answering the question, that’s if i could think of one, but even  then, i kept thinking and as expected, nothing came by. i have noted, not without a little protest though, that thinking right when am needed to is not one of my greatest strengths which begs the question whether or not am in the right career but who are you to judge? The alteration of the question threw me off balance mentally and on a more embarrassing level, self-esteem-wise, to my defense the ability to think has become such a rare one, the holy spirit should consider making it one of the fruits.

so then it was my turn to listen, and believe me i was made to listen. i was made to understand that the answer to the initial question is in the affirmative, and that the law treats everyone alike, rich or poor. That we often, confuse the purpose of law with its constrains but that is neither here nor there (i didn’t understand that part either but i wasn’t about to put my ego on trial yet again) because it is not the subject of the matter(s) in question). As if putting my intellectual abilities in dispute was not enough victory for this guy, he continued to assault me with critical thinking to a point i was largely convinced he was high on thought, not pot people, not pot! focus!! he made sure i understood that what we in fact see as injustices occasioned by the application of the law, are ideally unfortunate circumstances we ‘the poor’ (be sure to note the quotation marks because am sure as hell not poor) are subjected to inequities and injustices merely because of the lack of sufficient funds. also he said, we need to differentiate the law in its core, from the people who apply and interpret it. There is what the law provides, and then there is what we make of its application, here again, he lost me. but he appeared smart, lets just go with his version of it.

He accused man (bear with his patriarchy) of stripping the law of its intended purpose. he avers that the law is so equal that we have in fact started to make it less equal by introducing some precepts of affirmative action that propose to favour one party and put the other at a considerable disadvantage. for instance, there are so few women in leadership positions that we have decided as a society that you know what? we should reserve some seats for women just in case they are not filled by women in an election. This he argues, was not the purpose of the mother law, which puts man and woman on equal fronts, as a matter of fact he blames the society (did you hear that feminists? The society is to blame, not men) placing the woman behind the man even after the law put them on the equal mark. I tried to think of all those instances in which i had imagined the law was unfair for reason that it did not treat people it served equally, and in each it seemed the law was not at fault. The law was perfect as it is and problems only surfaced when man attempted to apply it; in all these, he urged me to differentiate between equality, fairness and justice. because the law is only equal. it is not always fair nor just, but it is what it is; equal.

you may ask why i have gone through the trouble of first putting my wisdom or lack there of in question and typing these 1500 words not many of you will even bother to read. well, i am aware that this particular step i have taken will most likely change nothing, but it is a step in the right direction nonetheless. Come to think of it, we have spent decades and quite a substantial amount of the taxpayers money amending the law and trying to fix it yet all that needs the fix and at no expense whatsoever is us people. What if a thousand people decided to be fair to another in their dealings regardless of the fact that such noble actions as acts of fairness spell doom for the actor. what if another thousand decided to be just and another thousand chose to do the right thing, the immediate result notwithstanding? wouldn’t it be great? why are we wasting time fixing things that are inherently perfect? Do not fix the law, fix oneself…
 

YOUTHS AS A NECCESSITY FOR A BETTER EAC

In youth we learn; in age we understand.

There is no doubt that, almost every good and bad field has developed significantly over the past few decades and it is too visible in behavior and actions of young people. The EAC Regional governments as well as Private institutions should try to find solution for this global concern as they remain one of the victims. Many people believe that, wisely chosen decisions on youth’s agenda is the best way to control the number of unemployment and crimes, terrorism, drug abuse, sexual harassments etc in the EAC region. While, some of them believe that, it is not the only way to improve on the level of Youths Participation in the region, but the smartest way to enhance youth decision making.

According to the report release by African Union, it indicates that 75% of the African population lies under age of 35 years and out that 75%, 54.2% are being pinch by high level of illiteracy, poverty, Unemployment, HIV/AIDS, substance abuse, discrimination and forced engagement in armed conflict like Terrorisms, rebellions and so on which have becomes are subjects of widespread concern at the national, regional and international levels. Effective strategies are needed to resolve these concerns. Young people have a body of experience unique to their situation, and they have views and ideas that derive from this experience. They are social actors with skills and capacities to bring about constructive resolutions to their own problems. Too often, though, there is a failure or even a refusal to recognize such effort. Much as government policies have a direct or indirect impact on young people, it is developed and delivered largely without forecasting the impact on their day-today lives or their present and future well-being. It is therefore on this ground that the region should start focusing on young people as an envelope that will foster for a stronger, committed, and respectful and people centered East African.

However, EALA should consider the mechanisms and structures through which young people can engage with the East African Community Youth Council. The first being how proactively councils could make use of the already existing structures and processes to bring young people in to decision-making. This will proactively motivate youth take advantage of existing opportunities to engage with the EAC youths council and finally identifying the key challenges to greater and more meaningful youth engagement and makes recommendations base on stakeholders consultation thus improving the quality and level of youth engagement. Regarding the mechanisms, processes and structures for youth participation in governance, research finds that there are a number of different levels and platforms through which young people can theoretically engage with different youth’s council both directly and indirectly through intermediaries. The extent to which young people shall take the advantage of these opportunities in practice will largely depends on the comparative strength and initiative of EALA and the capacity of young people to engage with them.

Lastly, EALA should know that Senior Adults do not always act in young people’s best interests instead they should find space for them. Actions detrimental to the well-being of young people occur not only through deliberate abuse or neglect but through disregarding their interest. Adults across the professional spectrum have been responsible for decisions, policies and actions that have been inappropriate and sometimes actively harmful to young people. These actions are characterized by a consistent failure to consult or involve young people themselves. Evidence is not hard to come by; it is not uncommon to find cases in which young people are placed in large institutions that give insufficient attention to their emotional and psychological well-being, There is growing recognition that young people are more harmed than helped by these practices, which have all been, and in many instances continue to be, justified by adults, while the views of young people themselves have gone unheard. If young people are not involved in the development of the laws, policies and programs that affect them, even well-intentioned actions on the part of adults will often fail to protect their best interests.

In conclusion, while there are many positive signs that young people are increasingly engaging in decision-making at the EAC level, it is also clear that youth participation is not uniform and in some areas EAC-youth interaction is very weak. While there are some encouraging examples of strong, dynamic youth representatives participating effectively in EAC Youths decision-making, this tends to be the exception rather than the norm and more often youth engagement is low level and sometimes tokenistic. Making meaningful and effective youth participation in governance a reality requires the combined effort of local and national government, civil society and donors. As EAC continues on an upward trajectory of social and economic development, and as democratic principles take root, ensuring young people are given a say in decision-making should be prioritized as an essential cornerstone of democratic consolidation, the importance of which, particularly given the historical context, cannot be exaggerated.

Biography

I am currently the EAC youth ambassador to Uganda as well as the Regional Innovation Manager to IHAV foundation Africa to Uganda, a fourth year student at Makerere university pursuing Bachelor of science in telecommunication Engineering and a patriotic member of EA community youths ambassadors platform.

The Dragon Of Africa

The role of educational institutions in enhancing regional peace and security.

Ignorance, as opposed to knowledge, is invariably found at the root of every problem; though it might not be sole cause, yet it is a major contributor. From the journey of discovering one’s own potential to the awareness of one’s rights and privileges, knowledge plays a vital role. Formal education is necessary for the acquisition of authentic and useful knowledge. It can, then, be said that education has a fore most role in shaping civilized and peaceful societies. Educational Institution, besides providing solid platform for professional life, helps build positive mindset, brings in rationality and balanced thought, breeds reason and logic instead of asserting ones point of view, enables one to appreciate and observe moral and cultural values, and on top of it all lets sanity prevail in all spheres of decision-making.

Education is a significant social investment in preventing a recurrence of conflict. Over the past forty years around half of all civil wars have resulted from post-conflict relapses, 40% of them within the first decade. Investing in education in post-conflict situations pays high dividends, as it gives people confidence in peace by signaling that the benefits are going to be long term and widespread.

It is therefore ought to say that different efforts have been so far or soon be and to be practiced as discussed in this article with an overview on the role of educational institutions in enhancing regional peace and security, because I totally agree with the statement above.

There is a need to have peace education or education for peace built in the curriculum of formal studies at higher education level or even at lower levels of education. But then there is also a need of teachers who are trained enough to impart such education.  ‘It is important in post-conflict contexts to pay special attention to the curriculum and, in particular, to prioritize peace education programs so that distrust and hatred between groups is overcome and citizens are equipped with the tools for peaceful conflict resolution. Examples of multicultural education and peace education programs with conflict resolution elements are found in Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and in Romania, where the dynamics of inter-ethnic and intercultural relationships are addressed’

Furthermore, higher educational institutions need to assess their relationship with wider society and the world, so that they could promote rights of poor and marginalized sectors in the context of justice, intercultural respect, sustainable development, human security and global solidarity. This can be done through training of educators/teachers whereby they could be able to impart peace education and on top of it act as role models to impress upon effectively what they are advocating.

Peace education or education for peace should be made part of the formal education. It may as well be done remaining under the umbrella of Islamic injunctions. Seminars, workshops and even well designed courses like ‘Islam and Society’, ‘Comparative study of religions’ and ‘War on Terror’ may be introduced at all levels of education more effectively in higher education institutions. Voluntary debates can be arranged remaining within code of ethics. It would at least bring in positive awakening in the educated class, provided teachers imparting such education are properly trained. Higher education institutions, on finding fertile ground, may act as bridge between fighting parties.

Technical and vocational education and training, especially for those youths who can’t afford higher institution would pave way for decent jobs and inclination to crime, if any, could be averted. This would not only bring prosperity amongst these deprived classes but would have positive impact on national economy. Sense of deprivation and being left out in the cold are some factors which nourish and breed resentment and sometimes hatred. ‘Have-nots’ of society see no point in living a miserable life; it is then that they become vulnerable to brain washing and eventually are persuaded to ‘sacrifice’ their lives for religion; and are alluded to peaceful eternal life (after this life).  The menace of ‘suicide bombing’ cannot be controlled through force alone. Education in the right perspective and provision of jobs can work wonders.

In conclusion, education is absolutely beneficial for EAC on the whole. It is a life-long process to each person that needs to be reinforced throughout life. However, we need education system that may eradicate illiteracy and may provide the common man an access not only to basic education but also to higher and technical education, Although education has a significant influence on life, the average education is not the same in Our  areas. As a result, strategies should be made to resolve the problems. Without education, life would be disastrous and detrimental. Consequently, to this year, we should try our best to make education global and accessible for everyone particularly the poor and the disabled. There are still some places where the inhabitants are almost completely uneducated, causing a serious lack of knowledge. Additionally, every child should be given equal opportunities to learn and study. Because the development of our region will depend vastly on the standard of education, it must do everything in its power to improve it. Although the educational systems of different countries are not similar but they have to share a common goal which is to provide its citizens a suitable and proper learning. 

BiographyI am currently a member of EAC youth ambassadorial team to Uganda as well as the Country Director for IHAV foundation Africa, a fourth year student at Makerere university pursuing Bachelor of science in telecommunication Engineering and a patriotic member of EA community youths ambassadors platform.