Although Jinja is the Adventure Capital of East Africa (with Busoga delights like Source of the Nile, Kakira Sugar Works molasses, Agriculture Show, namungodi, etc); Mukono is peaceful like King Solomon's gardens; Kampala City got KLA-ss and pedigree (tasty like Rollex fast-food, Britania Munchies biscuits and Arabian dates); Soroti has very friendly people; Lira is solemn like Obote, Cecilia Ogwal and Akii-Bua; Gulu is up or heavenly; Mbale is yuge like the moon; Kasese and Fort Portal are Rwenzori-stic; while Mbarara spells milk, honey plus Ugandan juice, Arua (West Nile) is the Sweetest Place since 1914. Like a ripe red-orange mango in the 5th month (Summer) or 12th (Winter), maize porridge mixed with groundnut paste and sugar or yellow potatoes, Arua is supersweet like Fanta, oh; fruity like Mirinda; more than what I expected. Churches (Places of worship like Emmanuel Cathedral in Mvara), fresh-green lawns outside the driest months (December to February), waterfalls, West Nile architecture, Lugbara food, wildlife like at Ajai Reserve, farms, weddings, Duluka (as well as Agwara, Gaze, Koro, Nambi, Walanga Courtship, Guke, Luru, Naito drum - Mare trumpet funeral, Adungu and Ndara dances) plus electronic musicfests, beautiful butterflies, various bird species from as far as Israel singing different songs (eg Akanyonyi akalugwara) and the bright yellow Sun light up the Arua sky many times with zero apologies. The refreshing morning breeze after a night of heavy rain during the December dry spell sometimes reminds me of the old West Nile of the 2000s because of the scent of the wet soil and air. For 16 years of my early life, I didn't have any desire to visit Arua. However, since the world did not end as highly anticipated at midnight on New Year's Day Y2K, I decided to make a pilgrimage to Arua using Nile Coach alongside my Mama and sister Christine between 1st and 6th February before starting Senior 4 in Mpigi. After that discovery journey, I returned every year until December 2013; this is My Arua Story. Arua is more than just a city, district or City-state; it's a spirit of unchained freedom: Free your imagination from incarceration! Arua Town got its name from the Hill nearest to the main government, health, business and sports centres; it was named Arua because of a Belgian colonialist prison on top of or near it; "Aru-a" in Lugbara language means "in prison", but the prison is no longer there. It's more like a humane prison where you choose whether to lock yourself in an imaginary cell or roam as freely as a sparrow. All you will find on Arua Hill is a rock, telecommunication masts, satellites, media stations, National Water reservoir, Hilltop Hotel and some homes adjacent to Barifa Forest, churches, schools and a 20,000-seater stadium in the northwest. The first town plan of Arua was drawn for the imperialists by a British Colonial Administrator and Surveyor called Arthur E(velyn) Weatherhead (1880-1956) who has a ring-road around the golf course named after him (Weatherhead Park Lane). As centuries pass, Arua might have developed into a metropolis from Madi Okollo up to Koboko and Rhino Camp plus Madi Moyo and Adjumani, but divisive politics, greed and tribal clanism broke it up into so many smaller chunks (Yumbe, Maracha which rocks my world, Terego, Vurra and Ayivu). Nevertheless, it still possesses its aura as the Capital of West Nile, Lugbara Kari and the ancient pan-African Lado Empire. Arua is cosmopolitan (doesn't only host Lugbara who officially include the Aringa Clan though some want to be known as a tribe, Kebu, Lendu, Nubi, Madi, Kakwa and Alur but also many other non-West Nile tribes and foreign nationalities too). Arua Business City is like the Salia Musala of Africa linking East to Central and West Africa plus North to South Africa; Arua Airport lies in a community halfway between Cairo and Cape Town. WENRECo powered the city since around 2003 (probably UEB before and Electromaxx and Umeme after) but there is still room for alternative energy. What is sweeter than honey? Sweeter honey, juice and The Bible. Did you say this mango is not sweet? I hope you do not have Coronavirus-19 flu...
Voice Of Life (Arua) is the Oldest FM Radio Station in West Nile and first aired on 27th November 1997; it came five years after the first two in Kampala and has weathered very many storms. VOL, with the slogan "O'duko mini icozu asi'bazu driniara ri [The Voice you can trust]", plays exclusively Church-oriented music on 100.9 MHz. Founded by Canon Isaac Anguyo (Here Is Life), it has hosted thousands and thousands of people from evangelists to politicians to businesspeople to young children plus run programs such as Love Clinic with Dr. Love, Ejo Aringa Dri with John Ayile or sometimes Saviour, Okuza at 4pm on Fridays, Music Hits, Sunday Halfhour Gospel with Pastor Norman Acidribo, etc. Its 60 meter mast extends radio signals to Masindi, Hoima, Lira and parts of DRC plus South Sudan. To donate to Voice Of Life (VOL) in Arua, call Nola via +256-772-526508; GOD reward you back for supporting HIS servants...
Lugbara Origins in Nigeria
Where do the Lugbara (pronounced Lubara, the letter G is silent) come from? Is it Rajaf in Juba (South Sudan) or Baar in Bari? According to Madi oral tradition, the Madi came from Nigeria. The Madi who have their own chiefdom (Ndri in Okollo) are closely related to the Lugbara and actually share numbers plus names in the Moru-Madi family. The Lugbara are a group that was said to have broken off from the Madi while a woman looked for her missing lugba harvest; the Madi called them Lugbani just like Lugbara call Baganda A'bua(ni). Before colonialism, many people travelled on the Sudan Road from the Niger Basin to the Nile Valley and across to Saudi Arabia. Some stayed while others went back. It's possible that the Niger River was connected to the Nile during ancient times but the tributary dried up. The Lugbara language has the same words as Igbo (pronounced Ibo) in Southern Nigeria (who are also connected to Haitians through slave trade) though different meanings. Lugbara is furthermore a tonal language like Yoruba. The Lugbara also share many surnames with West Africans eg in Nigeria (Bayo, Bako, Obi, Aribo, Ini, Atiku); Ghana (Dramani, Ayiko); Mali (Sina), etc. There is a huge rock south of Ojapi Parish (Old Tara, now Ajira Subcounty) that is similar to a special rock in the centre of Nigeria. Maybe our ancestors settled in this West Nile region because of the environment; Lugbaraland forms a circle around three major mountains (Liru in Koboko, Wati in Terego and Luku in Ayivu). Myths tell stories of a Lugbara ancestor (Dribidu) originating from East of the Nile but the languages there are totally different. Other myths tell of Jaki from a Kakwa mountain. Some clans even trace their origins to Ethiopia. Blacks are descendants of Noah's son Ham, right? That's why we are called Nilo-Hamites. The stories nevertheless point to an origin outside the Arua area which in modern times is very central for the House of Lugbara (Kari) because of its strategic location smack in the middle of East, North, South and Central Africa. The Lugbara in northwestern UG settled in Arua (Ayivu Clan), Maracha, Terego, Yumbe (Aringa Clan), Vurra, Madi-Okollo and Koboko. Meanwhile, the Madi occupy Moyo plus Adjumani east of the Albert Nile next to them; Alur (Luo) are in the south plus other Lugbara clans in DRC (westwards). It's funny how West Nile is almost shaped like Nigeria the way Uganda looks like South America, heehee...
Lip It (Book)
When I finally accepted JESUS as my Saviour at the end of 1997, I made a personal vow of silence so that I could study the entire Bible which I finished in 1999; there was a lot I didn't know and still don't. Ignorance is not bliss, it's darkness! Today, people still complain that am quiet but I have a right to remain silent plus learning never ends. I only speak when I really have to. Nevertheless, I took a timeout to share my views plus lessons from this temporary life (I'll probably be gone by 2100; bye bye!):
GOD is the Alpha and Omega...
JESUS is the one Way to Heaven...
Time is money...
Talent, Imagination, Motivation, Endurance...
Why can't the whole Earth be a Church or House of GOD? It's actually HIS footstool...
Inspire us, oh LORD, as we come to worship...
Whenever you get money, make sure 10 percent goes to GOD's Storehouse while another 10 percent is zakat (charity)...
Tithes do not make you the Richest Person on the Planet but bring you mysterious provision plus protect you from the Devourer; it's in the Holy Bible (Malachi 3:10-11) not a Marvel comic nor film...
YAHWEH, YOU are enough! And I will be content, in every circumstance...
The easiest way to end a quarrel is to keep quiet, even if you're right...
Ink, sweat and cheers...
Depression is not a jabberwocky monster; it's false like a mirage...
Everytime I re-read the Bible, I discover something fresh and marvelous; it's a very amazing universe...
We worship a Middle East GOD, use Asian technology, listen to American music, watch European football and eat African food...
Arbeit macht frei [German for: Work sets you free]...
Do not complain about the taste of free food...
Pray without Ceasing (PwC)...
When you love someone, tell them or enjoy the pain...
At the Y-Corner, either you go left or go right (and have no regrets)...
Depression is a choice, in your mind...
Win, lose or draw pictures...
Delay is not denial...
GOD is everything; not money...
Ikigai is a Japanese concept about finding a reason for breathing: Passion, Mission, Vocation and Profession...
You do not need everyone's approval; some will respect, others despise...
Marriage is the transfer of gifts (especially food) from one family to another so that two lovers can sleep in the same bed and produce children...
Read the Bible, pray everyday...
Mind your own negocio...
Generative AI will produce great visions of the entire Bible Universe...
You only need about 33 seconds to say the LORD's Prayer once or a single Muslim rakah...
The main reason why I go to Church is to return a tenth part of the money GOD gives me; I can recite the 10 commandments backwards...
Everyone has at least one talent; the truly blessed receive three or five, but find yours and invest it plus multiply, not bury in the ground...
GOD provides...
Everything you need is around you; unblind your eyes...
If you fast for GOD, then anyone who castigates you for starving is speaking on behalf of the Devil...
Grow a thick skin...
Ink, ink, ink...
Win or learn...
Tithe is compulsory 10 % Church tax...
Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose...
No excuses...
Do not cry over spilled milk; just get up and get more...
Tears wash away the Pain in the heart, but rain washes away tears...
Now is the time (1990)...
We trust in GOD (1995)...
Launch in the deep (1997)...
Victory through harmony (1998)...
Be known by works (2001)...
GOD is the Beginning and the End (2003)...
If we do not tell our stories, noone else will (2008)...
Get through the struggle...
Paint, paint, paint...
Do not beat learners when they fail questions...
Magic is a devilish ability...
Earth is 33 percent Hell, 67 percent Heaven but JESUS transforms it into 100 percent Paradise (New Garden of Eden)...
Multipartyism is like racism; all about colours...
Awa'difo [Thank YOU], GOD...
Unemployment is the politically-correct term for laziness...
If blaspheming the Holy Spirit is an unforgivable sin, does that mean JESUS died for nothing?
Why can't GOD just end the world instead of letting more sinners be born?
GOD alone is holy, holy, holy; am not...
As an Anglican, I've always been skeptical about modern-day prophets and preachers who make people fall down while healing them, from veteran Robert Kayanja (though he reduced) to Samuel Kakande to Augustine Yiga (Abizayo who is like an Unhealer)...
I used to think Leviticus was Hebrew witchcraft...
As a Jinja kid, I thought Hell was at Namugongo Martyrs Shrine in Kampala; you carry your own firewood...
Money is just a number...
Reply greetings, not insults...
Silence is golden...
We sleep for a third of our lives...
Salt enhances the taste of food...
Love is not only words, but deeds too...
Suffer patiently...
The truth will set you free...
Why can't we play Gospel music loudly more than secular jams? Don't tell me they are boring...
Slanderous gossip is simply unfilmed moviescripts; fret not...
Everyone is entitled to 120 years on Earth...
Love back everyone who loves you...
Life is a Tithe Loop...
Money is very deceptive - it comes and goes; we all need GOD more than money...
No matter how dark the night, the sun will rise again in the morning...
Words cannot kill unless you let them...
Why do I do Art? For GOD and financial papers...
Kaka ni ka 'ba sikokori ni indi [Lugbara Translate: Maize ripens for people without teeth too]...
When the sun stops shining and the moon is unseen, just switch on a bulb...
Bury your ignorance about inverter lightbulbs in a thick coffin...
The Devil aught to die (2001)...
Money can't buy love...
King David was serious about Thanksgiving...
Mistakes are human...
Too much work and no play makes Jack a very skilled worker...
The Palest Ink is better than the Sharpest Memory (Chinese Proverb)...
Worship GOD!
Lucifer (aka Satan the Devil) cannot be your friend...
Sometimes, 5 plus 5 equals 55, not 10...
Deliver us from Evil...
Naye ofa ki?
Rejection is redirection...
I cannot kill myself...
Do not hang yourself, something good will happen the day after tomorrow...
You sidestep depression by mindshifting...
Lead us not into temptation...
Suicide is a whisper song from the Angel of Death...
Bigambo [Words]...
Anger or fury is like Hell in the belly...
Do not bow down to statues like Catholics, Buddhists or Hindus; they can neither see, hear nor speak...
Isn't poverty a mental choice? GOD your FATHER owns everything but you cry about lack; Your country has a budget of trillions it spends on you but you still feel poor...
Pornography fuels lust (desire for sex) like petrol to a flame, until you extinguish the fire...
Homosexuality is demonic...
Masturbation is as evil as abortion...
Do not murder...
When a woman tells you she prefers you to her adulterous husband and wants to divorce him for you, the Devil is not very far away...
Grit is not natural talent, but a never give up, stay scheming until you win mental attitude...
I am not perfect...
The Sabbath is on Saturday (the day after Preparation Friday), but Christians can still gather on the First Day of the week which is Sunday...
When tired, rest instead of complaining...
Talking about money, homie, I ain't concerned (50 Cent)...
Pray, pray, pray, then pray again...
The Prince of Persia blocked Daniel's prayer answer for 21 days, those are three weeks...
The one you adore the most also adores someone else the most...
Ugatoons is a Fine Art movement of renewal since November 2020 in Arua...
Work never ends...
Satan cannot die but he flees when you resist him...
Mushrooms, whiteants, grasshoppers and mangoes remind me of GODsent manna in the Bible; just pick enough for each day, the rest will rot...
Wake up, pray up, dress up and start up...
I heard someone say Depression is a monster. What do we do to monsters? We stone them and cut off their heads with GOD's help like David the Shepherd; it's all in your mind...
Why be afraid of public opinion yet you have your own private opinion?
Laugh with those who laugh at you, even mentally; it's called Antiphase in technology and Sarcasm in literature...
Fast and pray...
Just be yourself; those who don't like you are simply different...
When rain falls, either you complain about the timing or collect rainwater for dry periods...
Success is getting what you want while happiness is enjoying success, but Double Happy-iness is wanting what you get; it's contentment...
If GOD hasn't given you a car nor bike, then use Foot-subishi, Walks-wagen, Shoe-zuki, Foot-so, Mer-shoe-des Benz, Toe-yota, Leg-uar, Knee-san, I-shoe-zu, As-toe-n Martin, Daihat-shoe, Ma-hindlegs-ra, Toe-lvo, Legs-us, Chevro-legs, Jeep Shoe-rokee, Toe-rsche 911, Feet-rrari, Shoe-baru, Rolls-Lace, General Mo-toes, Toe-sla, Leg Rover Sport, Gumboot-ini Aventador or Boot-gatti...
Depression is not bigger than GOD. So why should we be worried about it?
Lads, it's time to snap out of it (Patrick Vieira)...
My P5 English teacher made me a laughing subject because of a hole near the back pocket of my school shorts caused by the metallic class chairs, so I taught myself how to stitch clothes...
The pain will end...
Love is all that matters...
Mobile Money is just a number on a screen...
Spartans, what is your profession?
When motivation is blocked, disciplined commitment must take over asap...
Death is a doorway to eternity...
The flesh dies, but the spirit is immortal...
Computers, Arsenal, Women or vice versa...
Death is like travelling to a different city without luggage...
I'll try again tomorrow...
Close your eyes and sleep...
Depression is a mindtrick...
Dreams reveal what GOD wants you to know...
Keep a dream journal...
Everybody is people...
Criticism is like rubbish; either you break, burn, shred, decompose it or recycle and use again...
Learning never ends...
