The Era of Heroic Errors in South Sudan Aug. 07 Featured <http://www.southsudannation.com/category/featured/>, Uncategorized <http://www.southsudannation.com/category/uncategorized/> 5 comments <http://www.southsudannation.com/the-era-of-heroic-errors-in-south-sudan/#comments>
By Deng Mangok Ayuel, AWEIL, Northern Bahr el Ghazel State, AUG/07/2015, SSN; In South Sudan, a writer or columnist faces two choices: turn away from reality to avoid intimidation and insecurity or conquer the reality and face its complexity at his/her own risk. However, a writer is supposed to take side with the powerless. And it’s rational to balance an opinion piece or story because there is no moral obligation to take side with oppressor or suppressor in a situation where things are not going well in our country. Before I’m accused of being a Dinka, I urge my readers to face the reality as they go through this piece. This is a time to go against all political odds, time to call a spade a spade. If we could judge the current war in South Sudan by the standards of political enmity within the SPLM, one would say individuals in the ruling party against their own party principles waged the war. The rumor of ethnical rivalries and power struggles between Dinka and Nuer as ‘believed’ by the westerners is merely an imposture. There is no Dinka against Nuer as there is no Nuer against Dinka on ethnic lines. We must set apart national issues or politics from ethnic dimensions. It’s also a big zero to believe that the current war in the country has a just tone. A rebellion led by looters is like a morning dew. Is Dr Machar a right man to lead the rebellion if people are tired of President Kiir and the SPLM? Dr Machar was part of corrupt government in Juba when he was Vice President. He was in the list of alleged corrupt leaders in South Sudan. So he shouldn’t deceive grown up men and women with lifeless propaganda that he is an alternative for presidency. We made our country a bastion of plights. Everything is fading into mist in our country. Legacy is almost erased by power hungry leaders who mutinied against legitimate government, corruption has rooted itself in our public institutions and constructed lies become truth on social media for individuals who don’t want to believe in the history of rebellion with Dr Riek but interested to get a new story of the same coin in the new nation. Poverty has already reduced many of us to potential beggars. Many people fled the country. Masses were forced to live in the UMMISS camps. Others kept starving in their own huts in the villages due to lack of food. Call it Riekiiracy’s political era of errors. Are we on the axe of evil? Besides, Lakes State is another unique place with its component of insecurity. I call it a ‘component of insecurity’ because there is no smoke without fire. Something must be wrong somewhere or there is a troubler somewhere. On the other hand, coopted loyalists, MPs and toothed-public servants are the internal political enigma to our people. These people built political hives on social media and began waxing the public with unhealthy political rumors in order to instigate chaos for political gains. People are complicated. There is no devil than a man. The real devil isn’t far from an educated person. Politicians are also different people – they devised ideas to become law they don’t follow and pleasingly enshrined their doings for the sake of society. Some of the law enforcing agencies are trouble igniters. So where is the real devil? In a football game, a team is expected to defeat the rivals. Those who kept killing their own people are the losers. The societal complexities and the nature of killing in Lakes state are frustrating. Oh no, Rumbek is not the only place where there is insecurity. Go to Yambio and the villagers in Nzara will tell you their own stories of insecurity. Or go to Warrap state and the Aguok or Apuk section of Dinka becomes the warriors of their own styles. Are we the mixtures of wrong generation at the right time in the new nation? Do you know the kind of South Sudan we are creating through mutiny? Our political branded brains are allergic to democracy – that is why there is rebellion. Some of our politicians who aspired to fulfill their political interests and dreams through power struggle, war and corruption have made democracy to be the wickedly weakest system of government for South Sudanese ever tried. Democracy becomes a system of government where some of our people wake up in the morning and decide to loot public resources without accountability. It’s the government where people form consortiums within the ruling party for trouble-makings. It’s the government where its security agencies unlawfully humiliate and arrest activists and journalists to please their bosses. Now that people are afraid when they aren’t supposed to be afraid of their government, however, things may remain unchanged for a long time. It’s a democratic government that should be afraid of its people because democracy is the government of the people, by the people and for the people. In heaven, all the interesting people are missing. Greatest poet, Aristotle didn’t find them there. And in South Sudan, Aristotle found everything – corruption, tribalism, nepotism and rebellion, all in one mind. As the saying goes, “the greatest patriotism is to tell a truth when your country is behaving dishonorably, foolishly, viciously.” Alas, we are mouth-folded. You can’t tell some people that their algebra or political arithmetic is wrong or say that all SPLM factions shall one day unite and the losers will be the innocent people. We are in the era of Achebe’s Nigeria, ‘this house has fallen. Maybe, but some people are living fabulously wealthy lives amid the ruin. And others survive and get by. How? It’s a mystery. The secret lies in the layers of millions up millions of networks, personal ties, family links and ethnic loyalties’. Or call me a liar. Deng Mangok Ayuel is a South Sudanese blogger and columnist. He lives in Aweil and can be reached via [email protected] << Older <http://www.southsudannation.com/uganda-army-invades-eastern-equatoria/> Newer >> <http://www.southsudannation.com/do-the-lives-of-the-south-sudanese-really-matter-to-kiir-and-machar-or-anyone-else/> 5 Comments 1. defender August 8, 2015 at 12:42 am <http://www.southsudannation.com/the-era-of-heroic-errors-in-south-sudan/#comment-1187966> Dear Author, Your piece suffers from many things. I will highlight only two here: first, the issue of corruption is something all of us are talking about. However, as a learned person and articulate in your assertion, corruption cases are not tired in the court of public opinion. You convict those who are corrupt in a competent court and then you can shame them as much as one likes. In the case of South Sudan, as you have correctly noted in your piece, there are ample allegation about corruption but there has never been a case that has been tried in the court of law to warrant your wrath against those who are not convicted. It does without saying, those who are corrupt label those who are also corrupt but the only difference is that, those who are owning power define who is corrupt or not. This is a poor argument on your side. Second, the issue of credibility and reform. Let me give you an example to contemplate upon. Paul, the apostle that spread the Gospel of Good News to the gentile was a sinner. Jesus trusted him with the church. Why not someone in the capacity of Dr. Machar, if he is a repentant reformer? This question has not been answered by those who see, to claim that Kiir is a saint amongst all the evils in South Sudan. It is beats the logic to try to convince sound minded South Sudanese that what they are seeing is a figment of their imaginations. This is fool hardy a preposition! So, this argument is also deficient in its credibility. On the issues of legitimacy, credibility and the supposed representativeness of the current regime in Juba, the fact is glaringly abundant for all to see that the regime is currently forcing itself on South Sudanese, assuming expired legitimacy as a means of derailing any meaningful agenda of reforming the state and building institutions that builds prosperity for the people. So, it is sarcastic at best trying to explain the obvious. As such, the issue of legitimacy is contrived based on a sense of self deception nothing more. Reply <http://www.southsudannation.com/the-era-of-heroic-errors-in-south-sudan/?replytocom=1187966#respond> 2. Bentiu Ramaran <http://Southsudannation.com> August 8, 2015 at 1:55 am <http://www.southsudannation.com/the-era-of-heroic-errors-in-south-sudan/#comment-1187990> Deng Mangok Ayuel, As long as you are a Dinka, there would never a word of unity and sincerity will come out from your mouth. Reply <http://www.southsudannation.com/the-era-of-heroic-errors-in-south-sudan/?replytocom=1187990#respond> 3. Chul Mi Bor August 8, 2015 at 4:58 am <http://www.southsudannation.com/the-era-of-heroic-errors-in-south-sudan/#comment-1188050> Rubbish, rubbish and rubbish. I stopped read this biased article from paragraph six. I regret for that. Reply <http://www.southsudannation.com/the-era-of-heroic-errors-in-south-sudan/?replytocom=1188050#respond> - info@southsudannation August 8, 2015 at 3:32 pm <http://www.southsudannation.com/the-era-of-heroic-errors-in-south-sudan/#comment-1188247> Chul Mi Bor, It’s really shocking that you could stop reading a captivating article from a fellow Mongjang who lives not in Juba NaBari but in the ancestral land of the Jieng. That is the reality of the side-effects and tangible ramifications of the horrific regime you are blindly supporting and that has totally and irreversibly devastated the nation. Editor Reply <http://www.southsudannation.com/the-era-of-heroic-errors-in-south-sudan/?replytocom=1188247#respond> 4. False Millionaire August 8, 2015 at 10:03 am <http://www.southsudannation.com/the-era-of-heroic-errors-in-south-sudan/#comment-1188133> Excellent!!! But the next time u become a chief rebel,never believe in a tribal based rebellion. Brother Riak will learn it the hardest way as Gadet and company are in the course of turning their backs on him. It will be most unfortunate if the future RSS leaders who would rise from the ashes of the destruction fail to sacrifice for common universal human intersts at the expense of their personal egos. Such great revolutionaries as Chairman Lenin,Washington,Ghandi,castro and Mandela among others did so. But oooooops sorry,did Kiir,Riak and the rest of SPLM/A elites read and understood something about them? May God forgive them for destroying our country and the society out of pure ignorance!!! -- To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/d/forum/southsudankob View this message at https://groups.google.com/d/msg/southsudankob/topic-id/message-id For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "South Sudan Info - The Kob" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/SouthSudanKob. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/SouthSudanKob/CAJb14op6v0Qf7LjXwUXB9jL8KXF0Xj3TieDxS9G4Lpr607GnzA%40mail.gmail.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
