Narrow Party loyalties behind today’s Chaos
By Justin Ambago Ramba
January 30, 2010 — The love that we as south Sudanese have for our homeland and for our people in general is becoming a major topic of contention and discussion, especially as we approach the general elections.
While we discuss how some of us would like to lead the political parade, we should also be aware that for every leadership there has to be the level of the least accepted values, and obviously honesty and integrity must come on top.
However, as it is usual the case in partisan politics, even nationalism and patriotism that should have ranked top as prerequisites for holding key positions in our country, have been divorced from the former two ideals i.e. honesty and integrity and openly replaced by the much controversial and narrowed, so-called party loyalty.
Many outright thieves who are very loyal to some party leaderships end up being entrusted with leading party duties more than their colleagues who otherwise are honest people and quite straight forward people, but their only perceived weakness is that they cannot bribe their ways up the ladder.
The ways we view or rather tend to understand how different people practice their roles of ‘good citizenships’ have on many occasions become issues of contention.
In order to make the point more vivid to all of us, it would be good for us to look into the cases of thieves, buglers, and robbers who are in most cases known for their Robin Hood like acts of generosity. Many of us must have one way or the other come across examples of people known to survive entirely on theft, but yet they are popularly known to be very generous as well.
So the moral question becomes whether those generous thieves should be considered as good citizens although they are law breakers or not? And despite the obviousness of the issue, many of us remain to be slaves of misjudgement especially when the law offenders are close relatives or people of common club interests.
The mix up between patriotism and criminality seems also to have grown so deep that even people whose primary roles are to ensure law enforcement are being tempted to sympathize with criminals who should have others been brought to book.
By experience it has become understandable that during war times, attention is usually focused more towards defending the cause and often at the expense of respect to the laws of humanity enshrined in the Ten Commandments.
But certainly as human beings as we claim to be, it remains that those who found excuses to commit crimes at war times should have it in their own conscience that the Ten Commandments are meant to guide Man under all circumstance be it in war or peace.
I am forced to make this very long introduction, because our south Sudanese community is being relentlessly infiltrated by non Godly values where some people are constantly not only justifying the intentional non compliance of people in authority with the much expected values of honesty in conducting public work , but have also themselves in the lead of lawlessness.
As a proof that Lucifer himself is now in control in south Sudan, it is now becoming a repeatedly uttered statement and solely in defence of criminals, who are outrageous embezzlers of the public funds, when their supporters or they themselves would call out that, the present time is not the right time for seeking justice nor is it the right time for applying the law.
Now as I argue, south Sudan is widely infested with the worst degree of lawlessness, but should you talk about it you will sooner than later end up being labelled as traitor or an enemy (northern Arabs/ collaborator), signifying that even the law breakers (looters of public money), are viewed as more patriotic than any whistle blower, simply because questioning the actions of those who come from some assumedly powerful ethnicities or members of a dominant party or relatives of people high in the system, can win you a permanent position in the list of the ‘RULERS’, as a persona non grata.
I have lately noticed that the south/north war which started long time back in 1955, two years before I was born has lately become a hanger on which all our selfishness are preferably being hanged. Because the ugly shadow of the war has refused to part us, some of us especially the youngsters have been recruited into reproducing it like parrots to silence voices that highlight the daily mismanagement or the accompanying acts of impunity.
Unfortunately many of us are failing to see the creative chaos which has been in use for the last five years to cover up for countless government errors largely committed with the intention of empowering or enriching a handful of people in government themselves or their cronies .
Out struggle against being marginalized by the northern Arabs, can not in any way stand in the way of building a responsible and law abiding society in south Sudan. The two must go hand in hand and that is nation building.
We cannot stand by, just watch like picnickers, and not point a finger while horrendous mistakes are being committed on daily basis. And anyone who plays intentional ignorance should never be allowed to naively assume that they are not being noticed while they work towards the destruction of our society.
It is understandable that criticism is quite a pain inflicting act, meant to address the human psychic, but then we must also appreciate that it is the least correctional tool at our disposal as mere citizens, otherwise how are common people like myself expected to confront these monsters who are surrounded by well programmed tribal bodyguards.
And because written criticisms reach their targets promptly and mostly when the readers are on their own, we hope that God Almighty will at that time open their eyes to see and seek repentance.
What a golden opportunity does the media offer to wrong doers when they come face to face with their own wrong doings. At least they can remember that they are still human beings and seek redemption.
Wrong doers deserve to have the first hand experience and feel how disapprovingly the society is of their irresponsible behaviours. Also anyone who wants to harbour similar ill intentions towards the public funds can as well be deterred this way.
However which way it goes we are bound to be our brother’s keepers. A brother’s keeper is a person who is keen enough to correct his brother’s wrongs, by continuously reminding him of the need to abide by the law and keep to the society’s norms, but not to intoxicate him with praises while his hands are busy taking away bread and water from the mouths of orphans and widows.
Let us get this right inside our brains, because unless we appreciate that we are all equal stakeholders in our homeland, the south Sudan, and its interests concern us all, we may be wrongly led to assume that the credit to up lift our nation from this eminent collapse is only reserved for certain people of certain ethnic backgrounds who presume themselves as being more patriotic that others.
But by calling a spade, a spade, we should find no pains in accepting that though we all love south Sudan in our own rights, there are those of us who have become enslave by greed that they are almost burring us all alive.
Those who wrongly preach that the rule of law in south Sudan can be deferred to until the south become an independent country are being potential criminals themselves if they are not already in the breech of the law.
Sometimes one really feels very sorry and terribly upset by the way our people, especially the young ones, when they allow themselves to be led like sheep without questioning the status quo.
It is truly our duties irrespective of our backgrounds to defend our homeland against the enemies, but we shouldn’t also tolerate those who steal our efforts. The southern Sudanese thieves are as evil as the northern Arab oppressors. Unless we have the courage, plus what it takes to reject both evils, our future as a nation remains hanged in the balance.
This argument can only be driven home when we understand that we have clearly come a long way in our quest for an independent nation and the whole world knows that.
The choice for secession in south Sudan can no longer be held back. Hence our independence is now an issue that can only be discussed in the context of how peaceful it should be allowed to happen, while we reserve the right to have it otherwise.
But while propagating from diplomacy and respect to conventions , I am also aware that sometimes we may be forced into the use of force, as such I am not ruling out any possibilities. However there is no way that the Sudan can be forced to continue as a one country and this is a fact that has come remain.
South Sudan may be full of insecurity, awashed with sophisticated weapons, overridden with inter-clan conflicts, YET our determination for an independent nation can never ever be stopped by any of the above.
If there is anybody out there who still wants to return south Sudanese to war, well the war can be fought when it becomes unavoidable, after all no one lives forever whether there be endless wars on permanent peace. People can still die even without going to war. You don’t necessary have to confront other humans in order to experience major destruction, and Mother Nature has her own ways, so come what may come.
When we die eventually it is not to please anyone neither is it to disappoint anybody. Everybody is expected to die and the rhetoric of wagging wars won’t serve any purpose as wars aren’t any measures for bravery.
No government or group of self-interested syndicates should be allowed to enjoy an indefinite lease of power while they go on abusing it as if they are running a no man’s land.
The fear of small gods no more holds and in today’s Africa people are virtually better off confronting the challenges than languishing in endless miseries while a greedy handful claims falsely to know it all.
No handpicked groups should therefore be allowed to boast that they possess the only remedies to our problems when the vision they hold is in fact nothing but a protective coat for their emissaries who see no wrong as they lie and loot left and right. How are we expected be brainless idiots and believe, in these not only self proclaimed martyrs but actually living ones for that matter.
Falling off. we all know it and nobody actually regrets falling off with a contracted spoiler as destinies are predefined. So it’s no use trying to scare a people who have already seen none but wars for the last five decades.
The bottom line is that while we live, we must live a responsible and accountable life, no less than the rest of the humanity. However since the current status quo has failed us, then we have a moral obligation to rectify things by voting in the right alternatives.
Failures are failures and if some of us have seen a better alternative somewhere, they shouldn’t be coerced using threats of ex-communications so that they may continue to be misled by the wrong leadership. The people are free to choose their own servants and no way that any late hour party rhetoric can halt the wheel of change.
Dr. Justin Ambago Ramba, M.B, B.Ch, D.R.H, MD. The Secretary General of the United South Sudan Party (USSP) He.can be reached at [email protected] or [email protected]