BODA BODA AND WHY LEADERSHIP MATTERS

Have you noticed lately if you drive in Kampala, specifically after the Covid19 lockdown, how Boda Boda (herein after referred to as Bodas') in Kampala ride all the way into the entire width of the road? In fact, I at first thought this was a passing fad until  when 3 months ago I was caught up in a freak accident involving 2 bodas' and myself. Naturally as they always have it, I the motorist was at fault.

In this case on a rainy morning, the boda on the outer most was pushed right into the oncoming traffic by his colleague that wanted to widen out into the Centre; there was fast moving traffic! Thank God there was no fatalities! The two ladies involved were gracious and civil enough to accept my offer for medical treatment. On such days, one has to calm themselves down, play along and let life play out; I had a critical meeting coming up that morning, but I knew handling the people involved in this was more important - so I stayed on until the victims had all been treated and dispatched to their next destinations.

But coming back to my point and observations about Bodas' in Kampala lately. Lately there are some that now habitually think it is their right of way to come flying down one way streets in the opposite direction, with horns blaring and flood lights flashing (have you noticed how these new bright LED lights were such a "god send" for them!!!). In other cases they navigate their way into thin tight spots for example into insides of corners as motorists are already maneuvering these tight corners, often leaving the car with dents as they fly off with foul language spewed at the motorist; I can imagine that there are so many angry motorists out there waiting for the next silly boda. When I did my driving classes way back in the early 90s' my instructor told me that in a “keep left” road network, motorized devices never overtake from the left; that rule has since been changed by boda riders like they have so many other road traffic rules.

I watched as these bodas' increasingly jumped the traffic red lights; right now, it is a “right” for them on Ugandan roads and they expect the motorists with right of way to make way for them as they gleefully break these rules. The other day as I drove down a major road, all traffic on my side stopped to make way for an oncoming motorist that had indicated that they were making a turning off into a side road. Two lanes of cars stopped, and she started to make her turn; suddenly, I heard a swishing sound of a brand new boda flying me by, overtaking from the left at possibly 80km/h, and Boom!!! …straight into the oncoming motorist. The boda guy flew over the car bonnet and fell about 4 meters away. The boda fell right under the bumper of the car. Luckily, the guy was saved by his helmet. Quickly he got up, militant, making his way towards the lady that had now stopped. I immediately parked my car onto the curb and went back towards the scene of accident. Poor lady, on seeing the angry guy simply fled the scene of accident and speedily drove off. My purpose in stopping was that I was not going to let them bully her. Luckily for them they abandoned the project of pursuing her as wisdom prevailed.

Now, how did we get here? Often these episodes happen with a traffic officer right on vicinity that never lifts a finger to exercise their authority and bring these bodas' back to discipline. The Arabs say if you let the camel place her nose under your tent for comfort, you will soon find yourself sleeping outside the tent and the camel sleeping inside by the morning. This is simply an idiom with a key lesson for all of us that small, seemingly innocuous acts or decisions will lead to much larger, more serious, and less desirable consequences down the road; this is what has happened. The Police officers have watched as the small wound festered and grew more rancid to a point that they now cannot handle it any more; they then now push it to the politicians, who in turn too scared for their votes will not touch the sacred boda cow.

This is how a failure in leadership creates problems that soon become too big to handle and require complex approaches to diffuse. The Traffic officer does not know that they are a leader right on the scene of crime that can stop a small problem from becoming a big conundrum. Leadership does not mean position; leadership is influence and according to leadership guru John Maxwell "everything rises and falls on leadership"! The boda problem in Uganda is a failure of leadership at all levels.

Now to my key point; each one of us has been placed in a position of leadership somewhere, where our failure to do our job will lead to a "boda problem" that will soon become a festering wound, for which when the gangrene is fully set in, shall require extreme measures perhaps even amputation of limbs to resolve. Must we come to that point? But you see, this is what happens each time you say "what can I do? the problem is too big and my small action here will not resolve it." When we say things like "the system is too rotten for me to make an impact" or "Afterall every one is doing it". I do not know what your excuse is, but the time has come for each one of us to rise up to the occasion and be the leadership we want to see in our community. Let each one of us own up, man up (not sure why “woman up” does not exist) and become a smoldering ember and let’s come together and get this fire of transformation burn in our society.

We can have the society that we want. Let us be the leader that we want to see! It begins with you.