Have South Sudanese actually learnt from the past?
By Watts Roba Gibia Nyirigwa*
Nov 8, 2005 — When the Southerners mutinied at Torit in August 1955, it was the first signal of voicing their grievance and resentment against the injustice, oppression and their treatment as second class citizens in their own country by predominant northern government in Khartoum, and that was the begin of the Anya-Anya one movement. Sadly enough Anya-Nya one movement had very swallow vision to realize due to lack of capable military and political leadership. During the Anya-Nya war and despite the diverging opinions among the Southerners, yet the war continued. And Southerners collectively paid the price during the 17 years of the war. During the war, enemy bullets never differentiated among the southern ethnicity and tribes, but all suffered gravelly as Southerners, and that was evident in the massacre of the Southerners in all three provinces of the southern Sudan in 1965. The struggle and war continued till Addis Ababa accord was signed in 1972 which granted Southerners Regional Autonomy government. The southern regional government was frail, had no power as well as its leadership, but rather was blackmailed and weathered to the power rivaling, greediness, corruption, nepotism and encouraged tribal friction and confrontation which led to the Kokora, abrogation of Addis Ababa accord and dissolution of Southern Regional Assembly by Nimeiri in 1981, and demise of the regional government. That was the strategies and deeds of enemy who sadisms to see Southerners profoundly involved in tribal division and power rivaling and consequently proclamation of their inability to govern themselves.
As a result of undone job of Anya-Nya one and the premature Addis Ababa accord which failed to address the real problems and grievances of south Sudanese, Anya-Nya two started again after Addis Ababa discontented treaty and that was evident at Bor mutiny in 1983, which was the start of the SPLM/A under the patriotic leadership of political and military Southerners and the marginalized people of Sudan. During the SPLM/A war, the hands of enemy stretched to the interior of the movement and caused tribal sedition among the SPLM/A which led to the disintegration, defection, formation of factions and military confrontation within the movement, with aim of weakening the SPLM/A. But the SPLM/A leadership were resolve, vigilant and never faltered, but stood firm to its course. During the course of more than two decades devastated war, Southerners equitably paid dearly and gravelly prices and the enemy never differentiated among Southerners. All southern Sudan towns and villages were destroyed and burnt, and cities like Juba, Wau and Malakal have become or reduced to the ghost towns. There was no laughter in all parts of southern Sudan except wailing, pain and falling of the bombs from the sky on the innocent children and women without any mercy and differentiation among southerners.
The comprehensive peace agreement child which was born on January 9, 2005 has no ethnicity or tribe, mother or father but requires nourishment in order to thrive. And that is a collective responsibility of all South Sudanese without any single tribe claiming the absolute child’s paternity. But are Southerners capable to bring up the child unanimously and collectively under the emblem of South Sudan? Or Southerners have reached the tribal incorrigible stage? I believe not, but why this squabble about the tribal empowerment, I think Southerners have not yet got the message correctly, but till when? We Southerners have to understand that there is no country in this world built or based on ethnicity and tribe but nation. We have common course and same aspiration, then why not to unite purposely to face the challenge before us and realize our hopes, dreams and vision, then later we will have enough time to squabble! I think it goes without saying that our unity means strength and disunity means weakness. If the enemy’s bullets could not differentiate among us, then why are we profoundly offering ourselves as an easy prey? I really wonder, who wants to live as a slave and second class citizen in his/her own country, I think no one will allow that to himself/herself and even to his/her children. Then why not to unite purposely and get ourselves out of the pit of darkness and live in light, freedom and be masters of ourselves! I think everyone wants to live as a master and king in his/her own country, then what is hindering that dream to become true? It is me and you, because we are very far from God and very close to devil, and rejected words of our most compassionate God. We were warned to be all the time vigilant for the coming of our savior, but always turned deaf ears and rather preferred to be more vigilant on power rivaling and tribal maneuver. Let us wake up to the call of awareness and never wither when our leader was slain! Was that not awakening call to all of us as Southerners to unite and forget about ethnicity and tribalism! Believe me, if we do not break the circle and bondage of tribalism and unite purposely and intentionally and be as one entity, we will never achieve our self-determination, self-reliance, freedom and will remain second class citizens, stooges and puppets in the hands of our enemy to be manipulated and directed according to their will.
We have got lots of collectively responsibilities and duties to focus on at this crucial time, instead of squabbling and focusing on power rivaling and ravenousness for tribal satisfaction, as we have to concentrate on fostering and ensuring security and stability in all parts of Southern Sudan as peace dividend, and consolidation of government of south Sudan’s position to ensure the peace provisions. We have to establish southern states governments to run its day to day duties and putting in place law enforcement on ground in every corner of southern Sudan in order to avoid abusing of power by some wrong elements and bandits under the current law enforcement vacuum! And that was evident in the Western Equatoria State, as power abuse and lawlessness continuous to mount without any attempts and involvement of the government of south Sudan to contain the situation since when the situation erupted early last September. And why it took government more than one month to respond to the situation, as the two battalions of the SPLA was just dispatched to Western Equatoria State from Yei last week! Obviously, let us not turn blind eyes to the issue that threats our entity and security, but have to address any issue in our society with boldness, courage, quick and swift response, and not to let the security of our country slip away from our hands and never bow and grant a room to power abusers and bandits to destabilize and cause insecurity and chaos among our community.
* Watts Roba Gibia Nyirigwa, Cairo – Egypt
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