By Patricia Turyahebwa,
KAMPALA
The President of the Republic of Uganda H.E Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has encouraged the young people to embrace the ideology of unity and innovation as catalysts for peace and prosperity.
He put forward that the youth have a lot of potential but they are only hindered by ideological obstacles.
“Ideology in politics is like managing patients in the hospital, when a medic sees a patient, he must get the diagnosis correct or the patient will never heal. Similarly in politics,if your diagnosis is politics of identity that is a dangerous nation.” Museveni said.
He warned the youth to avoid politics of identity, religion, and tribe because it undermines unity and development on the continent.
“Politics of identity, religion, tribe and others is not a good idea because as we always all aware that is how once a great and lucky country Sudan was destroyed. Here in Uganda we had politics of tribe and religion until we came in and say no and agreed to prioritize politics of interest,” Museveni emphasized.
President Museveni made the call at the closing ceremony of the four day Afro- Arab Youth Congress 2025 at the Common Wealth Resort Munyonyo where he was the Chief guest.
The 2025 Congress that attracted over 700 delegates from over 45 countries was celebrated under the theme: “Amplifying youth voices for peace, unity and prosperity.”
He noted that with Africa’s current population of 1.5 billion, projected to reach 2.5 billion in the next 30 years, young people must recognize their pivotal role in shaping the future.
The President emphasized that the future belongs to the Afro-Arab world and challenged the youth to adopt ideology-driven leadership.
“As young people, you belong to the future of the world and the most important group of the future is here in the Afro- Arab world, but we have been having problems because of management and that is why we started our movement in 1960’s because we had studied the problem,” he added
He stressed that while being youthful is a biological aspect, it’s the ideological principles that guide them that truly matter. In this regard, he recommended that the youth should embrace the ideologies of patriotism, self-love, love for one another, and love for Africa.
“As youth, you should stop the excitement of saying that you are young all the time because that is biology, but what is your ideology. Iam standing here in front of you, I was once young like you but I stood against neo-colonialism whereas I was young, I was patriotic and Ideologically oriented,” Museveni noted.
Kithure Kindiki, the Deputy President of Kenya said that the Afro-Arab is the beginning of transformation of Africa and the middle east.
“As young people, you don’t wait for opportunities but create them. Don’t be divided by history but be united and destined,” he said
Hellen Seku, the Commissioner of the National Secretariat for Patriotism Corps ( NSPC) also urged the young people that it is their responsibility to promote patriotism, Pan-Africanism, and actively participate in wealth creation initiatives.
She went ahead to urge them to contribute their efforts towards adding value to their nations, improving their lives and standards of living, and making a positive impact on their communities and the world at large.
The Afro-Arab youth Congress now in its second edition focused on dialogue, innovation and partnership aimed at addressing shared challenges and unlocking tye potential of young people from the two regions. President Yoweri Museveni has urged African and Arab nations to work towards establishing a common market, saying the absence of such an economic bloc continues to hinder progress and regional integration.
Additionally, Museveni commended the progress made by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) but expressed concern over challenges facing other regional bodies, including the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) and the Maghreb region, which has yet to form a unified market.
“If your focus is only on identity, how will you develop; by begging or what?” Museveni asked. “If you say you are going to develop but still fragment African markets and have separate ones, how will our business people succeed?” President Museveni asked, urging leaders to embrace integration as a cornerstone for economic independence and sustainable development among Afro-Arab nations.
