Will Dinka and Nuer ever learn anything from the past lessons!

Will Dinka and Nuer ever learn anything from the past lessons?

London, 21 March 2020

By Gwado J. Ador

I have come to acknowledge that tribalism and politics of favouritism have become a norm in our society.

Unfortunately, we have started with such politics to build our young nation.

Tribalism and bad governance under the current leadership of President Salva Kiir Mayardit and Dr Riek Machar have cost us more lives and backwardness than what we had expected. It has to be challenged, or otherwise!

Now, despite the current revitalized peace agreement, the trend is more likely to continue unabated, because, Dr Riek Machar has chosen to follow the same path of yesterday.

He seems to have not learned anything from the recent past. He has chosen to become deaf and blind. He is infected by tribal syndrome too.

His followers should have had an opportunity to analyze and digest the upcoming upheavals based on past experiences, particularly President Kiir’s motives, ways of his leadership and his actions!

To study Kiir’s behaviour, doesn’t need a priest to pray for a change of heart, a sorcerer or traditional medicine man to calm him down.

He doesn’t either need a psychologist or social scientist to read his body language and facial expressions! Everybody knows what Salva Kiir stands for and what is he is capable of doing!

Still fresh in our memory, precious lives lost, particularly among Riek’s loved ones. They had been slain mercilessly in the past, because of Kiir’s fervent attitude and radical decision to deal with opponents.

We witnessed many people being maimed because President Kiir ordered so, he instigated tribal wars and fanned its flames all across South Sudan.

It seems that, Dr Riek has forgotten all this very quickly and that he had to flee for his life barefoot later on after the first incident in December 2013.

He walked hundreds of thousand miles from Juba across the jungle to DRC Congo for safety following J1 conspiracy in June 2016. Most of his fellow tribesmen, however, had to abandon him to face an uncertain fate.

Some of his followers have confessed secretly that; they couldn’t endure that harsh conditions or risk their lives because of Riek’s elusive vision and senseless actions.

They thought the struggle was a wander in the bush and that it’s just a cherry-pick, but later they acknowledged it’s difficult, and it’s unbearable and doesn’t unworthy it.

Machar’s cheer beginning has left most of his allies or friends of yesterday puzzled, and confused. They have to adjust to the new reality which was imposed on them. Either to surrender or die!

However, if you look at the composition of Riek’s choices in the last formation of his government with sober eyes you would conclude that; the names in the list come entirely either from his immediate family including his wife and cousin or individuals hand-picked from his avid enemies or opposition. The stakes could be very high! No, a rational politician could risk his legacy and life as he does.

Allies upon whom Riek got sanctuary and protection when he was vulnerable were entirely left speechless. He sought help and it was given to him in Collo land, the best youth of Collo could produce swore to defend him and his organization (IO) principles. He was given body shields with Collo ancestral blessings.

He was welcomed in Bari land and was accorded respect and protection too, Zande, on the other hand, gave him food and shelter as well as Luo the same did they in Bhar el-Gazal.

But, surprisingly enough, Riek denied all these solidarities and turned his back on them. He ended up appointing only his family members and some few selected supporters. He has taken his allies for a ride. Neither mentioned their contribution nor appreciated their generosity!

But strangely enough, most of Nuer, including senior officers defected later to the very regime which exterminated their relatives and loved ones in the recent past.

They were paid peanuts inform of reparation. Some have been given cheap accommodation to settle in Juba. Others were left to roam about, they were also given free food in most restaurants or prestigious hotels around Juba town.

Few among them knew the tricks, very well that they have been lured in. Then later they would be faced with limited choices to submit or face the reality of no Nuer threat any longer.

Kiir wants to deploy Nuer against their brothers and comrades of yesterday, especially those are opposed to his regime, including those who are still languishing in abject denial and poverty in UN protection centres. Most are still hesitant that peace has finally come to the country.

Not least… to allay these fears; some Nuer were given remarkable roles within the system and mainly in the army with the aim or understanding that they would replace the Ugandan ‘UPDF’ to prop Kiir’s regime up in Juba.

Uganda, however, was told to back off and leave South Sudanese alone. UPDF siphoned off South Sudan natural resources in their treacherous fights against non-Dinkas, including Nuer themselves.

Now, Nuer junior partners in the government of National Unity comprehend their role very well and that to defend and protect Kiir’s tribal establishment from any other spoiler still hanging out there. They had to ensure that, the formidable Nuer’s White army bulwark had to be neutralized once and for all.

Nuer might likely go against their own in a determinable round and so on …Salva Kiir and his Dinka mentors would be stirring against the backdrop of major Nuer…Nuer squabbles…very soon in Juba.

The stage has been set, and the cycle of madness will continue unabated and would be all about competition over wealth and natural resources.

We will witness exasperation of this kind of confusion to claim for more lives. It will remain so, as long as we trust and retain both Kiir and Riek at the helm of our affairs in South Sudan.

In the recent past, Dinka fought against Nuer, and Nuer turned against Shilluk without any provocation. Both Dinka and Nuer fought against Murle and Dinka fought against Dinka, who knows what might hold for tomorrow.

Was that what the Nuer Prophet, ‘Ngun Deng’ taught us in his oral prophecies? I would better leave this for Ngun Deng contemporaries and Nuer historian to enlighten us more on this!

Today, tribalism is threatening the existence of everybody, including my family members, my friends and my community members whom I believe had nothing to do with crazy greed and savage attacks going on against one another in South Sudan.

The prolonged spade of resentment and hatred helped us to understand better who we are. We had lingered self-doubts; the tyranny may ramble elaborately.

In an extraordinary act of self-harm, some among us might work to reinforce the tribal strategies against their own. Even Collo community has no short supply of such hirelings and weaklings.

We are sorry that this has taken such turns, but this shouldn’t be allowed to continue. We must take perpetrators to account for human rights violation, they are responsible for the misery the entire nation is facing today, they can’t hold us back from our duty and citizen rights.

Yes, we expect fervent opposition and fierce confrontation from the regime and its allies. We know that we can pay the high cost and we are ready to foot its bills today than any other time before. We are sure that we will survive it and we will overcome it hopefully.

Of course, we will be faced with hard choices to make. Eventually, we may choose to fight for another round of liberation struggle so that we determine our destiny and the rights to existing in that part of the world.

We will surely fight for the liberation of our land. We will fight against agents of subjugation and tribal hegemony.

Aluta continua!