Role of East African Revival Movement in building national ethos

______________________

OPINION

Prof. Augustus Nuwagaba

I am not sure how many Ugandans are knowledgeable about what we know as the East African Revival. This is a movement of Balokole (search for Salvation) which started in Gahini in Rwanda, swept through Kigezi, Ankole and Buganda regions with a boiling point in Rugarama, Kabale district. Prominent names in this Revival Movement include, among others;

1) Kosiya Nkundiye, Kyamuhangire, 2) Joe Church from Namirembe, 3) Simeon and Eva Bakuluba Nsibambi (Parents to our former Prime Minister Apollo Nsibambi). 4) Kezekiya Kakiyangye, 5) Rev. Canon. Daniel Kiregyera (father to Prof Ben Kiregyera), 6) Blasio Kigozi, 7) Bishop Festo and Merab Kivengyere (evangelists who put Kigezi and Uganda on the Global stage), 8) Abraham Zaribugyire, 9) Musa Zaramba, 10) John Wilson Mutebile (father to Late Prof. Emmanuel Tumusiime Mutebire), 11) Zabron Kabaza, 12) Charles Kakira, 13) Yeremiya Kagyendagura and Samwiri Katuguugu (father to Major General Jim Muhwezi).

The Revival Movement emphasised three major aspects, namely:

• Spiritual food: This was the primary motive of the revival movement, and it focused on spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour. This was extremely important in cultivating morality, integrity, humanism and salvation as the ultimate goal of a Christian. It was this spiritual stance that was instrumental in building souls with not only a moral fibre but also imparted among the people a value system that has persisted from generation to generation.
  
  This spiritual focus was responsible for generating a society that abhors corruption, immorality and all sorts of human vices that are usually rampant in many societies.
  
  However, as time went on, the fruits of the Revival have slowly faded with the resumption of all vices that the revival movement was against, including but not limited to: child sacrifice, sexual perversion, murders, corruption and greed, which have penetrated society to the marrow.
  
  
• Education: Another major tenet of the Revival Movement was the pursuit of cognitive, psychomotor and affective education. Here, focus was on schools, built on Christian values of integrity, high moral standards and the pursuit of doing good in our communities. It is because of such education that Uganda has enjoyed high-calibre professionals such as Canon John Bikanyaga, Prof. Apollo Nsibambi, Dr Ezra Suruma, Prof. Emmanuel Tumusiime Mutebile, Prof. Ben Kiregyera, Prof Mondo Kagonyera, Prof Augustus Nuwagaba, Canon Henry & Kedress Turayagenda, Dr Sam Zaramba, Mr James Tumusiime (Igongo Cultural Centre), to mention but a few.
  
  When you assess the track record of these people, one realises one basic virtue: high ethical standards in their professional conduct and recognition of doing good as the essence of purposeful living. I have had close conversations with these people, and one common thread is the revelation of a nation that has a moral fabric where people no longer care about public good in-service delivery. They all lament the current situation where public interest seems to have been sacrificed at the altar of greed and personal aggrandisement. It is extremely unfortunate that someone is given the responsibility to run a public office and his/her only focus is personal enrichment.
  
  This issue has become institutionalised as revealed by statements like: “Look at him, he has been in such and such office for 10 years. What has he got from there?” The implication is that having been entrusted by a public office simply means that you have been given a license for “looting” and that you must justify your duration of service in a public office by the amount of “loot” from that office. This is extremely sad!.
  
  Instead of asking for accountability in terms of service delivery and positive change in people’s lives, people expect one to enrich him/herself. Why? Because stealing public resources has become the norm.
  
  We thank President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni and the NRM government for having put in place institutions of the State with the mandate to fight corruption, and this is commendable. It is instructive that both the government and Society realise their different roles in fighting corruption and similar vices.
  
  
• Health: The Revival Movement also concentrated on the provision of health services. It was realised that while education was an effective tool for improving the capacity of a human being, they also recognised that “a healthy mind lives in a healthy body”. It is from this premise that a tri-institutional focus was adopted on each station of the Revival, namely: 1) Church, 2) School and 3) Health facility. This approach defined the entire modus operaudi for the Revival movement since the 1930s.
  
  Therefore, throughout the Revival period, there was not only spiritual growth, but also economic and social development, which all constitute the concept of “holistic human development”. The education under the Revival focused on three dimensions of education, namely:

1. Cognitive- Provision of information
2. Psychomotor- the science of doing
3. Affective-morality, ethics, standards and upholding value systems.
   
   

It is through such education that highly qualified but also ethical professionals are delivered. Why is this type of education important? Economic development largely emanates from teaching and training technical professionals such as Engineers, Artisans, scientists and other technical persons. On Health, as children of the Revival, we were told that “cleanliness is next to Godliness” and that health is the greatest resource of a human being. Every school day began with spiritual nourishment with piercing biblical teachings, including: John 3:16, 2 Cor 5:17, 2 Cor 9:6, Psalms 37:1-4, 1 Peter 5:7, Isaiah 54:17 and 1 Cor 15:58, among others.

Our (Prof. Nuwagaba’s Family) favorite is Psalm 37:1-4 “do not freet because of evil men, nor be envious of those who do wrong, like green grass, they will weather, like morning dew they will dry away, trust in the Lord and good, dwell in the law and enjoy the good pasture, delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.’’

For us, as children of Revival, we have grown in this environment of holistic human development of a person, where salvation and doing good are the tenets of worthwhile living. It is this heritage that has made us who we are, and we believe that this heritage is the most valuable treasure that any human being with purposeful living should pursue. I here reclaim that Kigezi is a land of revival, and it will remain so.

The writer is the Deputy Governor, Bank of Uganda

Email. anuwagaba@bou.or.ug

Tel: +256772402609