Where there’s oil, there must be power-sharing – true or false?

There is a new model of government sweeping Africa and Uganda had better brace for it next year.

It is called power-sharing, and becomes inevitable when an apparently popular candidate is declared runner-up and his supporters reject the verdict.

Uganda has been both a pioneer of and a late convert to political systems in its 47 years of Independence.

At Independence, we had nearly autonomous kingdoms in a de facto republic.

Then after doing the single-party and military regime thing like most of Africa, we delayed the return to pluralism by developing the “Movement System” instead.

For a while, we got away with it as we charmed the donors with arguments that parties breed sectarianism.

Now power-sharing has been adopted in Zimbabwe, in Kenya and is being seriously discussed in Zanzibar.

Of course, the guys in Kampala would sneer at the idea, appalled at the mere thought of sharing anything, let alone power, with their rivals.

But more bitter rivals have shared and life has gone on.

Take Robert Mugabe and Morgan Tsvangirai in Zimbabwe.

Remember the photos of Tsvangirai after being clobbered like a chicken thief?

The bitterness in Kenya was even worse, with the power-sharing coming when the bodies of the election violence victims had not even been buried.

The Zanzibaris have apparently decided not to wait for a bitter election and want to agree on power-sharing before going to the polls.

So what happens if next February no party sweeps the poll with a clear gap?

Raila Odinga and Mwai Kibaki did not suddenly fall in love and decide to eat from the same plate.