Uganda’s Museveni is the best choice for South Sudan

By Martine Akwal*

Mar 3, 2006 — As a southern Sudanese, I felt very relieved when I learnt that
Yuweri Museveni had won the election. If I were Ugandan, and particularly
northern Ugandan, I would not have cast my ballot for Museveni. In his
twenty years rule, he managed to put Uganda in the world map. Under
Museveni’s government, Uganda achieved one of the fastest economic growth
ever recorded in African sub-continent history. But only southern part of
Uganda has benefited from his miracles positive economic policies. Northern
Ugandans were cut off and left a lone to kill themselves. Most parts of
northern Uganda have remained largely under “developed”. In fact, if you go
to some parts of northern Uganda, you might think that you are in southern
Sudan.

Museveni sees Northern Uganda as a threat to his regime. He deliberately
alienated northern Uganda from the robust economic “development” process he
executed with the help of international financial institutions and of course
with great support of United States of America. All these time he has used
LRA rebels leader Joseph Kony, a primary school drop out with no political agenda, as escape goat for the under “development” of northern region.

However, if we southern Sudanese were to be asked to choose between
Museveni and his rival Kizza Besigye, I bet all of us would have voted for
Museveni without giving it a second thought. We need Museveni more than any
other leader in Africa, especially in time when we are facing two monsters
from the north charged with Arab and Islamic ideologies waiting for the
right time to tear us into pieces.

For his own interest, Museveni is willing to take extra step to meet
southern Sudanese demands. He knows very well that the border between Uganda
and southern Sudan is very porous, and the ethnic groups that live a long
it, are almost identical in many aspects. In case of any rebellion against
him, and if southern Sudan supports it, Museveni knows he would not survive.
He has grasped this complex situation that exists between southern Sudan and
Uganda more than any other political leader in his country.

We in the south know very little about Dr. Kizza Besigye’s political
experience and sophistication. If he had won the election, most of us would
be in state of panic by now because of the fear that Besigye would fall prey
to Egyptian’s foreign policies, which look more or less like American
foreign policy under Henry Kissinger.

Egypt is southern Sudanese number one enemy and the enemy of the whole
Sudan. Egypt has brain washed and enslaved our brothers in the north. Today,
most of our brothers in the north call themselves Arabs not because they are
or chose to be, but because Egyptian government made them to believe so. It
is using northern government as a tool for controlling river Nile. Egypt is
against the idea of giving southern Sudanese population self-autonomy and
possibly independence. As I write, I am sure Egypt is working hard against
the comprehensive Peace Agreement.

If at all the allegations that SPLA officers were campaigning for Museveni
were true, I would say, they did the right thing because we southern
Sudanese cannot risk having a new government in Uganda. We don’t know
whether or not the new leader would survive Egyptians manipulation against
southern Sudan. But thank our ancestors, Museveni is back to power for five
more years, the exact number of years we southerners need to secede or unit
and live with our “black Arab” brothers if only they miraculously change.

* Martine Akwal, is a Sudanese residing in Canada.