By Ebenezer Adurokiya, who was in Uganda recently, writes
UNLESS you have been to Uganda before, you may not buy into what I am about to tell you now. What you gather from the internet may not suffice unless you have first-hand experience of life and living in this East African country. Having sojourned there between January 17 and March 9, I have come up with 11 verifiable reasons you may need to consider for relocating to Uganda, especially if you are a Nigerian.
Arrival lounge of the Entebbe Airport, Uganda
1. Favourable Weather: For those who abhor the current excessive heat wave across Nigeria in recent times, consider Uganda. Throughout The Pearl of Africa is cool and mild, experiencing about 200 out of 365 days of rain – friendly rain. The Ugandan weather is unpredictable. In a while, there may be heat, and in no time the weather has metamorphosed into a chilled one such that often you may need to arm yourself with thick clothes when leaving home to weather any unforeseen circumstance. Wonder why many Europeans are resident there? Indians and Chinese nationals have made Uganda their second home partly due to this factor. The friendly weather condition will make any Nigerian much more mentally productive with greater outcomes.
Check out the weather in Kampala
2. Constant Electricity: For this alone, Uganda has it all. For the period I spent in Kampala, which is in Central Uganda, supply of electricity was top-notch. During my tour around town and adjoining towns like Entebbe and Jinja among others, except for a church which was using a generating set because it was not connected to the power grid or there was no credit on their prepaid meter, nowhere did I sight a generator howling and polluting the environment with noise and carbon monoxide. Small-scale businesses like barbers’ shops, ICT centres, cold rooms and what have you dot everywhere. At a time Nigeria is in a dire strait as regards power supply, electricity supply in Uganda is available for every home that desires it at a monthly fee. For Nigerians with great skills that are daily decapitated by lack of power, Uganda is their best bet, not even the UK or Canada.
The writer and other tourists from Nigeria at the Source of River Nile
3. All year-round availability of fresh fruits: Do you wish to live long and in good health? Come to Uganda where you have excess natural, fresh fruits and vegetables all year round. Their banana is top-notch: fresh, yellow-ripened (not forced to ripen by chemicals), and goes big and succulent, alongside big watermelon, avocado, apple, pineapple, etc. And how are these made available? Uganda boasts a robust agricultural system and processing of produce. Factories processing fresh fruits abound, largely courtesy of Indians whose love for the manufacturing sector is never in doubt.
Ugandan president’s poster during January election
4. Hospitality/Brotherliness: Unlike South Africa, which has soiled its good name with xenophobic recklessness, Ugandans are accommodating, friendly, hospitable, calm, though slightly stingy while studying you underground. You can only get land of your own as a foreigner if you go by proxy. But how would you rate your brother in dark skin, who will not discriminate against your colour, versus a white person who responds to your greetings with a pointed nose to the sky?
Officials of the Uganda water board doing a routine reading of used water in Kampala
5. Rent: House rent may be higher in Uganda than in Nigeria, but the difference is in the mode of payment. Rents are paid monthly in Uganda. Yes, Shylock landlords and landladies are not allowed to have a field day making life hard and unbearable for the ordinary Ugandan like you have in Nigeria. Property owners are regulated and made to adhere to strict legislation.
6. Structure/Infrastructure: Compared to Nigeria, the system in Uganda works far better. The latter may not be as privileged with infrastructure as the former, but the former has a working structure to maintain its limited infrastructure better than the latter. Ugandans can be termed as slow in their work ethics, or the way they execute their projects, but they surely know the road to enduring success. It is hard to find a Ugandan policeman harassing civilians, especially motorists, for extortion. They are civil, firm, calm, polite and full of self-esteem.
Engr Sola Orimogunje at a boutique in Kampala
7. Peace, security and tranquility: Uganda has these in abundance. Forget what you read on the internet, Uganda is peaceful. This is why most citizens of war-torn South Sudan and other parts of that region have found a home in Uganda. The people are not only calm but peaceful, not necessarily by coercion but by choice. During my short stay, there was no time I ran into a crowd gathered over a brawl or a mob action. After Ugandans come Indians and Chinese in that order of demography. Everybody moves around freely on boda bodas (motorcycles), bicycles, on foot, in cars, without harassment. Can I tell you something? Their private security outfits carry weapons but very professionally.
Slice of nightlife in Kampala
8. Robust nightlife: The people have chosen to be what they are, and this has encouraged clubs and other recreational centres to flourish. If you love clubbing with live bands, come to Uganda. Clubs where the people unwind till dawn. And hear this: most of the vibes belching out of the disc jockey are nothing but Nigerian vibes. So, real gbedus from Burna Boy, Davido, Wizkid, Yemi Alade, Fireboy, Rema, Fela, Olamide, etc., rock the airwaves. If Ugandans love to work, they love to enjoy more. Weekends often start on Thursdays. Security is guaranteed. There is peace and tranquility. The people are content with their leaders and system. You love to rock and club? Kampala beckons to you.
The writer and other tourists from Nigeria at the Source of River Nile
9. Tourism: Uganda, the Pearl of Africa, is a veritable choice destination for tourism. From the source of the Nile in Jinja to the Equator, there are places to visit to romanticise nature. Do you know that bushmeat is not common in Uganda? I learned that the careless killing of one squirrel, for instance, can earn you an active year in jail. This is because Uganda makes plenty of its hard currency from tourism. No wonder tens of hundreds of Europeans are sighted daily at their tourism sites across the country.
One of the vestiges of former colonial masters – locomotive still active
10. Get a job in Uganda, get paid in dollars: Most foreigners, even from neighbouring countries like Kenya, are paid in dollars in Uganda. You know what that means. Isn’t it dollars most of us run abroad to work for? When you can get the dollars in your backyard, why run to Europe where almost all your earnings could go into paying bills and taxes? Nigerians that I met lecturing in private universities earn their wages in dollars. Some of them earn as high as $2,500 monthly. Convert it to Ugandan shillings or Naira, and you will understand the point I am trying to make. If you can get a job in Uganda from Nigeria, please grab it. There are skilled jobs in Uganda. The rate of unemployment among the youth in the country is largely a result of lack of skills. Many of them are simply unemployable. Skilled workers will make a quick impact in Uganda.
Check out the weather in Kampala
11. Pretty, easy-going, easy-believing female folks: If you love or desire ladies who are down-to-earth, trusting, selfless, believing, beautiful and culture-loving, come to Uganda. Their ladies love Nigerians like kilode! They are simply crazy about Nigerians. They said Nigerians, especially their men, are generous, intelligent and goal-getters. A blend of the aggressive nature of a Nigerian with the calm, easy-does-it nature of Ugandans will birth a perfect match.
READ ALSO: https://stonixnews.com/men-are-not-wired-to-be-committed-to-one-partner-singer-akon/
So, what are you waiting for if you desire to relocate outside your country? An African country like Uganda may just be what you need rather than Europe, which people are actually emptying themselves of for African countries.
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