Dr. Eric Adriko, the Chairman and Founder of Adriko Group of Companies. He is one of those great leaders golf is proud of. He served as Captain of Uganda Golf Club from 1999 to 2000 – hence dubbed Captain of the Two Millennia. He also served as Uganda Golf Union President from 2008 to 2009. True Golfer Publisher, Eric Mukhwana, interview him at his Kololo office…

When and how did you get into the sport of golf?

I have been a sportsperson from childhood. In football and athletics, I have represented the schools and University I have been to. I took up Golf as a caddie to the colonialists in Anyafio Golf Course in Arua.We caddied on our way backfrom Jiako Primary School. I remember buying a hen for 20 cents from what I received from caddying. This led me to raise chickens to sell and help to pay for my school fees. It was also the start of the development of apprenticeship in business. Later in life when I was in exile in Kenya I took up golf when Ibecame member ofMuthaigaGolf club and Mt. Kenya Safari Club.

How has golf been beneficial to you as a player?

I regard the etiquette rules of golf as the most important rule of golf. It tools you with all the attributes which make you compete successfully in life.

How has golf helped you in furthering the entrepreneurial career?

In golf, it is often apparent that your primary opponent is the course while the balls provide company and arbitrage. You have to be honest with yourself and not be greedy if you have to bring back a good score to #19.

Golf, boardroom, family, entrepreneurship, Chancellor Muni University. Arrange in order of preference.

Eric!! You cannot say head, stomach, legs, which one do you prefer. Commitment to all your statutory responsibilities and most importantly to your shareholders takes place at the time of choosing to accept or not to accept the offer to be a Director.

How has golf evolved from colonial times, through regimes up to the present day?

I am not an authority on the historyof the evolution of golf. It however tells a lot that the first UgandanCaptain of Uganda Golf Club was Hon. Abbey Ongom in 1976 and Mr.Okodanwas the first Uganda Open native Champion in 1974. Otherwise, I remember it as a game for the colonial elite.

What has been your best and worst golfing times?

The best times are when you lose and want to come back to win the following day while the worst is when you come out the winner with a trophy and develop a sense of worry wheather you will repeat the feat the next competition.

What are the milestones of your tenures?

My Captaincy at UGC witnessed the end of the old millennium and the beginning of the new millennium – this in itself is historic. During my tenure, I worked with committees and we were able to attract corporates to sponsor golf activities, we tarmacked the club car park that you see and today club, and installed a steel gate at the lower and upper entrance to the club. Above all, we completed the first phase of the expansion of the clubhouse and new washrooms. By the end of our term, we had enough money on the club account to run UGC activities for two years.

As President of the Uganda Golf Union, I worked with my executive team to draft Vision 2020. This was later approved by UGUas VISION 2020 Corporate Plan which set out objectives and strategies for achieving those objectives. The Union also incorporated the Uganda Open as a body corporate.

The Union set in place the strategies and the way forward for the Uganda Open to become part of the Tour event. Uganda won the East African Challenge Cup for the first time. It was also during my tenure that Uganda Professional Golfers Association (UPGA) became functional as they started getting support from corporate organizations.

If you bounced back as UGU President, what changes or additions would you make to enhance Uganda’s performance at regional and continental levels?

I don’t think I can bounce back. There is not much spring in my legs. However, Members of the Uganda Golf Club honoured me by electing me to sit on the Board of Trustees and this is the best I can do now.

What should the Union focus on at present to improve golf in the country and make our players more competitive at the continental stage?

The players should develop professionalism and moral turpitude. We need to induct players when they are young. In this regard, the Ladies Union has a pivotal role to play.

What are your thoughts about inclusion of women in golf leadership?

The Ladies Union is well founded within the golf corporate structure universally.The challenge for us as a country is how to leverage the goals of theMen’s and Ladies Unionwith one another so as to propel national goals.

What is your message to golf leaders, golf players, golf sponsors and golf enthusiasts?

We pray to the leaders to show us the way and as players and enthusiasts we should be disciplined and follow that way.
Corporates are the bedrock of golf.We should nurture them by exhibiting professionalism equal to elsewhere in the world and encouraging sponsorship.

Brief Profile:

Dr. Eric TiyoAdriko was born in 1941 who served as Second Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Public Service from 1995 to 1996. He also served as Third Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Lands, Housing and urban Development from 1991 to 1994. In 1989, he was appointed to the Constitutional Commission and also became the Cabinet Minister of Industry and Technology.).

Dr. Eric Adriko holds a Doctorate in Mechanical Engineering from University of London.He is the Founder/Executive Chairman of Adriko Group of Companies incorporating West Nile Distilling Company Ltd, Sunshine Beverage Company Limited, Glucose Uganda Limited, Kamewoko and Adriko & Associates Ltd. He sits on numerous boards for blue-chip companies including Uganda Revenue Authority, MTN Uganda, United Bank of Africa Uganda and Kakira Sugar Works.

Dr. Adriko is a Founding Head of the Faculty of Technology at Makerere University in 1970. He is also the former Member of Parliament Vurra County. He is The Chancellor of Muni University and former Chancellor of Kyambogo University (2004 – 2016