I am a digital immigrant who speaks the language of the natives

Mufuruki is a word used in Uganda, largely among the Bantu, to mean 'immigrant'. This word has become a household word largely due to its recent use by President Y.K. Museveni with reference to immigrants into Bunyoro land, mainly of Bakiga origin. I am told in Lango immigrants are referred to as “Obini” (‘Abini’ in singular).

If it were coined in Uganda today, the phrase "Digital Immigrants" would be "Digital Bafuruki" for Bantu and “Digital Obini” (for the Langi). I do qualify to be referred to as a 'digital Mufuruki' or “Digital Abini”- I am actually a typical one.

"Digital Bafuruki", according to some school of thought, are people who were born and bred in the pre-digital (non-digital) world and have since migrated to settle in the digital world. Unfortunately for these Bafuruki, their former country has been obliterated and however much they are tempted, they have no where to return to - they have to live in the current country, the digital world. The Bafuruki do definitely come with their language and with such a heavy accent that cannot be missed. For them to survive in this new country, they must learn and speak the language of the natives. This reminds me of a report in one of the Kampala Newspapers that President Museveni did advise the Bafuruki in Bunyoro to speak Lunyoro (and abandon their 'former' language?). I believe this advice is very good for the digital Bafuruki.

In any part of Uganda (and I believe other parts of the world) we know Bafuruki by their accent, among others. Likewise, digital Bafuruki are known by their typical accent. If you find the following examples of 'accent' familiar (either in your recent past life or actually current life) then you are probably a digital Mufuruki:

• Your secretary, son, daughter, grand child or younger colleague at work created for you your first e-mail address (and probably helped/helps you check your emails).
  
• You request for your e-mails to be printed (and you scribble your reply on paper for somebody to type or maybe you type it yourself once in a while).
  
• You are a university teacher and you insist on assignments, however small, submitted in hard copy rather than soft copy (even for a small class).
  
• You send an e-mail and follow it up with a phone call to confirm that it did arrive or you call to tell somebody you have received their e-mail and then go ahead to reply it.
  
• You get irritated by the amount of time your children 'waste' chatting on their phones. You cannot even pronounce iPod. "What is this craze about phones, facebook?" you wonder forgetting that these kids have never known the alternative - your country of origin. You are an immigrant to their digital world, just adapt and live there rather than attempt to change it to look like your former country. Sorry, even you yourself cannot go back to 'your country' - it does not exist anymore.
  
• You have never pressed Ctrl+X, Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V, Ctrl+T, Ctrl+S, etc on your computer keyboard. What do they mean anyway? Never mind if you cannot see a button on your keyboard labeled 'Ctrl+V'. You are a Mufuruki. Yes, your accent tells it all.
  
• You and your neighbour wondered why your 21-year-old son in second year in university wants 75,000/= to buy a 'stick'! Moreover he is not disabled and you do not expect a university student to be reduced to a herdsman. You wonder, "in primary school of my days teachers asked us to take brooms to school, these days in university they take sticks! Things have really changed”. Probably not. You have just migrated to a different world.
  
• When the young talk about Second Life, you either think they meant to talk about ‘Second Chance’ or they visited church recently and are talking about life after death.

Now, fellow Bafuruki, I encourage you to heed President Museveni's advice. Simply learn the language of the natives. I could bet that there are many Bakiga immigrants in Bunyoro (Bafuruki) who speak Lunyoro as well or even better than Banyoro. These guys have adapted. Likewise, there are Digital Bafuruki who have adapted well in this 'new land' of the digital natives and do even speak the language fluently. I consider myself in this category.

Considering the demographic structure of our population and the global trends, we have no choice but to plan for a digital-dominated life (current and future). We are actually late as a nation. As a learning process facilitator, standards regulator and budding entrepreneur, operating in the digital world, it is very urgent for me to forget my nonexistent country of birth (and early life) and learn to live in this 'new country'. I must therefore endeavour to continuously follow the cycle of learning, unlearning and relearning to avoid illiteracy in this age that is greatly dominated by the need for “information literacy”. The challenge is heavy upon some of us who are teachers. Today’s students would have loved to be treated differently than what we subject them to (endure). What should we do to arrive at a balance? How can a teacher, born and bred in the land of chalk and blackboard, overhead transparencies, paper-based application forms, no talking in class, be effective and efficient in his/her work in this digital world of Smart Boards, LCD projectors, online application forms, class chat rooms, etc?

Fellow Bafuruki teachers, we simply must change and move with the times. Let us adopt education technologies and integrate them into our teaching to enhance learning (for the natives) in this era. Did you know that a student could now carry their class room (and you the teacher and some of his classmates) to their bed or to the bathroom?

Corporate managers also ought to be aware of the habits of the current generation and create working environments complete with technologies that enhance performance of the digital natives. About 5 years ago, I was amazed at how Fred, a friend of mine who lives and works in London, was managing the affairs of his office from Kampala with a small gadget in the palm of his hand. Phew! Such is the working environment for a digital native.

Bafuruki, I do implore you to endeavor to include words such as these in your vocabulary and practice: e-mail, chat room, blog, wiki, e-portfolio, trading online, search engines, folksonomy, emoticons, social network sites e.g. Facebook, etc.

About the constitutionality of 'ring-fencing' of some positions in the digital world (for the natives), I have no immediate comment. In the meantime, I encourage the Digital Bafuruki to simply adapt and swiftly develop capacity for harmonious and productive coexistence with the Digital Natives – speaking their language (with their accent) is one of the requirements.

Digital Bufuruki must speak the language of the Digital Natives

Guus Hiddink for President

"Guus Hiddink for President" read a banner over 8 years ago when the Dutchman steered the South Korean Soccer team to a level they had not reached before in Soccer World Cup. Just yesterday, 30 May 2009, he helped Chelsea FC win the English FA Cup. I guess the Stamford Bridge fans would have loved to have him there for many more years but he has to go back to complete the business of preparing the Russian team for the 2010 World Cup. The players did express their wishes though but I am told the Dutchman loves to keep his word and the word so far is that he had come to fill in a void only up to the end of the season. He got a good send-off (see ESPN photo gallery). It would have been better if a one Ovrebo had not officiated in the Chelsea-Barca UEFA semi-final game at the Bridge - Guus would most likely be having two big trophies to his name by now: the English FA Cup and the UEFA Champion's League trophies.

My closest and best friend and I have this thing for the Dutch players, Dutch team and Dutch coaches so Guus Hiddink was not new to us when he showed up in the English Premiership. Just like the South Korean fans, we also thought he deserved a huge reward but maybe not with the Presidency of South Korea. We even followed him closely when he took the Australian Soccer team to World Cup 2006. You can already know that I will watch most, if not all, Russia's games in the 2010 World Cup just for one guy, Hiddink.

I am not yet an official soccer coach or tactician but I love Guus Hiddink's tactics - he knows how to identify and neutralise the opponents' point of strength (biggest weapon) while he unleashes his in the right amounts and at the right time. I believe that at least Pep Guardiola and Arsene Wenger can testify to this fact. One football commentator once observed (during the 2006 World Cup games) that most coaches find it very tough to play against a Hiddink-coached side. I thought he read my mind.

Well, he did not get the Presidency to South Korea and of course will not get the Presidency of Russia even if the fans express their wish (as the South Korean ones did) but let credit be given where it is due. Mr. Guss Hiddink deserves accolades.

World Veterinary Day 2009

The World Veterinary Day was instigated in 2000 and has been observed annually on the last Saturday of April. In Uganda, we celebrated it for the first time last year. This year's celebration was much better than last year's.

In Uganda we have decided to dedicate a whole week, dubbed 'The Vet Week', to activities organised in various parts of the country. These activities culminate into the World Vet Day.

Below are highlights of some of the activities we had in The Vet Week:

• Press conference.
  
• Cattle vaccination against CBPP.
  
• Symposium - seminars, demonstrations and discussions.
  
• A school programme.
  
• Mass treatment of animals in a community recovering from the effects of more than 20 years of war.
  
• Ministerial statement on World Veterinary Day.
  
• TV Talk Show on national television.
  
• Grand celebration graced by a government Minister. Participants included local leaders, NGOs, veterinarians, farmers, veterinary students, school children and the public. After the ceremony, the farmers and veterinarians were hosted to lunch by the Uganda Veterinary Association with support from SPRING project, an NGO based in Northern Uganda. Traditional dancers entertained guests at the ceremony grounds.

In order to run all these activities successfully, we had to harness synergies from various veterinary-related stakeholders to whom I am personally grateful.

Watch this space for further details.

I TAKE IT HEAD-ON

I offered myself; I asked for it and on 5th December 2008, the members of the Uganda Veterinary Association meeting in Primrose Hall, Imperial Royale Hotel in Kampala responded.

I offered to serve as President Uganda Veterinary Association 2008-2010. The members spoke loud and clear by giving me the majority of votes cast. The humble strategies I had shared with them are found in another blog.

I do take the challenge head-on and pledge maximum attention and efforts to the Veterinary profession causes. So help me God.

YES WE CAN

In his first speech to the public at Grand Park, Chicago, as the US President-elect, Mr. Barack Hussein Obama, made an affirmation to the nation and I believe to the rest of the world that 'Yes We Can'. He had earlier used it on 8 January 2008 in his remarks in New Hampshire Democratic Party Primary Night. This has become a common phrase, at least in the mailing lists I subscribe to and the circles I socialise in. The question is, are we just borrowing words to spice up our e-mail messages or simply using the phrase in our speech to sound relevant to the talk of the moment or are we also taking heed of the deep advice in there?

It is so easy to quote from an eloquent speech but it is another thing taking time to reflect on what message the speech sent / intended to send to the rest of us, the listeners or readers.

What does 'Yes We Can' mean to you and I? I am aware that some of the readers of this blog might not have been in Chicago at the time, nor are they US citizen but wherever you were and whichever country you belong to, those words have a message for you.

In an attempt to understand it, one may look at the words individually (reductionist approach), then collectively each time doing that in some context. To Obama, there is a context; to me or you, there are possibly others. What therefore do the words singly or collectively mean to me, you, Obama and all of us?

'Yes' is an expression of agreement; word of affirmation; a positive response; etc. 'We' could mean collective responsibility as it refers to the speaker and one or more people or even refers to people in general. 'Can' may be used to imply that the necessary ability, knowledge, money or equipment to accomplish a task or do something exist.

What do these words mean collectively? They possibly suggest the need for an agreement by all of us that we collectively have the capacity to accomplish tasks to cause the change we can believe in. The phrase may also be seen as a call for responsibility with our sight on the hope for a better future.

The other question is, do you think we can derive some message from the 'Yes We Can' phrase that applies / is relevant to our context? My response is, 'Yes We Can'. You are most welcome to make comments highlighting how these words apply in your context.

PRESIDENT-ELECT SENATOR BARACK OBAMA

Well, take it or leave it, history has been made. The first African American President has been elected in the US! I think what is special about it is that this is the first time it is happening and not quite because a black man has been elected to occupy the US white house for at least the next four years. I know anything is possible in this era so I am not surprised it happened! No, I'm not. I am simply happy that it first happened in my generation and that like Nelson Mandela, a white majority country has seen leadership qualities in a black man with lowly background. I also feel inspired and encouraged.

I strongly contemplated writing a congratulatory message to President-elect Obama (I am still nursing such thoughts). I took a deeper thought today morning about what the lines in such a letter would be. One of the paragraphs would be about abortion besides several others in reference to issues like not letting down the answered prayers of Martin Luther King Jr. and the likes.

It is common belief, at least in my circles, that US Democrats (members of the Democratic Party of USA) support abortion and it is a known fact that before Western influence, abortion was not a deliberate act in the African culture. Whenever it happened, it was attributed to influence of evil spirits invoked probably by witches and charms. Well, Obama is a Democrat and has African blood. By the way, if his father came from my (Lango) clan, Obama would be a member of my clan hence would be required to abide by all our cultural norms. The President elect is being watched closely for his next words and action on, among others, abortion, Iraq, Economy and Guantanamo Bay.

In my congratulatory message I would remind Mr. Barack Hussein Obama of the cultures and morals of his African fore fathers; the values of his African American fore fathers e.g. Martin Luther King Jr. I would do this with reference to the abortion question. By so doing I hopefully would prepare ground to request him not to support and encourage the killing (murder in cold blood) of innocent and peaceful human beings, an act 'nicknamed' abortion (to deliberately obscure the correct word 'murder').

Would he heed to this advice and go on record yet again as a US Democrat President who does (did) not support abortion? Or would he denounce the values of his fore fathers and be a spokesman for 'abortionists' (read murderers)? Let's wait and see what his reply to my request would (will) be.

By the way, talk about Presidents of African origin. It is not easy to access them hence my reluctance to send the congratulatory letter (print or e-mail). I wonder whether the US Presidents are different but I know that in many countries in Africa, such letters, especially those from hitherto 'unknown' individuals and furthermore with contents contrary to the ruling party's 'ideology', would not be seen by the President and if replied to at all, some lowly personal assistant would do that on the President's behalf. This reminds me of how it is alleged that one African President's Advisor, acting on behalf of his boss, wrote and quickly dispatched a congratulatory message to a President-elect of a neighbouring country who seemed to have, unfortunately, stolen votes. The rest of the Presidents in the neighbourhood, being very suspicious of the theft, did not send any message. To save face, the embarrassed President later disassociated himself from the message! Double embarrassment!

If I send the congratulatory message to Mr. Obama, I will do it myself and definitely not deny it and I will get you informed. I think it is time I sought your opinion. Should I or shouldn't I?

THE UNTAPPED POTENTIAL IN NSSF

A lot has been said in the Ugandan press about the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) lately especially focusing on the so-called 'Temangalo land deal' in which a cabinet Minister's family company sold land to the NSSF in a manner that is claimed not to have followed procurement guidelines. The press has placed so much focus on the 11 billion Uganda Shillings involved but very little on how to manage and invest the remaining trillions. The public discussion and press reports on the Temangalo deal do obscure the achievements so far made by NSSF. I find this very unfortunate. Also far remotely relegated and obscured is public debate on complementary methods of how to harness the opportunity presented by the millions of Dollars in NSSF’s coffers for hitherto unattempted national development-oriented ventures. I did send this article to two leading dailies in Uganda but I have fears that it may also not find favour in Newspaper Editors’ eyes. Thank God for personal blogs.

I do propose just one of several complementary methods of investing NSSF funds for the benefit of a wider range of Ugandans and subsequently national development.

We have lately seen a great demand (by Uganda and her citizen) for tertiary education even amidst the rising cost of tertiary education. The rise in demand is indicated by the number of applications for enrollment into universities and other institutions of higher learning including purely private tertiary institutions that are not directly subsidised by government. We have also heard the cry by many universities especially government-owned ones for the need to raise tuition to meet, at the very least, the cost of training requirements for the various courses they offer.

I also believe that it is government’s desire to train its citizen (especially at university level) and attain a critical mass of professionals. The demand for training is therefore very high, actually beyond what the existing institutions can meet. Sadly, some of the Ugandans do not get access to tertiary institutions not because of poor grades but because of their inability to afford tuition costs. This is especially true for children from the poverty-stricken and war-ravaged areas of the country.

As it is now, the NSSF situation could be described by two contrasting words at the same time: comedy and tragedy. One of the amazing comedies is that there are probably individuals who have some savings with NSSF and yet have failed or are struggling to support their biological children in university. The tragedy is that such a cycle will continue unbroken for many unless a deliberate supportive intervention is made.

While the above scenarios are playing out, there is some huge sum of money being accumulated and invested in various ways except in national human resource development. I am told that one of the factors that led to the rise of Singapore from the level of a third world country to a developed country status in 25 years is a deliberate strategic investment in human resource development. Uganda ought to learn from its ‘buddy’ of the 1960s and invest in the development of its human resource.

So on the one hand there exists the need to develop human resource and the motivation of Ugandans to acquire skills amidst inability to pay for the training, and on the other there is a growing pool of largely stable and possibly perennial fund in NSSF that ought to be partly profitably invested in national human resource development. This does not deny the fact that part of the funds is currently held in various profitable investment portfolios. Kudos to Mr. David Jamwa and his team.

Where therefore do the human resource development needs for the nation and its citizen and the presumably vast amounts of money available in NSSF and the latter’s need to invest the money meet?

I, deliberately and boldly, propose that the NSSF Management and Board considers the establishment of a well-controlled and targeted university (tertiary institution) education loan fund as one of the ways of profitably investing the NSSF fund. The benefits of such a scheme are several including, for example, human resource development for the nation (with a hopefully significant positive impact on the economy); profits for NSSF (higher interest to the fund owners – the workers); skills empowerment of a section of Ugandans who would otherwise have not accessed higher education training; a sense of responsibility inculcated in the beneficiaries of the scheme; an increased pool of job creators.

I am told that in many developed countries every willing citizen will not fail to go to university because of lack of funds. Their governments provide loans to support those who cannot afford to pay from their (family) savings. In Uganda, we may not have the capacity to do it as a government - so I think - but looking for synergies in the private sector is probably the way to go. NSSF is a potential candidate worth wooing into this noble cause.

With the little exposure I have had through my voluntary activities with a bursary scheme, with my few years of work experience in higher education and a few years’ experience with of a profitable Savings and Credit Cooperative (SACCO) whose profits are mainly earned through loans, I am convinced that such a scheme can be manageable and will accrue enormous benefits for NSSF and the nation and her citizen.

There is no space for details of such a project to be discussed here. Besides, there are still several begging questions. However I guess that establishment of such a scheme might call for some legal and policy paper work involving a few Government Ministries / departments, NSSF, the universities and possibly other players in the private sector. I am confident though that if this is driven by the willing heart of government, these processes would not take ‘donkey’ years.

It would also call for appropriate human resource capacity adjustments in NSSF and implemented in a piece-meal phased-out approach. An affirmative action and quota system would be an important consideration in the initial 3 to 5 years. Not because I am from a war-ravaged area but because I know the extent of need (amidst tremendous potential) in the region, I would propose a gender-sensitive affirmative action in favour of the war-affected areas of West Nile, Northern, Eastern and some parts of Western Regions of Uganda.

For God and my country.