Enough of Bullying President Salva Kiir
By
Steve Paterno
August 22, 2007 — “Do not listen to the childish complaints of the Southerners…,” ordered Prime Minister Ismail Azhari in the eve of Sudan ‘s independent. This was actually the real attitude of the Northern Sudanese Arabs, which triggered the Torit Mutiny of 1955. For the Northern Sudanese Arabs, they have accustomed to the softness of the Black people in general and Southern Sudanese in particular. One cannot argue that the Southern Sudanese are better of today than they were in 1955, when the Northern Sudanese Arabs viewed their concerns as a mere “childish complaints.” Southerners of today can claim to be educated and well exposed to the other world, but they are still being fooled and bullied by the Northern Sudanese Arabs. The most intelligent son of South Sudan by the name Dr. John Garang is only good for the post of the Vice President under someone whom he surpasses in both military rank and standard of education. The current Vice President, Salva Kiir, is a veteran who had fought two successful civil wars, but yet he is compared to nothing to his counterparts in the North who know no real war but Jihad.
A Southern Sudanese by the name Peter Kujo once narrated a true personal story and experience on how the Northern Sudanese Arabs could easily fool and bully the Southern Sudanese. His story goes like:
…allow me to share with you a story that happened when we were cadets in the prison’s officers college. One day a heated political debate erupted on the north-south question in which one of us has told a Mundukuru (Arab) colleague that, “Southerners of today are not those of that old time whom you have frequently fool! Today, we have enough and better educated people.” Then the Mundukuru colleague told him that “whatever number or quality of education you Southerners has or will have in future will not stop us from exploiting and cheating you!” Some days later, rams (Lambs) was slaughtered for a feast. Later on, in that afternoon, as we marched toward the dinning Hall, this Mundukuru colleague was standing at the Hall door and would only whisper to the ear of every Southerner who passes by, and the Southerner would exit the line and make a u-turn. In the end all the Southerners did not enter the dinning Hall as a result did not eat the cooked Lamb. What happened is, he told us that the Arabian Gulf colleagues the night before these rams were slaughter, did have sex with these Animals! We were very angry coursing the stupid Arab culture. After Dinner is over, he came to the recreation room where Southerners gathered hungrily watching T.V. He then told us that, I have just demonstrated to you that “whatsoever level or quality of education you have or will have, you never survive our tricks!” Although our portion of the food was still there, but none us would trust the food to be free of the alleged act!
For the last two years or so, Salva Kiir has been doing nothing but “childish complaints,” at least, in the ears of the Northern Sudanese Arabs. Perhaps Vice President Salva Kiir was better of when he was used to be referred to as Cdr. Salva Kiir because then he was directing ballistic missiles (BM) against Khartoum targets. Perhaps the cowboy hat has something to do with the behavior of the former Cdr. Salva Kiir. In a recent public event, Salva Kiir is reported to be on his usual duty of complaining. Among other things, Cdr. Kiir complained about the foreigners scrambling to the South to exploit it and its people. It is apparent that the Northern Sudanese Arabs broke whatever dignity left for the Southerners. With the signing of peace agreement, many foreigners poured into the South and either on their own or in collaboration with some of the Southerner Sudanese highest officials in the government; they together loot the country of the little that it has. What was once done by the Arabs merchants in the South is now being done by the foreigners in collaboration with some of the Southern Sudanese. One of such foreigners, a Ugandan teacher who abandoned his teaching job in Uganda even had a gut to call Southerners “lazy people,” because through their blood and sweat, he is today able to make over one hundred dollars a day in Juba, something which is far from even a dream in Kampala where he comes from. Sadly, the one hundred dollars he is making in a day are all taken back to Uganda . Speaking of parasites, go the South and you will find them or be one of them.
In the South today, meaningful services are hardly being rendered, the laws and regulations are none existences, and the inflation is on its all time high, which provides opportunity for others to reap the benefit. As a result, those who are negatively affected lost the little hope they had when the peace deal was signed. The President who supposed to do something about this endemic can only complain about it. And of course, those who profit from all these, rejoice. Among those who cannot hide their joyous moment of the current South Sudan predicament, is the Minister of Regional Cooperation in the Government of Southern Sudan, Dr. Barnaba Marial Benjamin, whom of lately through his colossal failures, earned the nickname of “Dr. Disaster.” The whole world knows that Dr. Disaster duty, among other things entail cooperation with foreign countries, but he does not need to make it so obvious that he is part of those conspiring with the foreigners to loot the South.
On his official tour to the U.S. , Dr. Disaster praised the high inflation rate in the South as part of the progress and prosperity. His measurement for prosperity was based on how expensive Juba was, which he ignorantly ranked only second to Tokyo in Japan . Dr. Disaster went on to hail the great opportunities for prosperity in the South. And once again as the minister is fond of making comparisions, he proudly compared these opportunities to the Wild West of the United States of America (USA) in the nineteen century. For the people with sound minds, they would perhaps begin to wonder on what the minister was referring to, but the minister knew exactly what he was talking about. The American Wild West was not actually part of the lawful and constitutional USA , but the land beyond settled frontier. Life in American Wild West was characterized by violent, lawlessness, and corruption. In short, Wild West was really wild as its name suggests, and only those who were powerful, cunning, and violent would survive in that harsh environment of “war of all against all,” sort of semi Hobbesian world. So, it is not surprising that the minister for regional cooperation for the Government of South Sudan will go around the world advertising the South of Sudan as the Wild West of twenty first century. It is also no wonder that those who have tendency to rope, corrupt, and prompt of violence would response to the minister called to venture in the Wild West South Sudan.
From within the South, there is a total breakdown of law and order. People can be arrested for wrong doings, but they can also be released by a group of their gangs. Case in point is the arrest of the former minister of finance, Arthur Akuien who was detained for corruption charges but immediately released by his group of gangs. Of course, there are no regulations for everything. The foreigners are operating under vague regulations negotiated in the foreign capitals by the likes of Dr. Disaster. For example, Dr. Disaster signed many of those vague negotiations with the miserable countries like Uganda . Now the notorious Ugandan People Defense Force (UPDF) is running the South. Through the Dr. Disaster’s call to scramble for Wild West South Sudan, there are recent reports of UPDF invading Kajo-keji area and being deployed there. Prior to that, they already occupied some parts of the Eastern Equatoria . Of course, the pretext is always that the UPDF are in pursuit of the rebels. But if we consult with history, the last time the UPDF hatched similar plans, it was in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and the pretext was the same to pursue the rebels but the real reason was to loot, and indeed they plundered that country, which still today not recovered yet. If the UPDF are serous in pursuing the rebels, they should first, liquidate them from Uganda before they dream of invading other countries on such false pretense.
The people of Southern Sudan have suffered so much under intense slave raids, imperial colonialism, government ruthless repressions, wars, and exploitations. They cannot afford to suffer anymore under the hands of those who are profiting through the miseries of the the Southern Sudanese. From the current trend, it is more than clear that President Salva Kiir is overwhelmed by fighting two bloody wars and now he lost the energy, making him susceptible to being bullied left and right, even by his ministers who cross him. Under a normal circumstance, people will wonder on why people like Dr. Disaster who shows their conspiracy role even in public will still be leading an important ministry such as the ministry of regional cooperation. Now the challenge is not anymore on Salva Kiir, as it is apparent that he is as much complaining as the suffering people. The challenge is for the Southerners to rise up and free themselves. Salva Kiir cannot do it. Some government officials are there to reap personal benefit. The foreigners are acting as replacement of the Northern Sudanese Arabs or in short, as parasites.
* Steve Paterno is a Sudanese residing in the U.S.A., and he can be reached at [email protected]