The rebels should look for another leader

By Gordon Buay

The rebel Generals who rejected Riek Machar need to learn from Gen. Albino Akol Akol’s advice to John Garang in 1983 which later became prophetic. As the number of the rebel Generals calling for Riek Machar to step down is increasing, one would only advise the rebels who are disillusioned with Riek Machar to look for another leader as soon as possible.

In October 1983, Col. John Garang called Albino Akol Akol who was in Khartoum and told him that he (Garang) would topple the Khartoum government in 2 years to take power. Albino Akol Akol, being a well-trained officer, advised Dr. John to add 0 so that it would be 20 years. Akol told Garang that it would take SPLM/A 20 years to achieve anything because of the following factors:
1. Transforming peasants to become guerrilla fighters takes time;
2. Educating the masses to join the liberation Movement is not an easy task. It requires many years of political education to explain the objective of the fighting;
3. Internal differences always emerge among the liberators and they slow down the rebellion. The split in the Movement happened right from 1983 between the group of Samuel Gai Tut and the group of John Garang proving the theory of Akol Akol. Albino Akol supported his conclusion with the aforementioned premises to caution Garang Mabior not to be excited to topple Khartoum regime in 2 years.

When John Garang signed the CPA in January, 2005, he recalled what Albino Akol Akol told him in 1983 which in fact became true because it took him 21 years to sign an agreement.

I have seen Nuer rebel-terrorists deceiving themselves that they will topple the government of South Sudan in a short time. I remember certain Tut Kuon in Canada telling me in January, 2014 that they would topple our government before February, 2014. I told him the Nuer adage which says “the Government has a long hand”. The Nuer’s Neanderthal did not grasp the meaning of the proverb because he was excited like John Garang in 1983.
But when the rebels and the White Army were beaten and Bor was recaptured by Lt. Gen. Malual Ayom Dor, I asked Tut Kuon about what we discussed. Instead to answer me in a civilized way, the Nuer terrorist exploded into anger and started to insult me like a raving lunatic.

One does not need to be a rocket scientist to know that the rebellion of Mr. Machar is over in less than two years. There are glaring factors that can lead a thinking person to reach that conclusion.

First, Riek Machar’s headquarters is a hotel in Addis Ababa. The man has no headquarters inside South Sudan. I have never heard that a rebel Movement whose leader stays in hotel in a foreign country can topple a government. Either the Nuer rebel-terrorists are mad or they lost touch with reality for them to believe that they will topple a government while their leader is technically a refugee in Addis Ababa.

Second, if the Spokesman of Riek Machar’s Movement, Brig. Gen. Lul Ruai Kong, could breakaway and form his separate Movement, can any rational person claim that Mr. Machar can topple our government militarily?
I have come to realization that the Nuer rebel-terrorists are suffering from intellectual disabilities because any rational person whose brain thinks properly cannot fail to notice that the rebels will not defeat the government militarily.

I have known Riek Machar since 1991 in Nasir. Those who support him now will blame themselves tomorrow. Riek Machar is naturally a fool. Somebody who is intelligent cannot follow him. But the Nuer who are now blinded by tribal hatred will realize soon that the one they have been following is mentally a Neanderthal.

The author is an ambassador at the South Sudan’s foreign ministry