Macharphobia an Macharmania are unnecessary

By Isaiah Abraham

September 25, 2009 — I have observed with pain the level in which we are taking our nation as we debate on the SPLM Presidential candidature impasse. As a nation and people of this beautiful land called Southern Sudan, we must be careful unless we drift away on matters that are squarely manageable. There is a temptation in the making that we might actually throw away what we already have, through our misguided wrangling, leaving our opponents in Khartoum to regroup. I thought we were debating national issues devoid of our mothers and sisters, an issue that concern one particular individual at the top. The matter has taken a wrong turn had it not that the leadership in Juba- for their credit- have stayed focused in the storm, and are concentrating on big issues of national importance, such as the referendum, security and elections laws. The Vice President is busy on CPA matters with the NCP demagogues, while our President is on consultative push through engagement with other political parties. H. E. Gen. Gier Chuang of the Interior is doing his best along side Jonglei State Authorities to quell tribal unrest around that state.

Let’s quickly get into what is this little letter. I have three messages to two extremists on both side of our current debate on the SPLM Presidential quandary, one of which goes to the Macharmania group and two to Macharphobia group, as well as a word to the party (the SPLM) and a request. To the first group, there is a need to slow down; you aren’t doing any good to Dr. Machar Presidential bid, even if we all seemed to have a strong reasons to cut pieces of our bodies for him. Dr. Machar Presidential drive need no extremism, he has supporters across our communities, the same way Gen. Kiir has supporters among Nuer community. Efforts from extremists will not give him an edge over Gen. Kiir, but collective efforts will do. In simple term, the group needs to cease from taking position on the basis of Nuer vs Dinka. That is not the case. Even among Dinka community the man can beat Kiir hand down. These are one people separately by history. I might be wrong but it look like a good percentage from each side come from the other. Their way of doing things are the same, and see no difference in them. But essentially a leader can be from anywhere, tribe as a background does make someone a leader. In the SPLM to be precise, there are no tribes but SPLM/As; this has been the habits even if we still don’t deny some pockets of tribal gongs and tongs then and there.

Macharphobians on the other hand must not spoil the good intention of pushing out a failed leader called Salva Kiir Mayardit; he must be replaced by a caring and a visionary one. Don’t just caught up in fear when you hear Dr. Machar name, its just too bad for you, there is no basis for doing this. Not at all! For the good of Southern Sudan and the generation to come, the man at the moment is this ‘dhol’ called Dr. Riek Machar Teny Dhorgun. He is a quintessence of Singapore Yew Khem Yew, the man who pulled out that country less than forty years ago, from nowhere to somewhere in the world economic and prosperous map. Please let’s try him despite his past records. In fact it wasn’t him but elements at that time, within his group that took advantage of a well to do political course to cause mayhem and destruction to our people.

Someone spoil my day few nights ago, and If I were the God of Ezekiel I would have killed him and breath life back to his bones. By wishing death to this special gifted man, what was in the mind of this fellow Southerner to write something like that? We don’t want to lose a single person in that hierarchy of the SPLM, Garang and other scores of our leaders are enough the price. Please! please! Stop talking like that again! May Almighty God be with each of our leader anywhere he will be! Amen! Perhaps this Kawaja called James Thumber was right when he said: ” don’t look back in anger or forward in fear, but around in awareness”. Its high time to fixed our eyes on big thing, we can’t write our past right, but we can do better today for tomorrow sake.

We are stuck in the middle of nowhere and something must be done. A calibre of Dr. Machar is badly needed in our fertile and virgin land of ours. He has no intention of sidelining anyone, just to assure those who are grip with phobia. Everyone would be treated equally; he is disciplined and if he goes for something he goes for it with all his might. Why fear him? If you are preoccupied on what to do with Mr. Kiir, even me, am also concern about him and respect him given his steadfast contributions to our struggle, but I believe Machar Presidency won’t dump him, he will play his part as a revolutionary founder of our liberation movement. The country is bigger than an individual, we have heard this anywhere, right? Nothing communal just to repeat myself, unless someone would want to drag us there. Its purely patriotic thing we can do as members of our beloved land. Each of our tribe is beautiful with shortcomings notwithstanding. We have paid the brunt of the struggle equally and deserved honor.

The second message, is in the form of a question (s): seriously speaking, what do you have in mind when you say Gen. Kiir must be left alone? Left alone to do what that he didn’t do while in office for the past four years? Do not tell stories here and scapegoat game. Do you want us to count his blunders since he came to power? Its just that people are economical with facts! It defeats me therefore to believe this reason in that stark dent; because we don’t have time for idlers and pretenders. We aren’t going back to elementary of running back to our communities when face with facts, we are almost masters of our own destiny, everything is on our disposal, who stopped us from delivering services.

Some of us are comfortable with the current situation, but surely they are flirting with ignorance; they got to aim high and this is important for national building. So when we talk of Kiir failures we don’t create it out of nothing, the slap dash by GOSS isn’t what people expect. Yes they have something in their drawers, just in papers, but again its insufficient. We want program of action on socio-economic development and services, we want democracy in its true color, we want accountability, transparency and good governance in place today, we want peace across our counties and payams, we want equality and justice and the rule of the law, inter alia That is why change is needed, in case someone would ask why change.

Then now to the SPLM. They got to show leadership and responsibility in the presidential candidature issue. Keeping quiet because its hot potato won’t help but brews the unexpected. In the first place, the matter shouldn’t be allowed to tear the party part, when we know what to do. The party ought to fear none, they must face the Chairman to clear the air. Time isn’t on our side moreover. The apathy of being always dismissive must not be allowed in this particular case. It will be a disaster. Our society will split once again and this will have a catastrophic impact on our future in 2011. Memories of SPLM DC are still fresh, Dr. Akol has perfectly sliced away the counties of Panyikaang, Fashoda, Malakal and Manyo, even if we still being flattered of support there. These people were chased away and this again has to be avoided. Dr. Lam has no personal problem with anyone, even ideologically, his heart is still with the Southern Sudan cause. He was maliciously sidelined for no apparent reasons at all. Even now am still of the opinion that this faction of the SPLM should be returned back. Its good we do so.

To wrap it after that long reading, there is no better way than for the big man to sacrifice for the good of our people; he has few options on his side, to be exact. On both ends nothing will work in his favor. Keeping the Southern Presidency on the expense of the Sudanese Presidency will deprive him of the Chairmanship, but how will he keep it (Southern Presidency) without being the Chairman of the party? If he goes to Khartoum seat, the South shall have its own Presidential contest with his name out of the boxes. Some of colleagues have argued on the same line before. So, what do we do? Well, since the extremists on both side of our society have hijacked the noble objective of peaceful removal of Kiir, and have embarked on sowing machetes seeds instead, the unpopular option is for the SPLM to drop the presidential quest al together, by supporting the NCP party Presidential candidate (not any Northerner opposition group). That is, preservation of the status quo or current arrangement. However Gen. Kiir must be placed on an interim capacity until Jan. 2011 during Referendum, to allow fresh election for a new national leader for a new nation. What are your thoughts on this?

Request: we need a day of prayer for our nation! Are you there Bishop Lukudu, Bishop Deng, Moderator Makuach, Abu sala? God bless us!

Isaiah Abraham lives in Juba; he is on [email protected]