Can the ex-foes comfortably eat at the same table? By: Abraham Daljang Maker, Kampala Uganda.
DEC. 4/2011, SSN; The former largest country in Africa split into two few months ago. Sudan, the continent’s giant nation, had horrific war for more than two decades which resulted in the autonomy of the south. The two sister nations are still sharing most of the things in common, plus many other outstanding issues that remained unresolved. It is never easy for people who have just been exchanging blows to sit down and share the same table when the sweat of the fight they had is still visible on their foreheads. Sudan envies its neighbor South Sudan because of its wealth. Meanwhile South Sudan is not happy because the tail of its wealth is still being held by Sudan. Although the two are trying to forge the relationships, it is very clear that their hearts are crying in the middle of smiles. There has been counter accusations between the two nations. Juba accuses Khartoum for constantly bombing its territory; also the latter accuses the former for funding and supporting the SPLM-North. This seems to be creating sour relationships between the former enemies and it may lead to the scratching of the healing wound with salt. South Sudan’s oil passes through Sudan’s soil, the young nation is the landlocked country; this is a very great challenge which Sudan takes as an advantage. Oil revenue is the food shared by the two and the oil field is the table where they sit on. This prompts me to be skeptical about the possibility for the people who have just had a fight to share food at the same table without having difficulties of swallowing the food. South Sudan will only enjoy its gift of nature if they look for an alternative rout for the oil. There were series of threats from Khartoum that they will shut down the oil pipelines, all these are attempts to provoke Juba to react and face the consequences. Border demarcation is another connection between the two countries. Demarcating borders has always been the source of conflict even in countries that has never been in trouble. Kenya and Uganda almost spit into each others' face a few years back over border that lies on water body between the two nations. The issue had to be solved by the former colonial master, Britain that intervened and located the border on water. Therefore South Sudan and Sudan need to be careful in scrutinizing the matter before it can drag people back into national war. Abyei region is very sensitive issue, no one is quite certain if this will be solved by dialogue or it will again require some few punches from both sides. Historically and geographically, Abyei belongs to South Sudan but due to its natural wealth, Sudan wants to tighten its grip on it. Sudan forces are still in the region since they took control of it just before South’s independence. It is not yet clear if south Sudan and Sudan will reach to a proper accord in this matter without clenching fists in threatening each other. I think all these issues look simple to any one but they can enforce dire consequences to growth and development of South Sudan. Juba should adopt the famous dictum of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah of saying; “We neither look to the West nor to the East but we look forwards.” We can literally translate this by saying that we shall never succumb to any external pressure and aggression. Abraham Daljang Maker. Pursuing Bachelor of science in Journalism at, Nkumba University, PO Box 237 Entebbe Uganda. E-mail, [email protected] COMMENTS, PLEASE CLICK HERE Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author(s) and do not represent those of the website. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "South Sudan Info - The Kob" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/SouthSudanKob?hl=en.
