Continental political integration remains the only definitive shield against looming global security threats and military dominance.
President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni issued the strategic warning during a lecture of opportunity delivered to senior military officers on Tuesday. The defense address took place at the Senior Command and Staff College-Kimaka in Jinja.
The Commander-in-Chief of the Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces (UPDF) strongly criticized colonial-era African leaders whose self-absorption allowed foreign powers to overrun the continent.
“The chiefs and kings were here glorifying themselves when their building was falling down," President Museveni observed. "This strategic danger was known but neglected by kings and chiefs.”
The President informed the audience that the National Resistance Movement (NRM) has spent 60 years championing the historical missions required to elevate Africa to global parity. He defined the primary historical mission as securing regional economic prosperity through market integration.
The head of state challenged the younger generation to aggressively champion this economic consolidation instead of distracting themselves with passive entertainment.
“One of the factors to help you prosper is economic integration of the African market," the President emphasized. "We have been struggling with it so you the young people should continue with it instead of dancing pakachini and watching European football. If we don't integrate we shall be in problems you people.”
Shifting to defense capabilities, the President identified political integration as the secondary historical mission necessary to establish a credible strategic deterrent. He noted that modern security requires advanced operations spanning land, air, sea, and space.
However, the commander-in-chief argued that irrational colonial borders continue to fragment African capabilities, making independent space or deep-sea defense programs unfeasible for individual nations.
“We must go to the moon and find the Americans there, find the Chinese, Russians and Indians, we tell them that this also belongs to us," Museveni stated. "If you’re not going to be just a boy scout movement and be able to defend Africa, we must be able to operate on land, air, navy and in space but can Uganda have a space program? Or can we go to ocean? No, we are cut off by the irrational colonial borders. That’s why the answer there is political integration. We have been talking about the East African Integration but if Presidents want to remain big fish in the small ponds, then that issue will not be addressed.”
Addressing domestic challenges, the President attributed mounting rural land pressures to underdevelopment. He explained that land scarcity only impacts primitive, agrarian societies relying heavily on manual labor. In contrast, advanced economies shift their populations into manufacturing and digital services.
Regarding the volatile Middle East security crisis, the head of state dismissed any devastating economic fallout on East Africa. He maintained that Africa possesses all essential natural resources to withstand global shocks if utilized efficiently.
Furthermore, the President condemned identity politics and sectarianism, characterizing tribal and religious divisions as total ideological bankruptcy.
“The politics of identity is politics of parasites,” he stressed.
The Commandant of the Senior Command and Staff College-Kimaka, Brig Gen. Kabango Michael, thanked the President for providing strategic guidance to the elite class.
The current cohort, Intake 21-2025/2026, comprises 52 senior officers who commenced their training in July last year. The class features 38 Ugandan officers alongside 14 international students representing Burundi, Egypt, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, South Africa, South Sudan, and Tanzania. The senior officers are scheduled to graduate early next month.
