The Bondage of Tribalism in South Sudan

By Philip Thon Aleu, Entebbe, Uganda

When I read Amer Mayen Dhieu’s article responding to Tearz Ayuen’s, I just thought of posting this proverb from the BBC Africa’s page:

“If a dog cannot crack a bone there is no need to give it to a chicken to crack.”

Instead of writing responsibly as educated South Sudanese, I am always irritated by this tribal-based opinion. In my view, Tearz chronologically criticized a politician based on his facts. I did not think that warrant a raid to his village! Amer failed to challenged Tearz logically rather than meandering around the word ‘Buor’…’Bor’…’Buor.’ In other word, she asserted to Tearz’s observation that the supporters of Nyandeng are exclusively from Twic East etc. It was unnecessary for Tearz to say so and equally uncalled for, for Amer, to confirm it. Non of you is Bor county or Twic East county custodian to decide on their behavior. Second, there is no scientific study to that assumption.

Coming to the above proverb, it is this mindset (the ‘dog’) that South Sudanese are suffering right now (‘cannot crack’ bondage of tribalism) and we (the ‘chicken’) cannot use the same techniques of affiliating everything to our villages to move forward!

My understanding of the two articles is that Amer lack the ability to see beyond her village. She talked of ministers being nominated to national government from Bor county etc. This completely puzzled me because I thought it was an illogical way to say ‘a minister represents a village.’ I was in one village in Jonglei state in 2012; accompanying some World Bank (WB) officials to inspect a project they funded and interacted with some villagers. The villagers, to their ignorant, complained that there are no development projects in their villages because they don’t have a minister in the government. But the WB officials said that the health care facility funded by WB is not lacking funds but MPs failed to supervise the companies implementing the project.

I became interested in the ‘lack of a minister’ from that village and asked one elder to elaborate what they had hoped to gain from having a minister appointed by President Kiir. He looked around but failed to settle on one development project implemented in recent history of South Sudan by ministers and I waited expectantly. ‘Well,’ he said, ‘he would do something.’

What is that something?

This is the something which those who don’t have a minister appointed from their village always expect. What is that something? So I told him that during those days, when there was nothing called govt in Juba, rich people were there in villages and people did not leave their homes for the riches’ homes. I explained to him once again that ministers are supposed to implement government projects…not necessarily in their villages. I told him that ministers receive salaries meant to maintain their families and not their villages. I told him many things and we became friends. Every time I visited that village before being brought down recently, I engaged those old men and I was inflicting heavy casualties in their mindset. They were understanding what to demand from their leaders; security, roads, health facilities, clean water etc.

Tearz writes extensive on political issues regardless of his village’s frontiers. And when he wrote an article questioning information minister Michael Makuei some months ago, I said (in a comment) that if it were ‘other people’, they won’t criticize their uncles. But since I respect Tearz’s maturity in South Sudan politics — given his journalistic work etc, I commended his article criticizing Minister Makuei.

So every time we take to keyboards and put a word into a public medium, as learned South Sudanese, we must take responsibility to make our country a better place. That country we shall call home will not be achieved by sticking with your man even when he is leading to a rubbish heap! Facts must be stated as facts.

I wish Tearz could be challenged on facts but not by taking the war-of-words to his village.