Ruweng State: Destroying a nation

The power to destroy a nation is a lot easier than the power it takes to build a nation.

By Santino Aniek

There is something brewing in South Sudan and for the Frist Vice President Taban Deng Gai to put his interest above the country’s interest will create an existential crisis in the nation. However, the majority of South Sudanese including myself believe that the power to destroy a nation is not the lesson of President Kiir Mayardit’s Presidency. But the real question in the head of every Ruweng people is, is the First Vice President Taban Deng Gai’s lesson here to destroy a nation? However, when the news break out in Juba the majority of Ruweng people were very excited about the appointment of Governor Theji De Adwad Deng and assumed that it would only strengthen our relationship with the FVP Taban. However, having a relationship with the FVP Taban seems to have had the opposite effect on Ruweng people’s lives ever since. I know that living with the FVP Taban can be difficult and I anticipated an argument over years we spend together under his leadership in Unity State was hell difficult. But as of yet, we have not had any issues for Mr. Taban being the FVP of South Sudan, but the issue the people of Ruweng are having now Mr. President is the authority you give him to operate freely. As people of Ruweng, our relationship with the FVP just seems to be slowly dissolving away since long time ago when Ruweng became an independent State for only one reason and that reason is the FVP. Mr. President, you have already heard a lot of reaction, both negative and triggered, during the relieve of Governor Adwad last week and it needs your good judgment to see this threat.

In part, what we call relationship in Africa today is really nothing more than the worship of self that is Evilism, but I’m not saying our relationship as Ruweng people with President Kiir’s administration has not reached the level of Evilism. But the agenda of the FVP regarding Ruweng State must be erasing from its entire root once and for all or hell to peace in South Sudan. All of the evil, perversion, and degradation in our country always begin like this, with the elevation of the self-interest over the people’s interest. This is, in fact, the source of all conflict since the beginning our independence. Indeed, Evilism is not a new phenomenon in Africa, but in the case of the South Sudan, it needs to be abandoning once and for all. Furthermore, Evilism is as old as time, or even older, and adopting it will create more devastation in South Sudan than any other countries who are practising this system of Evilism because our nation is built with blood. Let me assure folks in South Sudan, we cannot lose sight of the fact that our fight in Ruweng State is not merely against some political Party or man-made ideology, but against the Evilism itself. Our political debates are just one manifestation of the deeper struggle, and not even the most important manifestation. I’m certainly not saying we should neglect the political kingdom or ignore it, but we should know that the fight does not start there, and it won’t end there until Governor Adwad is restated as governor of Ruweng State. For our struggle is not against President Kiir Mayardit’s government, but against the marginalisation, against the bullying, against the powers of this individual Mr. FVP, and against the spiritual forces of evil in South Sudan.

In today’s diverse and in a troubling nation like South Sudan, misunderstanding and frustration are bound to arise between communities at all background, but FVP Taban cannot single out Ruweng State out of 33 States. In fact, there are a couple of things tend to create conflict in leadership, personality, decision-making, and poor communication to the citizen. The differences in leadership have sometimes caused some individuals to perceive some matters as undermining their positions or refuting their point of views. Most importantly, overwhelmingly responsibility in this environment where there is too many problems in every corner of South Sudan that needs to be solved is more prone to make mistakes and even cause conflict, but the FVP is now putting a fuel on fire. Nevertheless, dissatisfaction and frustration always occur among our communities in South Sudan when there is a limitation on the decision making process. With that in mind, the will of Ruweng people worth reconsideration Mr. President for the sake of peace in our country. As you have seen, the FVP is using the power of the First Vice Presidency to apply the most dramatic marginalisation like what we have seen during Khartoum regime. For example, FVP is trying to make it easier for emotionally troubled people around South Sudan to get guns and start shooting anyone they can find and that need to stop Mr. President. In addition, FVP seems to wage war on the very structure of your government you have put in place all these years.

Looking at what is happening in Ruweng State, he is positioning quite a bit of groundwork. And therefore the full effect of this groundwork will take a long time for the FVP to materialise in Ruweng land. There will be magnitude consequences, which should be a wake-up call for all who are supporting the FVP’s agenda, who are appalled at the tone, character and substance of him so far. It is a reminder of how much diligence, hard work and organising it is going to take to stop or even to slow him down, but Ruweng people are always resilience and determine to deal with such a character in a timing manner. All the while the importance of the threat in Ruweng Stat is nobody said it is going to be easy, and nobody is right here either. But if there is anybody out there who will think that the people Ruweng are going to win this game of chicken and egg, it will be Riek Machar because the people of Ruweng did a tremendous job in 1991 when it was difficult to win anything in those dark days. As always the case, marginalisation, colonisation, and now the intentional interference of the FVP in Ruweng State’s affair will be considered as a declaration of war on our people. And so, our advice to those who want to lead Ruweng people through the FVP’s ticket, the masters of human being will laugh at us if we fight for scraps that he the FVP cast from his gilded table, but most importantly, the consequences will be high than 1991.

In leadership, tough decision-making is the major component and core of managing the nation like South Sudan. For the government to be efficient, a leader must have self-confidence in order to gather and process information and solve problems like the one facing Ruweng State. In addition, the leader must recognise what choices to make and keep the interest of his/her constituency without losing the sight. For example, bad policies and inconsistency in decisions making are among the major challenges in the government and can generate much uncertainty among the citizens. For a complete decision-making, leaders realise that all reasonable decision making processes requires a great deal of time and knowledge of information, but rushing to conclusion always cause harm to citizens. In fact, there are several components and inevitable factors that influence the leadership decision-making process in any government in the world. Poor leadership decision-making is always associated with chaos and conflicts among the communities and what the FVP seem to be doing at the moment is exactly poor leadership. Ultimately, while some choices in the decision-making process may be seen as being simple and easy in thinking, most of the governmental decisions are complex, challenging, time-consuming, and often require a multi-step approach to making the right needed decisions by leaders. And so the success for any nation is determined by decision-making process and that decision is no matter how big or small, it impacts people’s lives in a major way. That is why it is very vital for the FVP of South Sudan to evaluate the situation before making a decision like this in Ruweng State.

Now, with the government watching the people of Ruweng begging for help, part of me thinks that this has to do with the fact that we are no longer identify as friends of this government, but President Kiir Mayardit has forgotten his friendship with our son Giel Kur back in the day. Therefore, Ruweng people want to tell President Kiir that they feel like they are losing him, as a friend and as their President, and they are not sure how to go about this. Like you all know, nothing bad has happened between President Kiir and the people of Ruweng ever starting in 1983 until now. Nevertheless, it seems like he the President has forgotten that he was our friend before Giel Kur has passed and he is still a friend to the people of Ruweng. What do you think we should do Mr. President? Sometimes walking away from a friendship seem to be the only course of action that can be taken when things get tough, but the people of Ruweng do not think walking away from you Mr. President is the weapon of choice at this moment in time. Most importantly, Mr. president you may need to fondly remember the good times you had with the people of Ruweng in general and with Giel Kur in particular and move forward. Subsequently, when a problem exists with a cherished friend, it is worth every effort to strive to reconcile the problem, Mr. President.

In sum, I do not know if the FVP Taban set out to destroy or want to disable much of the government policies in South Sudan through Ruweng State, as we have witnessed from some individuals for almost a decade. Finally, the challenges presented within friendship provide opportunities for change and growth when both people face them candidly and honestly. Regardless of the outcome, one thing is certain anguish and hurt will not go away until you Mr. President make an effort to do something about the threat facing the people Ruweng. One common cause of hurt in friendship is a sudden unexplained change in words and actions towards your friend, passive distancing, or feeling ignored and passed over. Other painful situations include outright betrayal or pressure stemming from unrealistic expectations and competitiveness. In the beginning, the 21st Century turned out to be the people of Ruweng’s Century because we have become independent from Unity State, but putting the FVP Taban in charge is like a prison without a door. What will happen if the FVP is in charge of Ruweng State? It is important to remember how radical the FVP’s policy is toward the people of Ruweng Mr. President. And this says nothing of the very troubling shadow of the FVP on his campaign against the people of Ruweng. Moreover, the people of Ruweng have always lived up to those principles of our nation ever since; we have shown it to the entire nation for the second time during the senseless war. Mr. President the game of chicken and egg is already underway and the people of Ruweng need your action now.

Santino Aniek is a concerned South Sudanese in Upstate New York, U.S.A. He can be reached at [email protected] and find me on Facebook, on Skype and on twitter @saniek.