Museveni Urges Mali War College Officers to Champion Pan-Africanism and Economic Integration

Entebbe — President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has urged officers from Mali’s War College to embrace Pan-Africanism, economic integration, patriotism and strategic security as key pillars for Africa’s prosperity and long-term stability. President Museveni made the remarks on Thursday, July 16, 2026, while delivering a Lecture of Opportunity to a delegation of student officers from the War College of Mali at State House Entebbe. The delegation was led by the Commandant of the War College of Mali, Brigadier General Moussa Yoro Kanté. Drawing from his more than six decades of involvement in African affairs, President Museveni said Africa’s future depends on addressing what he described as three major historical missions: creating prosperity, ensuring strategic security and achieving African unity. “I have been involved in African affairs for the last 65 years. I was a follower of Modibo Keita, Kwame Nkrumah and Mwalimu Julius Nyerere, and I am a Pan-Africanist,” President Museveni said. He said Africa’s liberation struggle was not only about gaining political independence but also about building economic prosperity for its people. “If African people need prosperity like other people, then the question is: where does prosperity come from? It cannot come from begging. Africa has been begging for decades, yet many countries remain poor. Prosperity comes from producing a good or service that other people are willing to buy,” he said. Using his experience as a cattle keeper, President Museveni explained that wealth creation depends on access to wider markets beyond local communities. “My tribe cannot make me prosperous because they produce the same things I produce. It is the wider Ugandan market that buys my milk and beef. That is why patriotism is important. Uganda is the market that supports our prosperity,” he said. The President argued that expanding production requires larger markets, making regional integration an economic necessity. “When Ugandans began producing more sugar, textiles, milk and maize, the local market was no longer enough. That is why Pan-Africanism is not just an ideology; it is an economic necessity. Africa provides the larger market that will sustain our prosperity,” he said. President Museveni encouraged African countries to move away from subsistence production towards commercial agriculture and value addition, saying economic transformation requires citizens to produce for both consumption and income generation. “We told our people to produce not only for the stomach but also for the pocket. Many needs can only be met through money earned from productive economic activity,” he said. Strategic Security and African Unity On security, President Museveni said economic progress cannot be sustained without the ability to defend national and continental interests. “You may become prosperous, but if you cannot defend yourself, others will destroy what you have built. Strategic security is therefore the second historical mission,” he said. He noted that modern security challenges have expanded beyond traditional warfare involving land, air and sea to include space and emerging technologies. President Museveni said no African country has the capacity to compete effectively across all these areas independently, making deeper political and security cooperation necessary. “Even developed countries such as France, Germany and Britain cannot independently dominate all these areas. That is why political integration in Africa is so important,” he said. He welcomed efforts by Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger to strengthen regional cooperation, saying greater integration would help African countries protect their sovereignty and accelerate development. The President also warned that Africa’s renewed vulnerability to external competition over resources was partly due to the failure of post-independence leaders to achieve greater unity. “The new scramble for Africa is a reality because of our mistakes. Once we got our freedom, we did not use it properly to unite ourselves,” he said. Value Addition and Countering Terrorism President Museveni highlighted value addition as a key driver of economic growth, citing Uganda’s dairy sector as an example of how processing agricultural products can increase incomes, create jobs and expand export opportunities. He also spoke about the fight against terrorism, saying defeating violent extremism requires both ideological and military responses. “The first problem of terrorism is ideological. The second issue is army building. You must build professional forces capable of protecting the country and defeating those who use violence,” he said. Mali Delegation Praises Uganda’s Pan-African Role Earlier, Commander Joint Staff Training and Doctrine, Brigadier General Wycliffe Keita, said the delegation’s visit to Uganda was aimed at strengthening understanding of national security, defence transformation, regional peace and security, governance, civil-military relations and national development. The delegation, which arrived in Uganda on July 12, visited the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF), the National Enterprise Corporation (NEC) and other institutions to learn from Uganda’s experiences in defence and development. “Your Excellency, today’s audience with you is the pinnacle of our study visit. You are widely recognised as one of the region’s leading Pan-Africanists because of your commitment to peace, unity and African solutions to African challenges,” Brig. Gen. Keita said. The Commandant of the War College of Mali, Brig. Gen. Moussa Yoro Kanté, conveyed greetings from Mali’s President, Gen. Assimi Goïta, and thanked President Museveni for Uganda’s support towards defence cooperation and training. “This visit is a direct result of your decision to strengthen military cooperation with Mali. We thank you for the officers who have been trained in Uganda and for your enduring commitment to Pan-Africanism,” Brig. Gen. Kanté said. He said the 37-member delegation includes defence officials, staff and student officers from Mali, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Guinea, Morocco, Senegal and Togo. During the engagement, the officers sought President Museveni’s views on regional security, terrorism, Africa’s natural resource competition and whether Uganda’s National Enterprise Corporation model could be adopted by other African countries.