Bobi Wine needs a bit of polishing, regardless of his intentions

By Fortunate Ahimbisibwe

I wrote weeks ago that Bobi Wine can be President, that hasnt changed. He is charismatic, well intentioned and raises credible issues. But he needs to prepare himself and this comes with alot of hard work, strategy and who he associates with.

After watching his appearances on Shaka Ssali’s VoA, Al Jazera and that famous international Press Conference, I felt that he needed to up his game. He should do better to meet the standards of the platform that he has been given. That will attract him to potential funders, supporters and the much hyped middle class of Uganda.

Here are my observations.

1. Bobi Wine has a message that resonates with majority of the youth that feel left out of the NRM economic transformation. They feel he can initiate projects that will impact ordinary people’s lives.

2. Bobi Wine needs to read more about the country’s current status and what needs to be done to propel ourselves into what Jjaja called ‘midro income status.’ He didn’t seem to be well grounded about the country’s state of economy which anyone seeking to be President should be knowledgeable about.

3. Bobi Wine has the goodwill of the young people who are the majority of the population. He must use this more to his advantage by providing concrete policy alternatives that will make a difference in case he was ever to be President. Otherwise, the same people will turn against him in due time.

4. Unlike M7 who said he doesn’t need PR, Bobi Wine needs an experienced PR team and speech writing experts to coach him and prepare him for national leadership and appearances on high profile platforms.

5. Bobi Wine has time on his side, he must not use all his energy before the electoral season, like the proverbial antelope which danced itself lame before the day of the ceremony. He needs to form some sort of structure that guides, advises and presents the political agenda. I guess he didnt get enough time to do this since his popularity shot up suddenly.

6. To remove NRM from power, the opposition has no choice but to come together and form an alliance, every member of the opposition has something important to offer in the struggle against NRM.

7. The country is ripe for change but Bobi Wine or anyone else cant do it alone. He needs all the anti M7 forces either around him as as a chief mobiliser for the venture.
8. NRM has been caught of guard and there messages against Bobi Wine are full of hatred, perverted truths and violence. However, this wont sway the support that he enjoys. Opposition are not enemies, they are legitimate competition that should be respected.
9. Museveni’s attempt to conveniently ignore a discussion about succession is inconsistent with human nature and political activity and this uncertainty is working in the opposition because the country feels that M7 wants to be President forever.

Finally, Muntu needs to make his intentions known. He seems to be smiling at himself in the dark.