Is Kiir riding on Machar’s back?
By Isaiah Abraham
March 24, 2010 — May be, or may be not! But there is more we could say in that regard in relation to the current and possible future political marriage between the two big men. At the moment the mismatch between them isn’t a deal so long as the two have the agenda for the people of Southern Sudan in their hearts, and that their togetherness mean a lot to us as people of Southern Sudan. We are please that our leaders are staying together, campaigning shoulder to shoulder; I wish Dr. Lam Akol would have been there, for the triumvirate to rebuild our home land. But Kiir campaign team is taking the conditional compromise just too far; by constantly and deliberately toy with one of the greatest assets in our land after Garang- Guandit Gat Machar. By being running mate doesn’t make anyone a ball (shadow). Kiir campaign managers want to portray that one is nobody and therefore should be left to play routine second fiddle at the campaign.
To Kiir team, the game is all but about Kiir as a person. They drew a thin line between the SPLM as a party and the Gen. (retired Kiir). No one knows what issues the party wants to undertake in their manifesto for the next few years. It was yesterday in Western Bahr El Ghazal State that we start to hear messages coming out from our leaders on our future. What Southerners can see for sure right now is Kiir different styles in posters posted literally everywhere, and on every car that belongs to one of the tribes. Our doors at private places aren’t spare either. Every state has a team of senior government officers doing the job for the big man, while members from the party nomination are fighting their political life on their own; what if he wins while his men/women on the ground lose, will that benefits his presidency? Certainly not!
Yet the man who run the system where we now have six months to go, and allow us to breath pride for our dignity has no single poster anywhere, saved for one in which the same cow boy closes his eyes in pretension. Generally, Juba is currently an environmental polluted city by posters from James Wani Igga, Joy Kwaje Eluzai and the big man. I thought it is not about many posters and loud speakers, rather than what do we intend to do within the next seven months before referendum and what political arrangements (transition policies) do we have after referendum.
I don’t know what saving (money) is that advertisement gonna come from/has actually been charged, when Finance Ministry had served a notice to institutions that have exhausted their budget and the very ones that stood at 500% over and above their budgeted allocations. But some politicians can’t be taken serious. Little things count to us voters. One poster with a Gabiah face under snazzy tie hanging on the junction of Hai Thoura/Shara Jamaa road at the wall of Bulluk Police Headquarters put drivers/passengers off of what will this man do that he didn’t do on his campaign posters? The resources use to buy expensive adhesive during the campaign is mysteriously anything to worry us, voters.
Back to our argument: here we have a one man campaign show- not even a party next courses of actions are mentioned nor the runner mate exposure to the public, what impact do we see in the said situation (campaign)? Well, I have seen poor shows where a soldier runs out of imaginations, creativity and fresh ideas to audiences. The gap should have been filled by non other than the tomorrow beloved leader Dr. Riek Machar Teny Dhorgun. This is his field and should have been left alone in there to market his party and his colleague (the president). Whenever he steps up to talk, an already made up protocols only requests him to introduce Mr. Kiir. He ends up being an audience himself, something voters don’t approve; people who were eager to listen to Dr. Machar speech.
So, what do we think is the story behind this scheme anyway (undermining Dr. Machar before his people)? Ummm! Sincerely, I don’t know, but the deduction points to the power to be for Southern Presidency after referendum. We all know that Mr. Kiir tenure after this election would be seven months span, because the outcome of the referendum will lead us to separate political arrangement, where leaders must seek a different mandate under different political dispensation. Funny, politicians don’t cease hoping even when that is a dream. Mr. Kiir time to go is at the corner, not because he was a bad leader, but a leader follows others. This is hard truth we must correct soon after independence. This election to analysts is about tomorrow, and that day is the responsibility of everyone. It puzzles why would Dr. Machar be strait-jacketed by small group against the will of the people Southern Sudan?
The truth perhaps lies somewhere and this is our biggest challenge that needs our conscious and collective efforts to quench it. There are few elements within our society who are fond of raking up ominous stories on what had happened or not happened during the liberation struggle. These people in fact are enemies of the Southern Sudanese. They are ever there to preach hate message at a time when we need something else-unity. Our people therefore must rise up and stop these people from spoiling our togetherness. Most of them are in the Diaspora and wonder what do they think they are doing, after all they won’t be there to physically help. But in straight talk, who never committed crimes against the people of Southern Sudan, in his acts of omission or commission? In pains to hear and read such stories time and again, when we are at critical moments in our history!
Dr. Machar should be commended for nurturing the newly formed government of the people of Southern Sudan. He managed to be patient, serving his weak boss for five good years. He is a man of faith, so industrious that the South will use immediately after independence. From the depth of my heart I know that this is the man with whom the South shall find rest from petty and chronic politics of stomach and backwardness. He must be allowed so to lay firm foundations for prosperity to our children. Kiir campaign team is hereby asked to give us a break of blackmailing the big man Machar for their personal scores. The South is big and the past can’t keep us captive. Mavericks, please! Please! Stop it!
On governance side, it has been repeatedly alleged that Dr. Machar is part of the problem in the Government of Southern Sudan (GOSS), since he is the second most important man in our land. That is, Kiir failures are also his failure, and my answer is this: how do one expects the chief executive to escape his constitutional successes/failures; it doesn’t work like that. Chief Executive is responsible for successes and failures of the institution. In our case, the constitution has vested everything in the hand of the President, unless he delegates. Our Vice President all along uses his experiences to close the managerial deficit by standing in for his boss. Don’t blame him now, wait for his turn. If he becomes the final authority in our land tomorrow, are we going to blame James Wani? No! The head will always be the head. I’m seeing a benevolent man being maligned for no reasons at all. Oh Jesus, pave the way for your servant Machar to liberate us from us!
Look, Dr. Machar has been an outstanding Zonal Commander who was truly up for his job, given his selfless and nationalistic approach to issues. Most of those who claim to be managing Kiir campaign were still in schools when Dr. Machar was fully at liberation field, fighting on their behalf; they literally know nothing about who this man is. They actually undermine President Kiir who belatedly discovered what Dr. Machar stature means to his presidency. Why leave him in the periphery at this point? Is there any plan to use him and later dump him in favor of Nhial Deng Nhial?
How about the promise to pass the baton to him soon after independence, was that done to lull the then brewing disquiet about the need to have a competent leader taking over after the liberation? SPLM being a popular party isn’t an individual thing own by a particular person or group; we have all stake in it, and it future must be protected from mendacious few. Dr. Machar is 10 times superior to Kiir. You can just observe when he briefly introduces Kiir in their current political campaigns. He has been specific and continuous to deliver polemic messages that come from his heart.
Machar however isn’t an angel and won’t be one, but his Presidency will prove apologists who are prisoners of the past, wrong. They must be stopped and if it means cracking them down here, so let is be! He had apologized more than once about what his men did behind his back in the 1990s, and shouldn’t be pushed too much. It adds nothing furthermore if he sings it daily. We must learn to be grateful to God and ourselves when we have such figures in our midst. We still have rough time, and unless we get a character who can stand up for challenges for the new nation, we shall find the liberation of our people meaningless to the majority.
On separate notes, there is a class of people who wants to throw away a baby with the bucket; those who go around preaching that President Kiir has done nothing in his five years in Office and hence should be humiliated (removed), I don’t think these people know who is behind Kiir. Mr. Mayardit in fact has played his part well, particularly at the formative stages of our current government (GoSS). He gave it all and deserves respect and appreciation. His quiet and humble approach paid handsomely during the absorption of militias (someone doesn’t like this term, yeah?) allied to the NCP at that time. It was an event to his Excellency the president credit for many generations to come. We are united more than any other time before due to his spectacular approach. His regime is corrupt yes, very tribalized another yes and a muffed system that facetiously on the defensive when facts fly before everyone eyes.
Despite every negative perception we might conclude about his government, our hero (Comrade Mayardit) will be remembered as a leader who first hoist the Southern flag and established the government of the people of Southern Sudan from nowhere. All of the above came about because Dr. Machar was closely behind Kiir. Kiir as an individual espoused for his people’s cause most of his life, besides being personally a great listener and a principled man. I would love to see him anoint Dr. Machar and retire peacefully and honorably, not through changes from outside his party! Our big brother Kiir has his place among our founding fathers (Emidio Tafeng, Saturino Lohure, Joseph Lagu, Deng Nhial, John Garang, Samuel Gai, Ali Gutwalla, Both Diu, Lazarus Mutek, Kerubino Kuanyin, Abel Alier, William Nyuon, etc). Thank you sir, may God give you peace!
The author lives in Juba; he is reachable at [email protected]