By: Boy Fidel Leon
President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has laid out a case for deeper East African integration, arguing that without unity the region cannot achieve prosperity, security, or lasting transformation.
Speaking at the opening of the 1st Regional Ministerial Conference on the East African Community Common Higher Education Area (EACCHEA) at Speke Resort Munyonyo, the President outlined five pillars of integration. Those are prosperity, socio-economic transformation, Pan-Africanism, democracy, and strategic security.
For Museveni, prosperity begins with productive households and businesses, but it cannot thrive without wider markets. He explained that individuals and families only move forward when they sustainably produce goods or services and sell them for income. But for those goods to find buyers, countries must break down barriers and pool markets.
The only way to achieve prosperity is when each family, company, or individual is involved in producing a good or a service with ekibaaro (calculation). If you do that sustainably and sell it, you will get money and solve your problems,” he said, warning that isolated national markets are too small to sustain serious growth.
Museveni linked unity directly to socio-economic transformation. Education, he argued, must equip citizens with skills to take advantage of regional markets, otherwise it risks producing graduates who cannot compete. Integration ensures that reforms in curriculum and training align with the needs of a larger, shared economy.
The President also tied integration to political stability, saying East Africa must transcend tribal and sectarian divides if it is to build patriotism and democracy. By focusing on shared markets and opportunities, he believes integration reduces the appeal of divisive politics and fosters collective purpose.
Strategic security was another cornerstone of his argument. In an unstable global environment, Museveni stressed that small, fragmented states cannot withstand external shocks.
With all that is happening all over the world, if you are weak you cannot survive. Apart from economic integration for the whole of Africa, where possible there should also be political integration,” he said. Regional cooperation, he argued, creates a stronger shield against both economic and security threats.
Finally, Museveni cast East African integration as part of the broader Pan-African project. He said Africa’s survival depends on overcoming artificial colonial borders and building continental strength. Regional blocs like the East African Community, in his view, are the stepping stones.
First Lady and Education Minister, Maama Janet Museveni, tied the President’s vision to the ongoing East African Community Common Higher Education Area (EACCHEA) initiative. She said higher education must transform from being an “ivory tower” to becoming a driver of local solutions, including support for community-level programs like Uganda’s Parish Development Model.
Other regional education leaders echoed the call, saying harmonised qualifications, student mobility, and stronger research collaboration are necessary for integration to work in practice. They also acknowledged the challenges of underfunding and outdated infrastructure but agreed that unity offers the best chance to overcome them.
Museveni’s argument is that East Africa cannot afford to go it alone. Prosperity requires wider markets, transformation requires education and policy, democracy needs unity beyond identity politics, and survival in a volatile world demands collective security.
For him, integration is not a choice but rather the only route to ensure East Africa’s prosperity and safety in the decades ahead.