Dear Caleb,
Thank you for inviting us to respond to this very important subject regarding
the institution of Agofe among the Lugbara. Unfortunately, I seem not to have
read the articles by my elder brothers Mr. Acema and Hon. Dr. Okuonzi or if I
did, I never paid much attention to them to be able to respond to the specific
arguments they have made. I will therefore limit my response to their two
claims that you have alluded to, namely: 1) that those seeking Agofe are self
seekers, 2) that the Lugbara were egalitarian and believed in equality.
In the first place the claim that those seeking Agofe are self seekers without
providing sufficient evidence is disrespectful to people like Mzee Jason Avutia
(Chairman, Lugbara Elders' Association) who played crucial role in averting a
potentially serious armed conflict between National Resistance Army (NRA) and
the soldiers who had retreated to West Nile and regrouped to resist the NRA
under the leadership of Brigadier Go Wilson Toko. The soldiers were itching to
fight but when Toko convened a meeting with the elders from Arua District to
seek their approval and blessing a war against the advancing NRA, they insisted
that war was not the best option. Instead the elders offered to go to the front
line with white flags to negotiate a peaceful entry of NRA into West Nile. As a
result NRA entered West Nile without a single bullet which saved us from
bloodshed and destruction of property. Had the elders not intervened and had
Toko not listened
to their wise counsel, our situation would have been worst than the suffering
that the people of Gulu have endured for decades.
It was against such a background that the need for a more structured cultural
institution among Lugbara elders arose to facilitate coordination and
mobilization to respond to common challenges and threats. It is important to
appreciate the historical context in which Agofe evolved to constructively
discuss its merits and demerits. This is not to say that there can be no self
seekers in such an organization. Definitely like any organization there will
always be some individuals who would want to take advantage of such an
institution to advance their selfish interests at the expense of a common good.
With time such self seekers and their selfish schemes will be exposed. In my
view, the question should be how we as young people can build on what the
elders have done but not to tear it down for equally selfish reasons. We should
be discussing how we can make the Agofe more democratic, transparent, and all
inclusive. The constitution of Uganda
recognizes cultural institutions as legitimate institutions to play
complementary roles in promoting unity and service delivery. The Agofe can play
an important role in resolving conflicts and fostering unity, preserving our
institution memory through artifacts, promoting our cultural identity,
promoting tourism, developing language etc.
While I agree with Acema and Okuonzi that the Lugbara were generally viewed as
an egalitarian society by the dawn of colonialism, I do not subscribe to the
notion that social formation among the Lugbara communities was static and the
institutions of leadership would not have grown beyond clans. In fact to the
contrary, colonialism came in as a disruption to state formation among
communities of West Nile as Ahluwalia (1995) and Leopold (2005) accurately
describe in their books entitled "Plantation and the Politics of Sugar in
Uganda" and "Inside West Nile" respectively which I encourage those interested
in the history of our people to read. Copies of these books can be found in
Aristock Bookshop in Kampala. Our challenge is that we have a poor reading
culture which limits our ability to objectively examine documentary evidence to
make plausible arguments.
I would like to conclude by suggesting that the executive of this forum should
consider organizing an event in form of a workshop or a conference in which
people with strong views about the notion of Agofe can be invited to present
alternative views based on research evidence. I would be willing to offer my
own perspective to the discussions.
Thanks.
Sam
Subject: [WestNileNet] Do the Lugbara need a traditional Chief
Some time ago, Ambassador Achema Harold, opined in one of the dailies that
those seeking Agofe are self seekers, that the Lugbara were egalitarian and
believed in equality. Hon Dr. Okuonzi MP Vura rebutted the same, and supported
the idea, it is not the most pressing issue we have, Sam Andema and father
Ruffino and others what is your take on this matter.
Sent from my iPhone
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