THE RIGHT ATTITUDE OF WEALTH-CREATION

By Robert Bake Tumuhaise

When it comes to earning, saving and growing money, many people think of factors such as hard work, assets, investment, e.t.c, but forget attitude. Well, in my thinking, attitude controls almost everything we do; it determines whether we do it well or poorly. If your attitude is wrong, you will most probably not succeed at anything.

What’s your attitude towards manual work? Some people have failed to succeed because they underestimate certain kinds of work that require physical energy. You want to grow wealthy, don’t fear sweat.

What’s your attitude towards the wealth? Some people think money is evil and so they don’t put in enough efforts to attract it. Others consider it too good that they almost worship it as a god. For some people, every rich person they see around is either corrupt or a thief, a killer or a devil-worshipper. If you have such a faulty attitude, you cannot be motivated enough to work hard and get rich.

What’s your attitude towards saving? Are you willing to make sacrifices and postpone gratification so as to save and invest for the future? There are people who foolishly break their financial muscle by shopping from expensive places and spend all they have other than be seen buying cheap items.

What’s your attitude towards learning? Some people believe they completed education the moment they stepped out of school. How mistaken they are! Many of such people have had their potential locked by their deliberate refusal to open their minds to new ideas. Wealth results from ideas and so if our minds cannot generate new ideas, we should forget about becoming wealthy. The same old recycled traditional ideas can no longer work in the 21^st century.

What’s your attitude towards people? People are part of the units of the chain that links us to our destiny, not a ladder to step on as we climb towards our destiny. A chain is something you can hold onto while a ladder is something you step on. If you’ve been stepping on people’s egos in the process of making money, think twice. You might not enjoy your wealth when you have people around cursing instead of celebrating with you.

What’s your attitude towards challenges? Many people will always look for someone else to blame for their problems instead of taking responsibility to deal with them. Well, my seven years in business have helped me discover that business is about solving problems. If you can solve a problem that society has, you have a reason to charge money. In simple terms, challenges are a business opportunity. If you develop a problem-solving attitude, then you have a sure source of money because you will not only solve your own problems, but the problems of others as well.

Allow me introduce to you two people who have seriously impacted Africa by discovering how to solve problems and are now on their way to becoming billionaires. We shall have an opportunity to listen to them at the coming AUTHORS’ FORUM – THE GATHERING OF 400 SUCCESS MINDS, dabbed ‘LEADING FROM YOUR STRENGTHS’, which will be happening in Kampala, on Wednesday 6^th November, from 5:30pm to 8:30pm, at the National Theatre.

On that day, the first guest is IAN ORTEGA, a 21-year old enterpreneur who has broken records and is shaking the East African markets using his E-marketing skills. He is the brain behind BigEye.ug, Uganda’s most visited website. He is an author of 2 e-books ‘GROWING YOURSELF TO MONEY, TIME AND, FREEDOM’ and ‘THE VIRGIN OF ONLINE BUSINESS’, and his ‘Ortega Group of Companies’ now co-owns BigEye Group, the Joashian Group and the Frian Group. In a live Celeb Interview moderated by SIMON KASYATE, Ortega will challenge us to identify one area where we are good and use it to solve other people’s problems and it becomes a business. "Entrepreneurship is that point where passion and profit intersect…I get paid for being me,” remarks Ortega.

There will be many more exciting and inspiring activities before the event climaxes with an electrifying presentation from ANTHONY GITONGA, a celebrating Kenyan business consultant, certified leadership coach and bestselling author, of books like ‘MADE FOR GREATNESS’, ‘FOUR LEVELS OF LEARNING’ and ‘PATHWAY TO PURPOSE’ (NB: All his 5 books will be on sale at a discount on that day). Anthony’s research indicates that many Africans spend much time trying to fix weaknesses, forgetting all about their strengths, yet nobody has ever reached greatness by only fixing their weaknesses, but rather by tapping into their strengths. His presentation will give us the key to unlock our strengths and begin leading in our various areas of competence.

This event is open to the public as long as one has secured an entry ticket, which goes for 20,000 UGX only. We have limited space, only 400 seats, and more than ¾ have already been booked. So if you want to be part of this historical event, call us on 0700487768 / 0774107287 / 0414691595 and your ticket will be delivered to you NOW at no extra cost. Alternatively, you can come and buy your ticket at WORLD OF INSPIRATION (Luwum Street, MM Plaza T33); we are always open from 9am to 9pm, Monday to Saturday.

Don’t forget to forward this invitation to all the people you care about because this might be their long-awaited turning point for which you will take credit.

So colleagues, let’s meet there and get inspired.

Making Excellence my Habit!

THE RIGHT ATTITUDE OF WEALTH-CREATION

By Robert Bake Tumuhaise

When it comes to earning, saving and growing money, many people think of factors such as hard work, assets, investment, e.t.c, but forget attitude. Well, in my thinking, attitude controls almost everything we do; it determines whether we do it well or poorly. If your attitude is wrong, you will most probably not succeed at anything.

What’s your attitude towards manual work? Some people have failed to succeed because they underestimate certain kinds of work that require physical energy. You want to grow wealthy, don’t fear sweat.

What’s your attitude towards the wealth? Some people think money is evil and so they don’t put in enough efforts to attract it. Others consider it too good that they almost worship it as a god. For some people, every rich person they see around is either corrupt or a thief, a killer or a devil-worshipper. If you have such a faulty attitude, you cannot be motivated enough to work hard and get rich.

What’s your attitude towards saving? Are you willing to make sacrifices and postpone gratification so as to save and invest for the future? There are people who foolishly break their financial muscle by shopping from expensive places and spend all they have other than be seen buying cheap items.

What’s your attitude towards learning? Some people believe they completed education the moment they stepped out of school. How mistaken they are! Many of such people have had their potential locked by their deliberate refusal to open their minds to new ideas. Wealth results from ideas and so if our minds cannot generate new ideas, we should forget about becoming wealthy. The same old recycled traditional ideas can no longer work in the 21^st century.

What’s your attitude towards people? People are part of the units of the chain that links us to our destiny, not a ladder to step on as we climb towards our destiny. A chain is something you can hold onto while a ladder is something you step on. If you’ve been stepping on people’s egos in the process of making money, think twice. You might not enjoy your wealth when you have people around cursing instead of celebrating with you.

What’s your attitude towards challenges? Many people will always look for someone else to blame for their problems instead of taking responsibility to deal with them. Well, my seven years in business have helped me discover that business is about solving problems. If you can solve a problem that society has, you have a reason to charge money. In simple terms, challenges are a business opportunity. If you develop a problem-solving attitude, then you have a sure source of money because you will not only solve your own problems, but the problems of others as well.

Allow me introduce to you two people who have seriously impacted Africa by discovering how to solve problems and are now on their way to becoming billionaires. We shall have an opportunity to listen to them at the coming AUTHORS’ FORUM – THE GATHERING OF 400 SUCCESS MINDS, dabbed ‘LEADING FROM YOUR STRENGTHS’, which will be happening in Kampala, on Wednesday 6^th November, from 5:30pm to 8:30pm, at the National Theatre.

On that day, the first guest is IAN ORTEGA, a 21-year old enterpreneur who has broken records and is shaking the East African markets using his E-marketing skills. He is the brain behind BigEye.ug, Uganda’s most visited website. He is an author of 2 e-books ‘GROWING YOURSELF TO MONEY, TIME AND, FREEDOM’ and ‘THE VIRGIN OF ONLINE BUSINESS’, and his ‘Ortega Group of Companies’ now co-owns BigEye Group, the Joashian Group and the Frian Group. In a live Celeb Interview moderated by SIMON KASYATE, Ortega will challenge us to identify one area where we are good and use it to solve other people’s problems and it becomes a business. "Entrepreneurship is that point where passion and profit intersect…I get paid for being me,” remarks Ortega.

There will be many more exciting and inspiring activities before the event climaxes with an electrifying presentation from ANTHONY GITONGA, a celebrating Kenyan business consultant, certified leadership coach and bestselling author, of books like ‘MADE FOR GREATNESS’, ‘FOUR LEVELS OF LEARNING’ and ‘PATHWAY TO PURPOSE’ (NB: All his 5 books will be on sale at a discount on that day). Anthony’s research indicates that many Africans spend much time trying to fix weaknesses, forgetting all about their strengths, yet nobody has ever reached greatness by only fixing their weaknesses, but rather by tapping into their strengths. His presentation will give us the key to unlock our strengths and begin leading in our various areas of competence.

This event is open to the public as long as one has secured an entry ticket, which goes for 20,000 UGX only. We have limited space, only 400 seats, and more than ¾ have already been booked. So if you want to be part of this historical event, call us on 0700487768 / 0774107287 / 0414691595 and your ticket will be delivered to you NOW at no extra cost. Alternatively, you can come and buy your ticket at WORLD OF INSPIRATION (Luwum Street, MM Plaza T33); we are always open from 9am to 9pm, Monday to Saturday.

Don’t forget to forward this invitation to all the people you care about because this might be their long-awaited turning point for which you will take credit.

So colleagues, let’s meet there and get inspired.

Making Excellence my Habit!

INSPIRATIONAL LESSONS FROM MY BIRTHDAY

Robert Bake Tumuhaise

Earlier this week I celebrated my birthday. Normally I’m not the kind that puts a lot of thought and time into such days, but this time round I choose to do it in style because it hit me that I was making 33 years, which is the age at which Jesus saved the whole world.

Jesus’ example reminded me us that we do not necessarily need so much time to accomplish great things in this world. If in 33 years he was able to start a revolution that would change the face of the earth as we can still see more than 200 years later, why would I have to wait till retirement before I can do great things? For me it’s either now or never; I don’t know about you.

I recall how a certain friend tried to discourage me from pursuing a writing career at 25 because he thought I was too young to write what would sell. Well, I disobeyed his advice and started publishing my works. Recently when we met, we discovered that I have been able to earn from one decade of writing more than he has earned from his 2 decades of employment. No one should ever underestimate you based on your age. A serious child in primary school can do what an unserious PhD-holder has failed to do.

This same idea applies in the realm of finances as well. Age should not be a limitation when it comes to earning money because no one can be too young or too old to get rich. At any age, once someone applies the right principles of earning, saving and growing money, they will get rich.

We all know that no one can get rich without earning. So the first step to wealth creation is to try and earn as much as we can. You could be the youngest employee yet be the highest paid if you refine your skills and prove that you are more valuable than other employees in your organization. If you are in business, you can increase your income by doing better market research, improving the quality of your products, offering better customer care, employing better marketing strategies and so on. All this has nothing to do with age.

If you want to grow in wealth, after earning, the next step is saving that money so that it is not lost. And saving can be done by anyone, irrespective of their age. Even a child can save. In fact if you give your child money to go and buy two cakes and he/she doesn’t choose to buy one and save the balance begin from that point to teach him/her the importance of saving because if you don’t, know that even in future when as an adult he/she earns millions he/she might still not have enough courage to save.

And after saving, we should remember not to keep the money under our pillows but rather to invest it so that it can multiply. Just like sowing where one has to sacrifice seed and put it into the soil to die, investment also involves postponing and sometimes totally sacrificing some gratification for a future harvest. You cannot eat your seeds and expect a harvest. Likewise you cannot spend all your money and expect to become rich. It has to be planted into fertile soils of investments.

Finally, my birthday reminded me that I am not on this planet for eternity and so I should avoid pushing to tomorrow what I can do today. Jesus did not wait to first become 50 years old to start his mission. I laugh at people who wait to first retire at 60 before they can begin pursuing their passions and purpose in life.

I am very pleased to introduce to you a 21-year old Ugandan enterpreneur who has broken records by thrusting himself into the world of business and positioning himself as a business leader. Despite his age and also being a student, IAN ORTEGA, has gone ahead to create his own business empire using his strong networking and E-marketing skills. He networks with the shows and whos in this country – the likes of Sudhir, Bitature, Andrew Mwenda, and so on. What brings him on the same table with them is because he has discovered his strong points and knows how maximize them.

At a recent event that I co-facilitated with Ian at Makerere University, he made this remarkable statement: "Entrepreneurship is that point where passion and profit intersect. If you do what you don't like for money, then you've gotten yourself a headache; if you do what you like but it gives you no money, then you've gotten yourself a hobby, not a business. People pay me to send emails. People pay me to search the internet. People pay me to write. Basically, I get paid for being me..." At the next AUTHORS’ FORUM themed ‘LEADING FROM YOUR STRENGTH’, Ian will feature in the Celeb Interview and will challenge and inspire us to utilize our strengths and become leaders NOW.

To crown it all we shall have a celebrated Kenyan leadership coach, business consultant and bestselling author, ANTHONY GITONGA, making an inspirational presentation based on the day’s theme. Do you spend your waking moments trying to fix your weaknesses, forgeting all about your strengths? Anthony is going to tell you why nobody ever reached greatness by fixing weaknesses. We have to look for our strengths and maximize them.

Anthony has travelled all over Africa empowering leaders and in fact he was here recently inspiring CEOs at the Serena. I have personally interacted with him and read 2 of his books, ‘MADE FOR GREATNESS’ and ‘FOR THIS CAUSE’ and I must say it is a very rare opportunity to have an evening with such a transformational man.

The event we are talking about is the AUTHORS’ FORUM, THE GATHERING OF 400 SUCCESS MINDS, which will be happening at the National Theatre on Wednesday 6th Nov, starting 5:30pm. Tickets are being sold at 20,000 UGX and we just have a few left. To secure your ticket, the numbers to call are 0774107287 / 0414691595. And for those who come to WORLD OF INSPIRATION (Luwum Street, MM Plaza T33) today, you can buy 2 tickets and get the 3rd
FREE.

Embrace the fact that if you spend your life trying to be good at everything, you will never be good at anything. Discover your strengths and use them to achieve your desired success.

Making Excellence my Habit!

YOU CAN MAKE MONEY ANYWHERE

By Robert Bake Tumuhaise

There are so many beliefs that people have in their minds surrounding money. One of them is that to earn big you have to migrate and go to another place. There is some truth because when you are in place where people do not know you, you can do anything for money, including the jobs that others underlook. But then, many people who keep looking for ‘greener pastures’ far away end up missing the ‘pastures’ around them.

Have you ever wondered why in Africa polygamy is common among men but rare amongst women? I believe it’s because men are visually stimulated more than women and so our minds keep deceiving us that there is something better elsewhere than what we are finding in our wives. Thus, many men get tempted to explore the ‘outside world’ for love, only to end in frustration.

This mindset of wanting to try the outside world is worse in the territory of work and the search for financial freedom. There are so many Africans who believe they cannot become rich from their countries, and so, for years, they’ve been struggling to leave for better jobs abroad. They have already made up their minds – they are going to die poor unless they leave the country.

"Bake, for the last 10 years I’ve been chasing a UK Visa in vain. I have prayed and fasted but God has forsaken me,” one of my friends lamented. Instead of asking God to give him wisdom to see opportunities around him, he was busy cursing him for denying him the opportunity to travel to his dreamland. What a crippling mindset!

I’ve met many friends who have been denied visas to the Western countries walking as if the whole world has collapsed over their heads. Despite the existence of so many opportunities in their country, their eyes are so blurred by that wrong thinking that those opportunities keep passing them by unnoticed. They have no time to focus on the resources they have within and around them that can be utilized to earn big money.

But how many of the rich people in this country really got their money from abroad? Isn’t it funny how Ugandans are struggling to leave a country that foreigners are struggling to enter? While we dream of going to Asia to make money, hundreds of Asians are entering East Africa and are prospering. And how many Ugandans have returned from America or the UK without even enough dime for their ticket back? Some have even found themselves doing prostitution and other odd jobs that slash their dignity to pieces.

It’s sad that some of our people have postponed living and are languishing in self-created limbo, waiting to start enjoying life when their dream of going to other places with better opportunities comes true. Truth be told; a success-minded person will always succeed from anywhere, including Uganda. Someone with a prosperity mindset will create wealth from anywhere and any situation while one with a poverty mindset cannot make big money no matter where they go.

I remember reading about a man who was once a millionaire in America. All his factories were destroyed during war and he fled to another country as a refugee. But within two years he was a millionaire again! His wealth was in his mind, not in any place. If you do the right thing, wherever you are, success will always find you there. I have no doubt that I am going to become a millionaire and a billionaire without leaving my country.

For those of you, who like me, are determined to prosper in Uganda, I want to recommend 4 things:

1.    First is that you buy the DVD entitled ‘UNVEILING INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES IN UGADA’ which we covered at the last AUTHORS’ FORUM. There is no one that has ever explained to me the opportunities we have for making money in Uganda better than the guests we hosted on that day, Stephen Asiimwe (Managing Director, East African Business Week) and Dr. Gudula Basaza (Chairperson, Uganda Women Enterpreneurs Association). A copy of the DVD costs 15,000 UGX, including delivery for those in Kampala. All you need to do is call Winnie on 0774107287 or Leah on 0700487768.

2.    The second thing is that you get hold of my unique inspirational novel entitled ‘TEARS OF MY MOTHER; The Success Story of Nyamishana, the First Female President of Uganda’. This book that has been described both locally and internationally as unputdownable will inspire you to be the kind of person who sees opportunities anywhere and in anything. It will make you unstoppable in your search for your greatest greatness. A copy goes for 20,000 UGX. Again call the numbers above to order your copy.

3.    The third thing is for you to call the same numbers and buy your ticket to the 6th Nov AUTHORS’ FORUM at 20,000 UGX where we shall host in the celeb interview a 22-year old student Ian Ortega who is now owning a group of companies and is employing CEOs. Ortega has challenged me and I know he will challenge you too. The day will be crowned with an electrifying talk by Antony Gitonga, a top Kenyan business consultant, life coach and bestselling author of books like ‘MADE FOR GREATNESS’, who has spoken to and made CEOs all over Africa. The event will happen at the National Theatre starting 5:30pm.

4.    The forth and last thing is for you to forward this message to all your friends, enemies, relatives, colleagues, neighbors and everyone whose contact you have. This may give them something to forever thank you for.

Stay inspired and blessed.

TIME FOR UGANDANS TO PROSPER!

By Robert Bake Tumuhaise

In 1908, Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill, one of the most respected British intellectuals, adventurer, warlord, traveler, artist, politician, sportsman, orator, literature Nobel Prize winner, statesman and prime-minister declared Uganda ‘The Pearl of Africa’. But one hundred years later, 7 million Ugandans are still languishing in abject poverty. One hundred years later, 26 mothers still die during labour everyday. One hundred years later, 80,000 kids continue to die of preventable and treatable diseases every year. One hundred years later, Uganda is still being ranked among the top alcohol-consuming countries in the world. One hundred years later, ‘The Pearl of Africa’ is still inhabited by one of the poorest populations in the world.

As expected, some leaders have continued to hang our problems on the necks of the colonialists who left Africa 50 years ago. But what do the colonialists really have to do with the foolishness of a Ugandan man who boozes away his entire salary? What do the colonialists have to do with the wickedness of a Ugandan woman who sells her own child for a ritual murder? What do the colonialists have to do with Female Genital Mutilation that is still degrading the dignity of the woman somewhere in some hidden corners of this country? Is it the Whiteman who taught us to consume more than we save and invest? Is it the Whiteman who taught us to wake up late and work for 6 hours a day while claiming to compete with the Chinese who work three times longer? It’s sad that some of our very own leaders have taught us to always find someone else to blame for our problems instead of bearing responsibility ourselves and taking charge of our destiny.

Isn’t it ironical that the same leaders who have taught us to blame the colonialists for our problems have also taught us to wait upon the same colonial masters for solutions in form of foreign aid? But like you will read in ‘TEARS OF MY MOTHER’, relying on foreign aid is like wishing to remain chained in golden handcuffs because you admire the gold. I still believe with Churchill and many of you here present that Uganda is still the Pearl of Africa. And that we have all the resources we need to develop holistically. Like I say in this book, if Jesus, the Son of God, while in Egypt, drank our Ugandan water from the Nile, how can we fail to achieve prosperity? This evening we have come here to demonstrate that Africans can have solutions to African problems. We have come here to demonstrate that we have unlimited potential. We have come here to demonstrate that we have the ability to shine in the global arena of success. We have come here to demonstrate that we are no longer waiting for anyone else but us.

Tonight we choose to turn this auditorium into a balcony of hope. We choose to turn this auditorium into a plateau of inspiration. We choose to turn this auditorium into a mountaintop on which to stand and declare freedom to our brothers and sisters who are still wallowing in the valleys of misery, frustration and hopelessness. Let us shout it on the rooftops – freedom has come; the drums are beating for Africa to rise and dance to the melody of hope.

We have come together to celebrate the African woman through the character of Nyamishana. Like you will discover in ‘TEARS OF MY MOTHER’, women are the bricks with which the pillars that hold society together are built. I remember how, as a child, my mother would gather us for bedtime stories every evening. So the home became my first school and the fireplace my first classroom. Till this day, some of the lessons I learnt from my mother’s stories are still enshrined on my fingertips like my own name. In this novel, the character of Hannah is a reflection of my own mother’s influence. I remember them days when women of this country had resisted corruption. Those days when you would hear some men lamenting “Aaah, in that office there is a woman who can’t be bribed” or “We should drive carefully because on this road there is a female traffic officer.” In Kigezi where I come from, it is mainly women who labor so hard to bring food on the table while their husbands louse in bars, day and night. Who can deny the power of the African woman? One woman recently came to this city and in one year she has achieved what men in the same position had failed to achieve for ages. There are many Nyamishanas in this country who stand as evidence that women too can significantly contribute to the shaping of history.

Well, ‘TEARS OF MY MOTHER’ is not all about women. It’s about all of us Africans. It’s about Ugandans who have come to the realization that freedom is taken, not given. This evening we, we have come in unity. In this auditorium there’s no political party, there is no race, there is no religion, there is no color, there is no tribe – all I see are Ugandans who desire to speak the same language of love and hope. We have suffered together and we shall continue to stick together. We have suffered together ever since the ugly hand of HIV/AIDS struck this country. We have suffered together the menaces of tyrannical regimes. We have suffered together the punches of poverty and lack. Now is the time to fight together. Nyamishana assures us that together we can defeat poverty. Together we can turn child-trafficking into history. Together we can put maternal deaths into the past tense. Together, there is nothing we cannot achieve as individuals, and as a nation.

The Igbo people of Nigeria say that when you see a frog moving in daylight, know that something is after its life. Likewise, when you see authors gathering, know that something significant is about to happen. When ancient Egyptian authors came together and invented the art of writing, the result was the first civilization in the history of mankind. When European philosophers came together and wrote about injustice, their works triggered off the 1789 French Revolution, which has so far remained a landmark in history. Tonight, it’s not only authors that are gathered here; I can also see entrepreneurs, policy-makers, artists, women leaders, politicians, activists, diplomats, civil servants, teachers, lecturers, students and so on. This is evidence that something great is already happening.

Let it go down the lanes of history that on the evening Wednesday 6th March, 2013, a group of inspired Ugandans gathered at the National Theatre and started a revolution. It was not a revolution of guns, swords or spears; it was a revolution of ideas. Ideas that change lives. Today is a magical point in history. It’s a defining moment. The time has come when Uganda shall no longer be known for negatives. Uganda shall no longer be known for President Idi Amin’s tyrannical rune; Uganda shall no longer be known for HIV/AIDS’; Uganda shall no longer be known for Joseph Kony’s LRA war; Uganda shall no longer be known for corruption; When Uganda shall no longer be known for alcoholism. From now, we are redefining our identity. We want to be known for creativity and innovation. Those who have been asking: Where is talent in Uganda? Where is Ugandan inspirational literature? Today is your answer. I want you to go back to your home sure that a revolution has started and that it is unstoppable. Go back to your business with new stamina to excel. Go back to Makerere, go back to Kamwokya, go back to Nansana, – go back to wherever you stay and work with this assurance that things can change and have actually started changing.

I want to see Ugandans who are committed to this revolution. Men and women who leave this auditorium with a resolve: “I am going to create jobs rather than continue looking for them elsewhere”… “From now onwards I shall not litter the environment with waste”… “Tomorrow, I will start the registration process of my company”… “Tonight I am starting on my book” or that “This month, I must begin earning from my talent.” I will be glad to meet you a year from now and hear your testimony.

The journey has started. I cannot promise that it will be easy, but with courage and inspiration, such as that of Nyamishana, we shall get there. I want to urge you never to give up. Like Dr. Martin Luther King Junior once said: “If you cannot fly run. If you cannot run walk. If you cannot walk crawl. By all means keep moving.” Long live the Authors’ Forum! Long live Nyamishana! Long live Uganda!

This speech was given by Bake at the Launch of his Book ‘TEARS OF MY MOTHER; The Success Story of Nyamishana, the First Female President of Uganda’, on Wednesday 6th March, at the National Theatre. A copy of this book goes for 20,000 UGX. Copies are available at WORLD OF INSPIRATION - Luwum Street, MM Plaza T33. You can also inbox me or call 04146691595 / 0774107287 and your copy will be delivered right where u are at no additional cost.

BITATURE TO LAUNCH AN INSPIRATIONAL BOOK

By Sentomero Jerry Sesanga

“Uganda is a blessed country and I shall treat her as thus. If Jesus, the son of God, took refuge in Egypt, and drank our Ugandan water from river Nile, whose source is in this country, how can we fail to achieve prosperity?” Nyamishana the female contestant for Presidency makes the above statement in one of her last speeches for presidency. It is such a powerful statement worthy capturing headlines of the Daily Newspapers that the Author Bake Robert Tumuhaise brought forth in his inspirational masterpiece ‘TEARS OF MY MOTHER; The success story of Nyamishana, the first female president of Uganda’, the book that Uganda is warming up to launch.

The first part of the story is set in Western Uganda in the colonial era, in the ‘UK’ or United Kigezi as Kay the most hilarious character in the book puts it. The author tactically alludes to the great famine in East Africa commonly known as Rwaramba which coincided with the coming of Europeans which the author refers to as the pink-white people and as a result they were rejected alongside their new faith. The famine intensified and people threatened eating fellow humans thus parents got worried since cannibals roamed around in pursuit of unattended children and vulnerable people to eat. The end of the famine instigated evil and immorality into society that the author writes that people had accepted this evil as culture.

As any ailing system would require a saviour, out of one Tayebwa’s family whose major role to society is to reproduce comes Hannah who has been converted to the new religion and chooses the name in reference to the Biblical Hannah who had failed to conceive but when she did, they gave birth to the prophet Samuel. Soon the self-imposed prophesy follows her as she fails to conceive. She is tormented by people including his father who calls her a fruitless daughter. To fulfill the virtues of the authors biblical allusions, she conceives at an old age just like the biblical Sarah wife to Abraham, Elizabeth mother to John the Baptist and Hannah mother to Samuel. However, the author’s originality can be asserted by his twisting of the story of which the long awaited son turns out a girl.

‘Nyamishana’ which means “one who brings sunshine” was brought forth to earth five days after his father’s death became a disappointment to his mother as she expected a son who would transform society from evil to good. However, she seemed to accept her fate and groomed the girl with upright social values and principles. Her mother imposes a daily confession over her as thus, “One day I will become a success story! One day, I will dine with princes and princesses! One day, the whole nation will be proud of me! One day I will become a heroine! One day I will save my people from agony! One day, Uganda will rise and shine!”

Fastforward, checking her admissions at Makerere University, Nyamishana is disappointed to find out that she has been given MDD (Music Dance and Drama) which some Ugandans translate as Musilu Dala Dala instead of the prestigious courses she hoped for such as Law. Well, as university students are seduced by the T.V chicken of Wandegeya to evil deeds, Nyamishana’s goodness outshines the darkness at Makerere and despite all obstacles such as peer pressure from the treasure-hunting Ruth who according to the author swings her hands as if she had borrowed them from a witchdoctor, she survives and graduates.

Years down the road, Nyamishana faces many challenges, including abandonment from her husband Ben, unemployment and poverty. She instead focuses onto positive activism, which not only make her famous, but also a darling to masses. She becomes a centre of goodwill in society which leads her to earn a life-prison sentence in an alleged murder. The author twists and turns the story unexpectedly that it ends with Nyamishana being released and becoming the first female president of the Republic of Uganda.

It is a completely original fictious inspirational story that is full of twists and turns, action, danger, romance and adventure. It features African sayings and proverbs that have for long been left out. I loved the relationship amongst all the characters, especially between Nyamishana and Kay the Rib-Cracker. Nyamishana is unknowingly wooed by Kay as he provides all the words and approaches to Ben who marries her. The story brings out the nature of African politicians in Nyantahurira, a greedy and evil tycoon who influences the arms of government. However, it gives a neutral stand in the face of politics because of the moral stand in it. The author takes no sides.

Bake clad his story in inspirational garments in that the worst happened to the best and out of the worst came the best. Nyamishana takes on M.D.D which people consider one of the worst courses at university. By taking on this course, one may lose all hope of getting to the top. But he actually wants the reader to get courage and never underrate any path a person takes. I would expect the president to be a Lawyer or Doctor, but when I see a dramatist, it is out of the line and therefore I am inspired. A person given a life-sentence should be the least to have any ray of hope, but Bake sets his story the out of the blues, such that a convict emerges to take on the highest office in the country.

As I read the 140 pages book, published by WORLD OF INSPIRATION, I came to my mind that Western authors had done their role of shaping our minds, and now it’s our chance to take on the world with African word magic and power. The book is a stepping stone for Ugandan novelists. Let us drum for the world to dance.

‘TEARS OF MY MOTHER’ is set to be launched on the evening Wednesday, March 6 2013, during the Author’s Forum that runs every first Wednesday of the month, 5-9pm at the National Theatre, in Kampala. This launch be crowned with a debate featuring Patrick Bitature, Fagil Mandy, Doreen Ashaba and other inspirational figures in the country discussing the topic ‘THE SUCCESS FORMULA FOR THE 21ST CENTURY’. Entrance tickets are on sale at WORLD OF INSPIRATION (Luwum Street, MM Plaza T33). Gold Tickets = UGX 50,000/= and Silver Tickets = UGX 30,000/=. Call 0774107287 / 0414691595.

A copy of the book goes for UGX 20,000. Copies are being sold at WORLD OF INSPIRATION. The book will soon be available in all leading bookshops in East Africa. Hollywood is already interested in running the story on screen. Watch this space.

OH LOVE, DRY MY TEARS

By Robert Bake Tumuhaise

Three years down the road, Nyamishana was getting mad at Uganda’s education system. It had not taught her to create her own job; it had instead prepared her to look for a job, which she wasn’t finding. To her surprise, two of the girls she had completed with, who were even poor performers in class, had secured juicy jobs a month after campus.

Puzzled at the magic those girls had used, Kay furnished her with an explanation. They had accepted to sleep with their bosses. As Nyamishana continued to dig deeper, she discovered this was a common practice both in the public offices and in the private sector. Ladies were using their bodies while men were bribing to get and maintain their jobs.

“Even if everyone is doing it, that doesn’t make it right,” Nyamishana kept reasoning and because of this attitude, which she believed was the only right attitude, she never got a serious job. Those who hired her often did so for a small amount of money that could not sustain her in the city, and even then, most of them would later demand for sex or else she would have to quit the job. As expected, she always chose the latter.

As life became tougher and rougher, Nyamishana opted out of the single room she had co-rented with a friend.

As a graduate, she felt ashamed of going to the village to ask her old mother for money. “Abomination!” she thought. “The only remaining option is going to stay at Uncle Gerald’s home temporarily as I continue to hunt for a stable job.”

Gerald received her warmly and life went on until one fateful night when she felt a hand groping for her breast. She thought she was dreaming but on opening her eyes she saw a figure next to her.

“Someone help. Someone help me, please,” she alarmed at the top of her voice.

“There’s no one here to help you,” whispered a familiar voice.

“Your auntie hasn’t returned from the village. It’s only you and I in the game.”

“Uncle Gerald, so it’s you doing this to me?”

Switching on the light he assured her: “We either do it here and now, or tomorrow first thing in the morning you pack your things and get out of my house.”

Nyamishana found herself taking the absurd option – seeking Ruth’s help. Against her advice, Ruth had married Timothy, a wealthy widower who was now in his late sixties. He had built her a mansion.

After sympathizing with her over her situation, Ruth gave her a boys-quarter where she would stay as she “looked for her own husband to look after her,” as Ruth put it.

The four years after school were beginning to feel like decades. Wrinkles dug through Nyamishana’s beautiful face. No matter how hard she tried to devise means of changing her situation, she felt like someone fighting with a wall.

“But, Nyamishana, can’t you find a rich husband to end this misery?” Ruth kept nagging. Once Ruth started complaining you would understand why King Solomon said it’s better to live on the rooftop than to live in the same house with a nagging woman. You could think she was using your ear as her microphone.

Nyamishana began to feel the need for a husband, though not for the money as Ruth believed. She needed a man’s love to wash away the painful tears off her heart. That’s how Ben managed to snake his way into her life. Ben had watched her closely at the university, but she looked too good for him. Her character made her look like a ripe fruit on a tree that’s too high for anyone to climb.

After hearing of her situation, Ben connived with Ruth who introduced him to Nyamishana as “a distant relative coming from a humble and God-fearing family.”

At the advice of Ruth, Ben started accompanying Nyamishana to weekly prayer meetings at Christ The king Church. Soon, the two were becoming close friends.

When it came to the point of revealing his intention to Nyamishana, Ruth reminded Ben: “The secret to her heart is humor and poetry. If you can befriend Kay, the-Rib-Cracker, then you will be in the game.”

Ben went out looking for Kay until he found him at the bus park, working with Fly Coaches. Though Ben could see Kay was a drunkard, he could also see that he was undoubtedly a very intelligent man.

After buying him a glass of wine, Ben shot in the first question: “What’s the secret of winning a woman’s heart?”

“My newly-found friend, I advise you to stop trying to understand a woman’s heart if you want to remain sane.”

“I am already insane; there’s one woman driving me crazy, who happens to be your friend, Nyamishana.”

“Nyamishana? Are you sure you want to try this? She is a very principled and prayerful woman. I doubt that you will measure up to the task.”

“Look, we are already friends. All I need is to know which words to use as I propose a relationship with her.”

Kay sipped on his drink and warned: “A woman is like a rose flower, when you touch the wrong side you get pierced. She is also like a mobile telephone; when you touch the right button, you are connected, but when you touch the wrong button you get disconnected.”

“But now that I am with Kay, the Rib-Cracker, I am sure I will not touch the wrong button.”

“I will tell you how to pull the right strings and Nyamishana’s heart will dance to the melody of your music.”

Kay was added another glass of wine. “Now that you know her well, tell me some of the best lines I should use,” Ben asked. And for the next one hour, in between sips of wine, Kay gave Ben several pick-up lines and some useful information about Nyamishana.

Ben was not a bad student.

In a few days’ time he was already blowing her mind with sweet nothings: “Nyamishana, your other name must be Google because you have everything I’ve been searching for. You make me grow wings that fly me to another world. You make my heart dance angelic strokes. And I have a feeling that left by yourself on a day of load-shedding you can cause the room to shine since your face is like the noon-day sun.”

Ben’s humor rang bells of love that were too loud for her heart to ignore. For each joke he was gaining more ground in her life. Jokes seemed to have the power to evict all sadness from her heart. Perhaps she had never felt like this before. His voice seemed to open a door into a whole new world where she could reach the moon without moving and count stars with her eyes closed.

Love is like the smell of mukene fish; it’s not easy to hide it. Nyamishana now looked as happy as a campus girl carrying a paper-bag full of chips and chicken. The writing was clear on the wall. She herself admitted to Ruth: “At long last this is it. I am falling in love. Falling so fast that nothing can hold me back.” This was the best time for Ben to propose marriage.

“If I had the ability to fly into the sky, I’d take you along so I could watch you sit on the cloud and I would add your name on the colours of the rainbow. Today, the Igwe in me bows before the Queen in you. I wanna be your Jack Bauer when you are in trouble, your Bill Gates when you have bills to clear and your Salvador Cerinza when you need to be loved. Let me be your doctor, your pillow and your blanket. Nyamishana, marry me.”

With these words, a rare vibration ran through her spinal cord. Before she knew it, she had already surrendered her most treasured possession – the heart. By this time she had made up her mind or her mind had been made up for her. She accepted Ben’s proposal and soon marriage arrangements were in a high gear.

From the very start, Nyamishana’s mother, Hannah, was against this relationship, but things were happening so fast. Six months later, Benedict Bakirwa and Nyamishana wedded at St. Augustine Catholic Chapel, Makerere. The guests proceeded to Livingstone Gardens for a reception that was marked by great eating, drinking, and jubilation.

While Hannah and the other guests were still fascinated by the entertainers from an acrobatic group who were dancing as if they either had no bones or their bones were made of rubber band, Kay, the Rib-Cracker showed up. He startled everybody as he recited ‘You are my World’, a poem he had composed to honor the occasion.

You are my World.
In loneliness I yawned,
Weeping for the missing love,
East to West, North to South my heart loomed,
My puzzle remained incomplete,
I wasted away in the anguish of sorrow.

Panting, I soared through the violent skies,
Deathly valleys I descended,
Bleeding rivers I crossed,
Looking for my missing rib,
My love, my heartbeat.

In the silence of the night I poured out my heart,
Prostrate on the ground, I prayed to my God,
And in the freshness of the morning breeze,
My eyes were opened, and behold, Gertrude stood!
Bone of my bone, flesh from my flesh.

In you, Flower of Beauty, I saw God’s art displayed,
Beholding your beauty and wisdom I trembled,
A sensation of gladness saturated my soul,
It tickled me deep, deep inside,
Touching where no one else has ever touched.

In all human treasures, what can melt your heart?
Shall I get us wings and we fly to the sky?
Shall I take you to the mountains, far away?
And whisper a word into your ear?
Yes! That word is ‘You are my World’.

This excerpt was picked from my new wowlicious and unputdownable inspirational novel that every African MUST read - 'TEARS OF MY MOTHER: The Success Story of Nyamishana, the First Female President of Uganda'. A copy goes for 20,000/= only. If you are in Kampala, delivery is free. Outside Kampala, we send your copy by bus, Post Office, EMS or any other preferred method.

Today, make it a point to passby WORLD OF INSPIRATION (Luwum Street, MM Plaza T33) and get yourself a copy autographed by myself. You can also inbox me your contact or call us on 0700487768/ 0774107287 / 0414691595 so that we can find you right where you are at no extra cost.

Remember the book will be launched at the National Theatre on Wednesday 6th March, 5-9pm, during the AUTHORS' FORUM. That day we shall have a debate on THE SUCCESS FORMULA FOR THE 21ST CENTURY featuring Patrick Bitature, Fagil Mandy, Miria Matembe & other inspirational figures. Entrance is UGX 30,000 (Silver Ticket) or UGX 50,000 (Gold Ticket).

TODAY'S OFFER: Buy a copy of the book & a ticket today and have a discount of UGX 10,000.

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