Steven Ariong.
Gaining an education in Karamoja in the past years was something that no one could have thought would work, given the fact that while other children from other peaceful regions were freely walking to school, this was not the case with Mr. Robert Abia Owilli.
While going to primary school, he survived several road ambushes by the Karimojong cattle rustlers. Most of his friends were killed, and his parents tried to discourage him from continuing with education because the region was not safe.
But Mr. Abia didn’t stop; he continued with his education.
A man born in rural Karamoja in Abim District chose to return to Karamoja after his university education in Kampala, while other Karimojong remained in Kampala looking for work.
For Mr. Abia, in 2003, he returned to Karamoja when insecurity was terrible. Cattle raiders were busy fighting with army soldiers, but Mr. Abia vowed that there was no way the Karimojong parents could see the value of education unless they saw it through him, so that maybe they could stop killing school children and support their education.
Mr. Abia started serving as a graduate officer in Karenga when it was still under Kaabong District.
Mr. Abia could ride a motorcycle from his working station to the district, a distance of 160 kilometers.
What helped him was carrying tobacco in his bag whereby, when he met the armed warriors, he greeted them by giving them tobacco. As you know, tobacco in Karamoja is regarded as something very important; even before a meeting starts, they first have to sniff it as they believe it makes you sober up.
The friends of Mr. Abia in Kampala kept on calling him to go back, but he refused. He said he had chosen to serve his people whether they would kill him or not.
With his humble background, politeness, and loyalty to State policy, Mr. Abia has grown through the administrative line from Town Clerk to joining the Central Government, serving in high-volume districts of Kapchorwa, Kitagwenda, and Masindi as Deputy Chief Administrative Officer.
With his outstanding performance, Mr. Abia is now deployed as the current Chief Administrative Officer of Napak District, a deployment where he has ushered in hope, strategic performance, and transformative administration in the areas of policy, governance, and social sector service delivery.
Apart from administration in the areas of policy, Mr. Abia’s method of work has made almost the entire Napak District love the NRM party because he does not apply a selective way of service delivery.
Mr. Abia has kept on defending the NRM manifesto by ensuring that the civilian population gets better services from the government.
Currently, Napak District, which was known to be a non-performing district, is now one of the best-performing districts in the region.
Absenteeism by staff is now history, and bribery during recruitment has also scaled down. People are now given jobs on merit due to the administration of a man who rose from a hard life to a better life.
Mr. Abia now calls on Karimojong parents to value education by taking their children to school so that they become better off tomorrow.
The writer is a senior veteran journalist
