By Ian Ortega
Eric Opoka ka Eezzy should be celebrated. There is no song that captured government’s failure in this fight than this one.
In fact the song is not meant to mislead people to dismiss COVID-19, it is a sarcastic hit at all of us, the citizens and their government.
It simply holds a mirror unto us and we all get to see our reflections.
Eyo gye mubeerera mu lockdown
Ffe eno tuba mu bend down
Gye mubeerera mu curfew
(Ricko)
Ffe eno tuba mu… oh
Here Eezzy makes it clear that whereas some people have held up to the lockdown and suffered a great deal, the reality is, for other people, life is moving on normally.
Mitima gyakaluba
Tetulina bitengo, hmm!
Bibbaala tukuba
Oyo Covid twamuvaako, oh
He notes that Ugandans have now found all the courage, the hearts have no spasms of fear. That bars have now opened. SOPs have been abandoned
Tetulina bya kola
Mpozzi okufunya emigongo, eh!
Twali twapipira
Naye kati twabivaako, hmm!
He notes that initially everyone had gone into panic mode until they realized the government was playing around, so now it is time for citizens to just have a fun time
Kati gye mubeerera mu lockdown
Ffe eno tuba mu bend down
Gye mubeerera mu curfew
Ffe eno tuba mu…
So kati deeJay
Musajja tumbiza sound, heh!
Ffe katunyumirwe
He calls upon the Deejay literally and figuratively to just increase the volume. That with government’s own failure, let us enjoy for Corona will come for each of us anyway, they even failed to distribute masks.
The police is not around, eh!
Mwana deejay
Naawe tumbiza sound, hehe
Kikube okitte
Tulina mbega ku ground
We have all broken an SOP here or there. We’be all worn the mask the wrong way. The Police is not around is also to mean that government has generally given up on the fight. And if the worst comes to the worst, the revellers should rest assured the government people are complicit in defying their SOPs themselves. Aka there is an informant ready to tell us about the operations and raids
Mwana aah ah
Ssi ka corona
Tetujja kwetta twetuge mbu ki?
Mbu olwo corona?
Nedda boss,
Ssebo aah ah
Ssi ka corona
Tetujja kwetta twetuge mbu ki?
Mbu olwo corona?
Nuh nuh nuh!
Here he reminds us of the famous Bryan White whine aka Nuh nuh nuh. He wonders, should we commit suicide simply because of a virus? He says life must move on amidst the pandemic. That we must learn to live with the virus.
Bwe muba mwagala zi sanitizer
Tujja kugula zi sanitizer
Tuyingire ne sanitizer, mu kibbala
Tukube party, eh!
Bwe mubeera mwagala zi face mask
Tujja kugula face mask
Tuyingire ne face mask, mu kibbala
Tukube party, eh!
Mutugambe oba mwagala ka distance, eh!
Social distance
Tujja kukola distance mu kibbaala
Ffe tukube party
Eezzy asks the authorities to set clear SOPs to ensure life moves on. That if it is sanitizers or social distancing, let them set the rules as long as these rules will ensure life moves on normally.
Kati mbadde nteesa nti curfew
Keetukwatire mu bbaala mutuggaliremu
Bweggwaako ku makya mutuggulire
He suggests that party animals should be locked up in bars after the curfew times. Let them be allowed to stay in one place and continue with their drink session. And in these times, we have seen the return of the Kaduuka and Kabalaza beer and how people lock themselves in and continue with their moments. Eezzy is simply narrating the situation as it is.
Nze abadde agamba kalantiini
Mututeeke ffe mu bbaala
Nnaku kkumi na nnya
Bwe ziggwaako mutuggulire
Because…
Finally suggestion is that quarantine should be in a bar. It is actually deeper. He is requesting that quarantine conditions should be in well-maintained places.
That quarantine shouldn’t be like a prison. The reason he suggests a bar is because other places have proven to be in worse conditions for the covid suspects.
So if government can’t provide better facilities, let it partner with bars. It is a swipe once again.
Eyo gye mubeerera mu lockdown
Ffe eno tuba mu bend down
Gye mubeerera mu curfew
Ffe eno tuba mu…
So kati deeJay
Musajja tumbiza sound, heh!
Ffe katunyumirwe
The police is not around, eh!
Mwana deejay
Naawe tumbiza sound, hehe
Kikube okitte
Tulina mbega ku ground
Mwana aah ah
Ssi ka corona
Tetujja kwetta twetuge mbu ki?
Mbu olwo corona?
Nedda boss,
Ssebo aah ah
Ssi ka corona
Tetujja kwetta twetuge mbu ki?
Mbu olwo corona?
Nuh nuh nuh!
Bannange aah aah
Aah aah, aah aah
Nuh nuh nuh nuh
Le le le le le le
In the end, you realize that the song was nothing but a social critique of government’s failures in this fight. The song simply tells the situation as it is. It is a song that asks government to pull up its socks in this fight. It is also a sarcastic play at the revelers. Because everything it mentions is exactly what people are doing.
The song should actually be given more play because it doesn’t lie about the facts on ground. It is actually a wake-up call to all of us, to reflect and change our ways.
Eezzy should be rewarded!
Ian Ortega is a Ugandan engineer and journalist
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