By Ian Ortega
The question that’s been asked again and again; “Why doesn’t the human mind ever learn?” One would think that by looking at the lives of others, the human mind would pick a few lessons and not commit the same mistakes, yet it seems probable that the human mind is wired to repeat the same mistakes.
Why do Ugandan celebrities never learn until it’s too late? One would think that looking at the lives of people like Zimwe, Mabirizi, the once famous athletes and footballers that one would pick lessons not to go down the same miserable paths they followed and the ditches in which they left their families.
Talk of the Ugandan Celebrities, many have died poor and many will continue to do so, and leave their families with lots of debts to pay off. Could it be that we are forcing our celebrities to live a life they can’t sustain?
When we compare Bebe Cool and Bobi Wine, put them on wealth weighing scales, does it ever sink down in our minds that we are altering their journeys for the worst? Could we the fans be responsible for leaving our celebrated stars, whether musical or non-musical to the disastrous paths?
Think again; when Bobi Wine gets out buying the latest model of Tundra, is it because he can afford it or is it because he has a point to prove? Are we remotely causing our celebrities to live certain lives that are not their own? To build houses they were not yet ready financially to fund? And perhaps to put up a very costly appearance, so costly that many can’t afford it?
Think of an upcoming music artiste, when he lands on a hit song, he’s going to be forced to get a car as soon as possible lest the media writes about him. He won’t be seen eating ‘kikomando’ anymore lest people doubt his new found status.
Do we really pay our artistes that much to expect a lifestyle that expensive from them? We don’t even have the guts to buy a CD of a music artiste yet we expect the same artiste to dress like his counterparts in the American music industry.
There are many reasons why most of our celebrities are broke and many will die poor and here are some of them;
1. They Live beyond their means
They buy cars they can’t fuel, cars they can’t service, build houses they can’t maintain all in the name of pleasing fans who don’t pay them that much. Show me a Ugandan celebrity who spends less than Shs.100,000 a week and I will show you a celebrity who’s financially stable. You get less than 80M from a concert yet you want to live a lifestyle of 100M. Our celebrities are their own enemies, many are choking on debts, many can’t afford to hold a concert without sponsors. I am yet to see a single Ugandan celebrity who’s held a concert without a sponsor and earn purely from attendance.
2. They are running a very unsustainable business model
The business model our music stars are running is not effective in the long term. We are all aware that it will be very nagging to look at an 80 year old Desire Luzinda on stage trying to mint money out of an already tired crowd. Yet Ugandan celebrities continue to make music concerts their main source of livelihood. Some have managers to pay off, some have crew members to pay off yet they don’t hold more than 3 concerts in a year. Our music stars forget that it’s high time their business model changed, they need to adopt a model that can sustain them in the long term.
3. Many have stagnated and hit plateaus
No matter how good a Ugandan music artiste is, it does seem that they all reach a certain level beyond which they can’t surpass but only take on the downward spiral. Many music artistes who were the trend back then have hit rock bottom, others are enjoying their musical plateaus before they begin the ride downwards. The day a Ugandan music artiste will claim to have earned from album sales, the day a Ugandan music artiste will bring home a Grammy Award is the day we shall all stand up to celebrate a revolution.
4. A lifestyle of drugs usually ends in depression
We have to accept that as celebrities; sometimes they tend to make all this much money, in this short time that they get confused with what to do with all the money. Many then fall back to their consumerism, and others to all sorts of drugs. Many of our artistes are addicted to drugs and pain-killers, many can’t sleep without a few sleep pills, and many have no friends, they are running empty, they are some of the loneliest creatures. By getting wasted, many begin to forego shows to which they are invited, many stop hitting the studios and many forget themselves in whorehouses and the end is always a disastrous one.
5. They make financial decisions based on their current incomes
When our celebrities look at their current incomes, they tend to think that this money will keep coming in, they forget to account for the future when their career has come to a halt, when their voice has lost the magic. Ugandan celebrities know nothing about taxes (besides many have always dodged them), and many don’t even account for inflation. They buy liabilities which they mistake for assets. That car which they bought at 400M, dodged the taxi authorities, will be less than 200M from now.
6. They assume they’ll always be earning what they’re making now, if not more
Blackenterprise.com says, “We then create a lifestyle based on what we can afford at our peak income potential, as if what goes up, must go up. As a result, we are unprepared when our income drops, or is eliminated all together. In case you haven’t noticed, celebrities get pay cuts, laid off, chronic illnesses and fired, just like we do. Being famous doesn’t stop their bills from coming—in fact, it could be argued that bill collectors and creditors come for them even harder than they would for the average person.”
7. It’s all clear, you spend more than you earn, you will be broke, and certainly die poor
I can bet my neck that 99% of all our celebrities have never heard of anything called a financial planner. Yet it requires a different kind of success to keep money from the kind of success required to be the best at one’s talent. Our celebrities finance lifestyles that can’t be sustained for a lifetime. If you are paying more than Shs.100,000 just in fuel for a few days, so you can be seen around in that fuel guzzler, have you bothered to ask, is this sustainable? Our celebrities lack financial discipline, they have to get those ego-boosting status symbols, procuring the latest in every industry, latest designs, latest cars, latest technology.
Alfred Edmond says; “fame and fortune do not suddenly make you more financially literate. Merely having more money does not mean you will make better financial decisions, without an intervention and a serious commitment to financial education.”
Without financial education, most of our stars will continue to die homeless, we shall continue to fund their hospital bills when they fall on hard-times and many will leave their children with nothing to their names.
Of course, we must credit the few who keep learning to diversify their income sources, the few such as the Maurice Kiryas and manage to live within their means. However, for the rest, the path they are traversing is one headed for the penniless destination.
“Vote BigEye Ug in the Kadanke Youth Awards in the Social Media category.
Simply dial *255#.
Press 3 – Kadanke.
Type 20 and press yes.
Then select option 1 – BigEye Ug.
Thank you.”
