By Guest Writer
– Why schools must study arts too-
I just visited Mr George Orwell last evening after reading General Muhoozi’s twitter, on how NRMO has become a reactionary party. Orwell received me well, and told me that the general was absolutely right, because he wrote about this in 1945.
And that, while the General was away, in recent times, he was actually reading his book: ANIMAL FARM. Orwell went on to confirm that Animal Farm, published in 1945, was written by him, and indeed Gen. Muhoozi had just read it.
For those who have never read it, Animal Farm is a dystopian novel, meaning it depicts an imagined society undergoing suffering at the hands of an ‘oppressive Obote government’, that is if true.
Orwell gathered his inspiration for his novel from; could it be the NRM revolution, which began in 1980, each of the Farm animals represents a person or group of people directly involved with the Revolution.
In the novel, the farm animals rebel against their human owner, Dr Apollo Milton Obote. When they win, three of the pigs, Napoleon, Snowball, and Squealer, set about making a formal school of thought, at Kyankwanzi, based on Old Major’s speech.
They name the concept Animalism, and they create Seven Commandments that dictate the principles of Animalism, to promote equality.
1. Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy.
2. Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings, is a friend.
3. No animal shall wear clothes.
4. No animal shall sleep in a bed.
5. No animal shall drink alcohol.
6. No animal shall kill any other animal.
7. All animals are equal.
Initially, daily activities ran smoothly on the farm, under the broad-based government, and the animals were motivated by their freedom to work harder, but the pigs became greedy and power-hungry.
They breed very harsh and tyrannical dogs to protect them, and control the rest of the animals.
They take advantage of the other animals by taking all the best food, living inside, and sleeping in beds. Furthermore, some animals, such as Mollie, a pretty ribbon-loving horse, shirk their duties.
Napoleon runs Snowball, (the likes of Ssemwogerere, Besigye, Muntu etc) off the farm, and takes leadership by force, which represents the end of the reign of Animalism, or NRMO liberation. The pigs modify the commandments to suit their needs, such as changing the Fourth Commandment to “No animal shall sleep in a bed with sheets.”
At the end of the novel, only one commandment remains: “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.” The principle of Animalism that the animals live by is symbolic of Communism that took hold after the NRMO revolution.
So, as time progresses, the pigs, who are the smartest, opportunistic elite, and therefore act as leaders of the group, take advantage of the other animals, and thus become the new oppressors. By the time it is 37 years, the conditions for the animals in Animal Farm are worse than they were when humans, under Obote, first managed the farm.
Orwell’s work, on Uganda, is a political commentary that expresses his negative views on the NRMO Revolution. He uses sarcasm in his writing; particularly in his usage of farm animals to represent key political figures and social groups in Uganda.
The animals in his novel are anthropomorphized, or they are assigned human characteristics as a means to convey human concepts and emotions.
The novel is set on a fictitious farm called Manor Farm in Uganda. No year is specified; however, the novel is allegorical to the NRMO Revolution, which spanned from 1917–1945, and he foreshadowed what would happen in Uganda.
Finally, if you doubt General Muhoozi that NRMO is not a reactionary anti-Political Party, read the novella. It is only 120 pages, and written in very easy English. Let me know when you read it, or if you read it, is the General right?
We thank the Lord for our new visionary leader, who can read. For we need leaders who can read.
The author is Steven Birija the Former Masindi district Chairperson
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