Dr. Majak D’Agot: Wealthy, Clever but Politically Naïve
By Malith Alier
Politics is the art of possibilities. It is the ability to come up with anything possible and similarly be ready to explain why it was not possible when the time for accountability comes. This was the case with one politician in Egypt who duped the electorate that he was going to construct a bridge across Red Sea. Everybody knew that it was going to prove an impossible task but nevertheless, the said politician cynically projected the idea to the gullible electorate at the time.
We are short of such politicians in South Sudan at the moment that can play politics in such a treachery way to win votes and later explain why their pre-vote campaign was full of unachievable possibilities. What we have are those who depend on blame game, something derived from past politics with Khartoum governments. Other politicians depend on history, you can call them leaders by default, to perpetuate their incompetence and stay in power for their own good.
That is why this country will remain in the doldrums for foreseeable future.
Mark the words of this author that some politicians would like to come to power through remote control. They are afraid to come to the fore and elucidate acceptable ideas and be approved by electorate to lead the country as a whole. Being acceptable by your own village is not enough to propel you to the national stage. The country has abundance of such politicians and the former deputy minister of defence, Dr. Majak D’Agot is one them.
Majak D’Agot is a public figure who has never fully assumed that disposition except on the occasion of the infamous December 6 2013 news conference held in the SPLM House by Former VP, Riek Machar and his group. This gathering has proved disastrous to the whole country in a short stretch from the day it was perceived and now. They rightly announced that the country was going to be in chaos if their demands were not met, something the government took lightly. Chaos indeed the country is experiencing, thanks to them being true to their words. Tens of thousands of people have perished and the figure is still counting.
The good Doctor is one of Kiir Boys as opposed to Garang Boys as mentioned elsewhere in some articles by the same author and other media. It was Salva Kiir who brought him up to the level he’s in today less of his own efforts. He even continued his studies to become a PhD holder with the assistance of the same man he is against today. Wonders for quest of power will never cease.
One of the few philosophers in South Sudan said once upon a time that never help to raise a human being, help and raise a melon because it will be thankful to you by giving you its fruits.
If he were a real politician who do not depend on others, Dr. D’Agot should have left his deputy National Security (NISS) post to contest for 2010 elections. However, he chose to stay away for reasons best known to him. This was his first lost opportunity for him to prove his readiness for emerging politics in the country.
After the partition of 2011, he was replaced by his benefactor and later made deputy minister of defence by the same authority he always depended on but it was rumoured that he was reluctant because he thought that he was overqualified to be under someone like John Nyuon, the then Minister of defence.
The last straw that has broken the camel’s back came after the release of the hypothetical politician when his misguided supporters sang songs that predated 1983 liberation struggle. These songs were not only irrelevant but also insensitive to the death and suffering of millions of innocent people around the country. Many commentators on this forum have already questioned this joyful celebration just for the release of a few politicians who are contributors in one way or another to the current predicaments South Sudan is in.
One would conclude that the good well informed Doctor does not know how to rise to the occasion and instil sense into unstructured situation. Whatever the case, the damage has been done.