“President Idi Amin once wanted to change the name of Uganda to “Idi”.
Except for one man, Maliyamungu, everybody else who was close to him feared to challenge that decision!
Maliyamungu said to him, “Your Excellency Sir, have you heard of a country called ‘Cyprus’?”
With a surprised look, Amin asked, “What has Cyprus got to do with my decision to change our country’s name to ‘Idi’?”
Maliyamungu said, “Well, the people of Cyprus are called Cypriots. If you change Uganda to ‘Idi’, all of us, including you, will be called ‘Idiots’! So, please, let’s maintain our current name!”
Idi Amin said, “Aaah…! Maliyamungu! You are very intelligent! In fact, more intelligent than everyone in Uganda except me! Let’s leave it!”
About the blogger:
This blog is associated with the former Chief of Staff in Puntland State Presidency, 1998-2004. He also worked with the UN and World Bank Joint Secretariat for Somalia’s Re-construction and Development Program (RDP), 2005-2006, as a Zonal Technical Coordinator for Puntland and later as National Aid Technical Coordinator with the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia and European Union. He is now an independent political analyst and commentator on current issues and occasionally gives historical perspective on modern Somalia’s politics. He lives and works in Toronto, Canada. He can be reached at: ismailwarsame@gmail.com
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