PROFILE: Wasswa Lule and the art of simple living

Wasswa Lule’s Liteside

Any three things we don’t know about you?

I like to talk about myself without engaging other parties into the limelight because you can never tell what the impact might be. Apart from that I never take time to analyse myself but I also never look at life as only me but as part of the bigger environment.

What is your idea of perfect happiness?

I will only be happy when I turn out to be among those that have influenced change for better.

What is your greatest fear?

Not any in the recent times.

What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?

We all strive to be perfect but there is none that I know of. There are also times when it’s okay to annoy some people because you can’t keep everybody happy.

What is the trait you most deplore in others?

Not that I don’t have thoughts about it but let’s leave it at that.

Which living person do you most admire?

I admire Barrack Obama; he is major milestone in world politics for having attained such heights. The equivalence of him before he came was Kofi Annan.

What is your greatest extravagance?

I am not a spendthrift so I spend necessarily.

What is the greatest thing you have ever done?

The decision to take on the deputy IGG role despite having several criticisms from other people. Other players questioned on whether it was equivalent to my contribution but I chose to take it on and to me that was a great move.

What is your current state of mind?

I am okay.

What do you consider the most overrated virtue?

It is subjective to the kind of environment that people are living in so I can’t point to one.

What does being powerful mean to you?

Power can come in different ways and is relative to time and circumstances but being powerful is the ability to effect change.

On what occasion do you lie?

I can honestly say that human beings tell lies depending on the circumstances.

What do you most dislike about your appearance?

At such an age, at least none.

Which living person do you most despise?

Those who exercise power by killing innocent people.

What is the quality you most like in a man?

Humble and God fearing.

What is the quality you most like in a woman?

Humble and God fearing.

When and where were you happiest?

Some few weeks back, I went to visit Hon. Nambooze in hospital and for someone who had obeyed the rules of procedure; she was a victim of a targeted assault. Right after posting it on my Facebook page, someone responded by relating it to an incidence that happened in Makerere University some years ago. I recollect the time, I intervened as deputy IGG.

Which talent would you most like to have?

I was once good at athletics but it’s not something I can still do.

If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

I wish I could be young again. It is one thing that many people invest in to cut back on their age.

If you were to die and come back as a person or a thing, what would it be?

As a human being doing the same things with the benefit of hindsight.

Where would you most like to live?

With the current environment and the way it is deteriorating with the teargas, kifeesi, unknown and other issues pertaining to the law don’t make Uganda the most conducive environment for stay. But I would wish to stay here and be in a position to effect change for better.

What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?

From what I have observed, the incidences of torture by the state for instance in Nalufenya and safe houses are too low for any individual and inflict immeasurable pain not only to the victims but also to the observers.

What is your favorite occupation?

I am an accountant by profession and it is what I have done.

What do you most value in your friends?

Trust and honesty.

Who are your favorite writers?

If you want to gain knowledge, don’t focus on a writer so I read more of historical and situational writings.

Which historical figure do you most identify with?

Nelson Mandela speaks for himself. Martin Luther King Junior and Kofi Annan are others.

What is your greatest regret?

Life is an experience that we learn from.

How would you like to die?

Death is a must so going in style may not change anything.

What is your motto?

Keep going.