By Patricia Turyahebwa,
ENTEBBE
The Minister of State for Sports, Hon. Peter Ogwang has urged student leaders to cultivate tolerance as a vital virtue for achieving success and reap from the benefits of their hard work.
“Are you aware that 30% of the PDM money is for you the youth, how many have taken an initiative to take part, you are just spectators you are only waiting to criticize the government forgetting that you are using the public road because if not how did you reach in Nkumba to attend this training?” Ogwang challenged the young leaders.
As leaders, Ogwang recognizes the importance of fostering inclusivity and understanding, urging that tolerance is crucial for creating a harmonious and productive environment, ultimately enabling them to achieve their goals and make a positive impact in their communities.
Ogwang acknowledged that the current generation of youth have a mentality of thinking that the government can handle each and every hurdle they face without them thinking outside the box.
“Today, the young people don’t have the patience and persistence, if I was not patient enough,do you think, I would be where iam today, having told you the challenges I went through while growing up,” Ogwang observed.
“I would have become a highway robber because at the end of the day, I would have thought of a quick fix but here iam, so the young people who are here before, me can we accept that the role of the government is to produce a conducive government for investment, infrastructure so that the investors come here and eventually create jobs,”said Ogwang.
He made the remarks on Friday while delivering a discourse of opportunity at Nkumba University where over 700 student leaders are undergoing a two-week Patriotism training program.
He added “ Stop believing that government will provide everything for you, me i was from a poor background who paid my own school fees, sold fish at streets of Matugga,I also became a taxi conductor but if I may ask, where was my member of parliament,”
He also tasked the youth to acknowledge their roles in building the nation urging them to prioritise on wealth creation government initiatives like Parish Development Model which are intended to eradicate poverty and include every household in the money economy across the country.
Ogwang cited an example of President Yoweri Museveni who at a youthful age, managed to mobilize the people from his region to shift from local to modern ways of living.
“My fellow young people who are here, one time, President Museveni you are seeing today was once a young man like me and you. At s.6 he decided to go back to his region to mobilise peasants to begin to engage in modern ways of living.”
“How many can do that today? What is your role as a young person in nation building because that is where the problem is. We often think every problem must be solved by the government but is not right as youth,we have to get out of our comfort zone.”Ogwang emphasized
He went ahead to encourage the leaders to stop blaming the government as the root cause of all problems encountered by Ugandans saying that they should rather own the blame as leaders him inclusive.
“The problem of our country is not Museveni but the problem is, we, the leaders and iam among them. No wonder now when we talk about government problems, how many understand and they are able to mobilize your communities so that they benefit from the government initiated wealth creation programs
“Are you aware that 30% of the PDM money is for you the youth, how many have taken an initiative to take part, you are just spectators you are only waiting to criticize the government forgetting that you are using the public road because if not how did you reach in Nkumba to attend this training?” Ogwang challenged the young leaders.
The training program which was organised by the National Secretariat for Patriotism Corps ( NSPC) under the stewardship of Commissioner Hellen Seku and State House Uganda, commenced on January 3, 2025, with the aim of equipping student leaders with the necessary leadership skills and knowledge to become informed and patriotic leaders of tomorrow.
The training emphasizes the importance of civic responsibility and encourages young leaders to actively participate in building a better future for Uganda.
President Museveni and First Lady and Minister of Education Janet Museveni will officially close the training on January 17.
