When oil exploration in western Uganda took a more 'serious' turn, it was always going to be a matter of time before a war erupts between environmentalists and natural conservationists on one side and those who now believe oil is the item to protect in Uganda than any natural resource the country has had before.

And the apparent enthusiasm of the latter group is unfortunately decked in utter greed and blindness to the contribution of other sectors to the economy.

The latest of these contraries in the pursuit of oil is last week's altercation between environmental expert Edgar Buhanga and Energy Minister Hilary Onek.

Mr Buhanga of the Uganda Wildlife Authority warned, while appearing before a Parliament committee on trade and tourism, that toxic wastes emitted from oil exploration and the presence of human settlements at Murchison Falls National Park is directly in the path of wildlife and raising a serious concern to the natural habitat of hundreds of species of wild animals and plants.

Energy Minister Hilary Onek refuted the claim as "wild accusations". How times can change! Mr Onek is a professional hydrologist who a few years back was working behind the scenes - and not many people may know that - in agitating against the construction of Bujagali Dam; and his reason was 'to protect the environment'.

The debate of preserving the environment always crops up every time human activity, especially economic, is seen to interfere with the natural habitat of wild animals and plants. And this debate cannot be any dear to Uganda after the discovery of oil - a major polluter of the environment.

Unfortunately, for a country like ours where many of us are still engaged in the basics of life, protecting the environment is not a priority, not many understand the bigger picture of its impact and the long term consequences of abusing it now.

The 'small' story of the buvera has persisted and the failure to enforce a ban against its use is testimony how both the state and Ugandans are trying to live their lives in a hurry forgetting they are the same ones who have one of the highest population growth rate in the world. That future needs to be protected! National Environment Management Authority and Environment minister Maria Mutagamba are on different pages on the buvera ban where ironically the minister is lukewarm about the ban.

Mutagamba can be forgiven since she has never professed in the name of a good environment but Mr Onek has proved the saying that "environmentalists are diehards" wrong. One would expect him to put his neck on the line on this one and die for what he once stood for before he became a minister. He wrote an independent critical report on Bujagali for a global environmentalist group - International Rivers - that gave local environmentalists the fodder to lobby against the construction of the dam.

Obviously, a good man or woman is one who knows the buttered side of their bread but a better one would thrive in the principles that make them stand above and beyond the currents of human folly. Most politicians do not appreciate that fact.

The discovery oil in Uganda could become the worst pill ever prescribed to a country's economic and socio-political illnesses yet it is fidgeting with the most basic environmental, human rights and governance ailments.

The dream of earning over $2 billion annually from oil has had a numbing effect on our thinking process and with the same talking heads in town for the last two decades and still running, the dream of a less misty vision is unlikely let alone a good environment.

fmasiga@monitor.co.ug