Southern Unity is another liberation front

By Isaiah Abraham

February 13, 2011 — As a nation we are obliged to work together and make use of our God’s endowed resources for the betterment of all. There is more we could have achieved together if we had really able to make use of each other strengths. I plead that my people this round unite and do away with divisive policies that are sentimentally driven by personal and tribal urges. If this land must be delivered out of its current epidemic socio-economic and political waters and to avoid tomorrow’s problems, we need to stand shoulder to shoulder as one people in the faces of enormous challenges of rebuilding our homeland. This is easy said than done, but it is possible. Two scenarios however, I guess, can make us go faster: one is unity among our people, the same way we stood together during referendum, and the other is efficient use of our resources. I will talk about the former (unity) even if I could be sharper somewhere. You need to bear with me also if this could be long.

Unity as always been said is critical in nation building. Singaporeans few years back were like us, fortunately today the world is proud of what had happened to these people. The poverty index was reduced to decimal, the same with illiteracy and mortality rates. People there are busy craving for more achievements. On top of what they overcame was disunity among their Asian diverse tribal units. They are just Singaporeans doing everything together as one people.

Unity we are talking about isn’t the very one we have been saying is political rallies, but true unity that comes through practical examples. Our leaders want unity done without going further to tell us what are the ingredients of unity. President Kiir himself has surrounded himself with kitchen advisors to twisted his hands to post his tribesmen everywhere, say key places. Yet the big man still go public to say unite! Unite! What name do you call this in your vocabulary? Hypocrisy, yeah? Our leader could have set an example for others to follow. The same practice is copied by nearly all ministries; if a minister comes from Acholi, the rest of other senior staffs come also from the same tribe. This is wrong and it has to end.

If this is my creation then I beg you to look at the recent presidential decree of transferring an army brigadier to Public Security in the Police. That officer has been everywhere, and too close to the head of our nation. Recall others before, and just visit each ministry and find out yourselves. So the blame isn’t the ministers but the leader that lead that government ( I have said I will be hard). The likes of General Mamur and others who aren’t from certain special group will find themselves slowly remove from the army top decision making body in the near future if this trend isn’t curb. Some of us like being open, because we don’t want our leader to live in ignorance of what hurts the public. Our hero is a good listener and should free himself from people that cheer but couldn’t help him.

By the way, why should our land be governed by tribal barons (advisors) when we have talented and nationalists who want our people to move together as one people? I’m not talking here about the main Opposition leader in the person of Dr. Lam Akol. He too was tempted as foreign affairs minister to appoint majority of foreign officers from his home Dolieb Hill. Other Chollo areas of Fashoda and Panyikaang confronted him at that time. Mulana Peter Sule’s party again is largely Bari outfit with few other places within Bari speaking groups. The Salvation Front headed by Gabriel Changson is 99& Jikany party with few others from Nuer ethnic groups. SANU that was before a party for all Southerners currently under Dr. Tobby Madut Parek has become a brief case party because other tribes are forming their own. There is no time to talk about Forums, people there are exiles and traitors with no grass root supports. In brief, am not talking about so-called political parties but talented nationalists within the SPLM party.

We have men there we are serious in this business of uniting our people. They were there during the the war, and have proven themselves real architects of our unity. Kiir was among them, and indeed the SPLM party overcame tribal classes long time ago. The South at the moment must check out this vice called tribalism and start to put up a front. It is true that this isn’t easy in our context as Africans, but Southern leadership ought to consciously break the walls of political regionalism and put instead a system we can be identified as one nation. The best place to start correcting therefore is the understanding of our federal system of governance. Our governors, and even that of the president ought to appoint Southerners on the basis of what they could offer other than their regional consideration. In another word, political office holders and administrators shouldn’t be guided by where an occupant comes from but on merit and competency. For the past few years , we have learned a hard way that our togetherness is in danger, due to huge autonomy given to state to chart their own legal status freely.

When it comes to development, so far the state system (called it federalism) helps. We are seeing services coming closer to our people. Yet there are other areas that will never move quickly due to lack of qualified staff in their respective states. This is true, because we have closed other Southerners from helping us, or just not able to help other Southerners when we are able to do so. Take for example Three Equatoria States and Jonglei, they have high level of skilled manpower but aren’t allowed to work in Upper Nile, Western Upper and Warrap. I look forward for a nation where tribe will not stop Southerners from working anywhere in their country. Police and other regular forces are doing a superb job in practicing this policy of posting Southerners on the basis of the area need.

Some of us would love to see our law makers deliberately moving toward the same; a situation that will ensure a Southerner Sudanese in Upper Nile State feels safe socially while working in Western Equatoria State as an administrator or a Commissioner. This is very important, and believed Dr. Garang was genuine about this change. Madame Rebecca Joshua Okuachi should transfer our civil servants anyhow to every corner that needs them. Nurses, teachers, doctors, and generally civil servants are to be discriminately position to all our ten states. Employers must drop that condition of ‘local’ filling up the jobs; instead it should a Southerner qualified to take up the job.

The other scenario (controversial though) that will make unity of our people a reality among our communities is this: since our brothers Dinka are being accused (rightfully so) of power hungry chaps, aggressive and insensitive when it comes to sharing, the best way to go is to give up power to the current Vice President who is from another tribe (Nuer). This is bitter and paradox to digest but worthy to be given a thought. Besides being already prepared to take up the challenge, Dr. Machar will surely unite everyone the same way Kiir was uniting Southerners. Immediately after the end of his current five years term or whatever arrangement that could do in between now and that time, the two big men should unite and just try to change guards.

Once this is done peacefully and conveniently, it will send a strong signal that our brothers Dinka sacrifices during the two wars weren’t about power but about liberation. In fact the war has taken a huge tool on all our tribes but Dinka. I want to see another leader coming up so to avoid consistent bad perception about that community. But if that happen, I know it would be difficult for the next leader commit similar mistakes of posting ‘my’ men at key positions throughout. May be they aren’t a problem and perhaps the problem would be us complaining daily. Then it was Bor when Garang was in power and now it is Bahr El Ghazal, and tomorrow it would be Nuer of Leek in Bentiu and so on. In the long run we will ask ourselves whether we have been doing a good job to our leaders .

I have said these resigned lines because our society will never differentiate between people’s characters and what they could offer. Look at this gentleman Gier Chuang Along commendable efforts in Interior, yet he still gets away with bruises simply because he’s a Jieng. There is no time to talk about Finance Minister administrative skills in managing our finances. Of course Southerners have people of their calibers elsewhere, but the truth is that we should go after personality minus their tribes. If we don’t do it, the next President (Machar of course) will experience similar problems of being criticize even when he’s on the right path.

Within me nonetheless, I know Machar Presidency will be best ever! Groaning yeah shall be there, because mistakes are humans, but this man is a blessing indeed. Our land is virgin; it requires a workaholic like him and someone who’s a visionary and beyond tribal reproach. In the 198os as Zonal Commander, our people can attest his organizing capabilities and big heart for everybody. His tribe is good at sharing and can die for the sake of others not themselves. He is after all a Dinka, a Chollo, a Bari, an Acholi, a Zande, an Anyuak, a Fertit and everybody. Just take a look at his headquarters and the simplicity of his style of listening to all. Oh how I long to celebrate this man ascension. Long live Azania/Nile Republic, not Southern Sudan please!

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