"It is just difficult and dangerous to try to free people that want to remain in slavery as it is to enslave people that want to remain free. Before all else be armed".... Niccolo Machiavelli states.
This story is so touching and painful.
A teacher received his salary and boarded a crowded bus back to his home, and there was a thief on the bus. The thief stole the teacher's money from his pocket.
After the teacher reached his final destination, the driver asked for his fare. The teacher dipped his hand into his pocket and found nothing. The teacher's face blushed and his tongue became heavy, he was so embarrassed. The driver who is now angry said mockingly to the teacher:
"Shame on you. You consider yourself a respected person while you cannot afford your transport fare!"
The teacher was again very much embarrassed.
As this was going on, pride hit a portion of the thief's ego and he was moved to say to the angry driver:
"My brother, the teacher's fare is on me."
The thief offered to help the teacher who is his victim. He helped not out of pity for the poor teacher but to buy other passengers' trust and confidence and to use some of the stolen money to earn respect before the rest of the passengers on the bus.
The poor teacher who did not understand what was happening smiled and said to the thief:
"May God bless you and multiply your likes, sir."
Then some of the passengers on the bus also praised the thief, praised his kindness, and also prayed for him and that God should increase his kind.
Since then, we have witnessed a significant increase in the number of thieves on our bus. They continue to receive our thanks and appreciation.
We are all in a bus where thieves are stealing from us and using the stolen money to buy our trust and earn our respect in a way that we keep thanking them for their 'kindness'.
"A thief on the bus"
This is the metaphor of the state of our country Uganda, and most African countries. The number of thieves in our bus is increasing all the time because we continue praising them for returning small from the large amounts they steal from us.
If the teacher was wise enough, he would have used his instincts and experience to identify the thief or tell the people to look for the thief on the bus by scrutinizing all the people on board or influencing others to do whatever it took to get rid of the thief or leave the bus.
Dear teachers, can you stand your ground and oppose this kind of oppression, exploitation, unfairness, and all sorts of injustice? Most especially when our profession is being degraded.
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This story morally tells us that teachers must think outside the box by influencing the politics of the country using social capital, contesting for political positions, standing their ground, putting the government in check, and demanding what belongs to them, not peanuts.
2026, is a year for elections. Teachers come out and contest or support those who serve our interests.
You have students, parents, families, and friends who are under your influence. Please support your fellows when they come out.
Do us a favor. We can win together
Kan gave Mudi is an Author, teacher, and teacher trainer. National Chairperson Private Teachers Platform Uganda Tel. 0776524780 Email [email protected]
