End of year is a festive season to eat, drink and make merry but more important spend time with family.

As the New Year begins, there is a lot of excitement and new year resolutions. At times we fail to look back to see what has transpired in our lives and to learn from these occurrences. The year was particularly difficult for me as an individual. I lost a colleague and friend Dr. Warren Byabashaija, I had lots of hopes in him and he had taken away a bit of burden from me in the area of entrepreneurship.

From the Ugandan perspective, we lost an entrepreneur Prof. James Mulwana. Both these people were a great loss to the entrepreneurship community to both scholars and entrepreneurship community.

My contract as Principal expired and it was renewed. My detractors who wanted the job went around mudslinging me claiming I do not possess my qualifications and they finally took me to court. I became prey for others and another lot took me court. On a happy note, the first case was dismissed sometime in December. Thank God. We await ruling from the second one.

I had another challenge early in the year. One of my lovely daughters fell sick. Thank God we overcame that. Later in the year the big event happened. Mandela passed on. It is surprising now we have forgotten all about him because life goes on.

Towards the end of the year, two other family members fell sick, quite worrying. I am sure all of you had friends like this but possibly you did not take time to reflect on the lessons you get from these.

The lessons I picked from these various events in the course of the year were as follows;

• Wherever you are, God will always test you with illness, death and other challenges that you get.
• Death comes, even to good to people like Warren, Mulwana, Mandela etc.
• Select your friends wisely. You cannot avoid having friends but bad things can come from the least expected sources especially friends.
• As you rise up in society, you become prey for opportunists. Watch your steps as you plan and perform your numerous activities.
• For all things that happen to you, God or Bad, thank God.

For 2014, I want to depend on the resolutions of others. All the best to you my friends. Seek and do good unto others.

The writer is the principal of Makerere University Business School

  in my view, Makerere, MUBs, Waswa Balunywa