CAN KARAMOJA BE THE WAKANDA OF UGANDA?

Most of us know that Wakanda is a futuristic, fantastic movie that portrayed Africa in an unconventional never-thought-about kind way. We also understand that it is a film and therefore an art form that is painting a beautiful picture of what could possibly be. However, could the concept be replicated in a land so far removed from the rest of Uganda and the rest of the world using today’s most basic, non-philosophical and non-academic identifiers of development i.e. Infrastructure, Computer technology and Financially viable traditional ventures like agriculture?

I have natural inclinations towards the ideal, the perfect and the artistic and are naturally predisposed to see my world in the light of what it could be and not as it really is; As such, my imagination often runs wild; nothing is off-limits for my thought process. In my mind, impossibilities do not exist, boundaries do not exist, and limitations do not exist. This concept of a Wakanda in Karamoja, particularly Kotido is not so much about the exact idea; but an extrapolation of it; an extension so to speak of the concept, customized to scale as per the condition of Uganda and not on the exact specific design of Wakanda as we see it in the movie.

I am obsessed with countries like Israel and Dubai and the mind-blowing and equally mind-boggling advancements that they have been able to make in literally every sector; particularly agriculture, infrastructural development, and Technology despite being desert countries. These three areas are my personal favorites by which I am convinced a basic prototype of Wakanda for Uganda and specifically Kotido in Karamoja, could be built.
Dry and Hot as Kotido maybe; it only is a semi-desert compared to Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) which are certified deserts. The advantages that Kotido has over Israel and the UAE in terms of natural resources are immense; Livestock numbering in the millions, Free sand and cheap rock for construction, Very fertile soils of varying textures and consistencies thereby favoring a variety of crop species, Abundant rainfall once a year lasting about 5 months, enough to last crops from planting to harvest; Abundant sunshine for solar power; Extensive rangelands and unused lands suitable for use as farmland plus other factors.

What if someone purchased a huge chunk of land and built their own city in Kotido? What if they fenced off this land and on this piece of land constructed a mixed livestock farm, drilled and motorized a borehole to supply this location with water, harvested enough solar energy to power the entire city. What if in this city, there existed a mall with hotels, banking services a restaurant and a market? What if on this very farm there was a veterinary hospital for animals and a medical center for human beings? What if there was a computer hub with fast internet speeds and in this hub was provision for people to learn advanced computing; doing things such as coding and video content creation? What if this computer hub, became the learning center for both young and older Karimojong children where they obtained (right from childhood, for the young ones) a relevant education immediately applicable in today’s world, disrupting and effectively destroying the archaic school system which is already not serving anybody? What if this place was also an arts, sports and conference centre where music and arts shows could be held; a hub for home grown arts, literature, fashion and music? Imagine that such a place existed somewhere deep in the untouched sections of Kotido. Imagine that someone was so committed to building this “futuristic” establishment that by Ugandan standards would definitely be “Wakanda”.

If this movie- only an art form- so altered our perception of ourselves as a continent, imagine what it would do for a district like Kotido, the region Karamoja and for our country Uganda, if we had our very own Wakanda by our own standards. I honestly believe that this is possible. This idea so fascinates me that I am abandoned to it becoming something that I would obsess over so much that it would push me over the edge to do something about it.

At this point in my life I have not yet found anything for which I am willing both to live for and to die for but this idea of building a futuristic city in Kotido is a very strong contender.

Yours Truly,

Anna Grace