Qiyada rasheeda –Wise leadership (Part 3)
5 min readJoseph Lino Wuor Abyei, Cairo – Egypt
November 11, 2015 (SSB) —- The writer still remembers the harsh statement of Mou’min, the large Egyptian peripatetic businessman, that South Sudan lacks “qiyada rasheeda.” This statement has far reaching resonance and invites an appropriate reaction from concerned people.
The question is, does South Sudan really lack “qiyada rasheeda” or was Mou’min over stating the facts or just being impudent. South Sudan is poor yes, backward yes, somehow politically unstable yes, there is some corruption yes, there is inexperience yes, people are sometimes aggressive yes, tribalism yes. But
Are South Sudanese lazy? Some people may say yes, others may not like it. This is going to be part of this article.
“Qiyada,” whether “rasheeda” or not, cannot be imported, it is essentially home grown. It means that the way “our leaders” are running the country, reflects what each one of us could perform if given the chance to be in the driving seat.
If you peep into developed and semi developed societies, and have a look across the spectrum, you will find each person bent on his/her God given profession; that, leave carpentry to the carpenters, leave trading to the traders, leave medicine to trained doctors, leave faming to the farmers, cattle rearing to cattle owners and so on. Politics is the last area to find yourself in, why, because they say leave politics to the politicians. Why?
Because some rational people think that politics is a bad profession, it is the profession of the jobless, it is the function of people whose job is to create problems sometimes called trouble shooters. Some of those who are disappointed in politicians describe politics as a “dirty game,” because some politicians tend to change their mind over night. But
Politicians are very useful and are very important. You cannot run a country without politicians, this is their profession. There is no country without politicians hence, the importance of having “qiyada rasheeda.”
In some “Third World” countries, this golden rule does not hold, why, because people tend to avoid their appropriate professions and become politicians. A Political Science theory says that people get politicized and radicalized when political institutions break down. You can see this in Sudan and in this and in that country and more or less here in “al dawla al waleeda.”
However, according to this writer there is an added element of laziness, because in some economically poor countries, people tend to spend time in playing cards under a mango tree or in politiking under the next mango tree rather than in doing something economically good.
Sometimes, in the absence of proper political institutions people tend to get involved in aggressive activities like cattle raiding, across tribal lines aggressive relations, tensions over failed marriages and so on, or picking arms to protest against a decision, an issue which could have been negotiated rationally on a small table.
Under such volatile social conditions, time is wasted squabbling while hunger eats into the stomachs and diseases like malaria and typhoid claim lives unnecessarily.
The issue of laziness
South Sudanese are usually targeted as a “lazy people.” How come?
After completing high school exams, this writer was temporarily employed in an office in El Obeid – Kordofan Province – Sudan. It happened that this writer was sort of politically radicalized due to the prevailing “liberation movements” atmosphere at that time and was very hot on any Arab who did not speak well on Southerners.
Then Hassan (not real name) this tiny size boy, told this writer after a lengthy hot argument and counter argument “You Southerners are lazy.” Immediately this writer reacted so aggressively that this tiny boy apologized and withdrew his statement. Forty years later a big miracle happened and South Sudan became independent.
A big miracle because at that time the UN and regional organizations like the Organization of African Unity, did not accept any rebelling territory to secede from the mother country. This forced Anya-naya liberation movement to appear to fight the entire world.
Sometimes this writer would have a flash back and visualize Hassan, that tiny Arab boy, and would recall that statement “You Januubeyeen” are lazy.”
One day this writer related this episode to somebody and repeated Hassan’s statement, and then posed the question that, “Suppose I meet Hassan, and then he reminds me of his statement that ‘didn’t I tell you that you Januubeyeen are lazy people,’ what would be my reaction?”
Is it true that South Sudanese are lazy, and what is the proof? Who is that South Sudanese who would accept to be called lazy, but look around, at least where is home grown food, look at the streets they are so small and in a very bad shape, look around and poverty is all over, look around and practically everybody is malaria and typhoid ridden, look around and practically everybody is hungry and so on and so on… Hassan will say “Was I mistaken, do you remember that I was afraid and I apologized to you?”
The writer will remind Hassan, “It is not South Sudanese alone who are lazy. Look around and your country is not any better. Hassan is saying are you, South Sudanese, not lazy?
Maybe South Sudanese are not inherently lazy, or maybe they are but due to what they call “zuruuf.”
Who is that can deliver us from these “zuruuf” and make us active, productive and proud. It is the “qiyada.” But if “al qiyada” have no idea that it is their responsibility to remove these “zuruuf” and motivate people to become a bit active and productive, then who else can do it?
Do not rely on any foreign people, in fact they are more interested to see us in these “zuruuf” so that they continue riding those large vehicles, and drink and eat and ….. the whole night. Qiyada rasheeds is the answer, but where do we get it?
You can reach the author via his email: josephabyei@yahoo.com
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