By Kefa Senoga
“God Is the Plug” is a youth-focused social media hashtag, emblazoned on clothes and used in slang with the meaning that God is the connection to prospering, achieving and succeeding.
Uganda Christian University (UCU) School of Business graduate, John Baptist Mugabe, says indeed God is his plug. While hard work played a role, God gets the glory for Mugabe’s first-class degree, his internship and more.
“I always made a special prayer at the beginning of the semester for success,” he said. “I also joined the Kigezi Ankole Anglican Youth Missioners fellowship for prayers.”
Mugabe, who graduated July 29, 2022, with a Bachelors of Science in Accounting and Finance and a 4.54 of 5.0 Grade Point Average, said his success is a true representation of the Bible verse in Proverbs 3:5-6, which says, “commit your way to the Lord, trust in Him and He will act.”
John Baptist Mugabe narrates his story
Relying on God, Mugabe persevered to graduate with time and technical obstacles – both before and after Covid-restriction challenges. Mugabe says that in his first semester, he could not do his assignments on time due to the fact that he did not have a laptop and a smartphone. He borrowed a laptop from a friend to accomplish the coursework and assignments, but not always on a deadline.
Mugabe comes from Kihani III, Kikyenkye Sub County, Ibanda District, in the western part of the country. He is born to Mr. Kamagara Felix and Mrs. Kamabaati Fausta. He joined UCU in September 2018 because, Mugabe says “UCU has a good reputation and students who have passed through it are highly competitive in the job market because of the values that it instills in them.”
Adding to Mugabe’s frustration in 2020 was online learning after the closure of all education institutions in the country due to the outbreak of Covid-19.
“In my home area in Ibanda district, the network was always unstable,” Mugabe narrates, adding that insufficient upkeep was another challenge that became part of his life. He says it affected him because he couldn’t purchase the handouts that contained the notes that were given by the lecturers for revision purposes. However, Mugabe notes that all challenges as they came, motivated him to work harder.
As a Christian, Mugabe believed that God would intervene. And He did.
Mugabe has begun the journey of fulfilling his dream of becoming an accountant. As a UCU intern in the department of accounts, he performs duties such as student accounts management, staff debtors billing, receipt of university incomes and clearing of students. He hopes to be retained as an employee in the finance department at UCU.
Mugabe describes his experience of interning at UCU as one of his best due to the fact that he has got an opportunity to put into practice what he learned in the classroom.
“It has given me an opportunity to interact with important people who have become an incentive to the person I am now and the person I hope to be in the future,” he remarks. Mugabe says that the university has been a source of inspiration to him.
“At UCU, I have found mentors and friends who have inspired me…through the impact that their good work is making in the communities,” he said. “Joel Alfred Kibenge, who is an accountant at UCU, is my greatest role model.”
He adds that his supervisors with expertise in his profession have mentored him with a set of skills and unforgettable experiences. Mugabe says that the uniqueness in his work performance is the emphasis he puts on giving timely, accurate and reliable financial information to clients. Mugabe says that however much the future is hard to predict, he wants to be a Certified Public Accountant in the next 10 years, perhaps heading a finance-related department in a large company in Uganda or in the world.
“I also hope to have a family with a wife and children and also owning multiple businesses that employ at least 20 people,” Mugabe says.
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