Governor Philip Aguer: Has He Already Failed Before He Even Started?
5 min readGovernor Philip Aguer Panyang: More of the same old failed oligarch?
By Job Kiir Garang (Kiir-Agou), Edmonton, Canada
February 26, 2016 (SSB) —- Since a very early age, I like to complain about stuff. Now as an adult, I do that even more in most political discourses. Time and again, it has made me a hate figure among some fringe groups, but I am sure that among many, they tend to understand my agitations. Mines are not just blind complains. Not so long ago, I did put out an article complaining about the suggestion superciliously carried out by members within the Jonglei leadership (Borawis being the chair leaders) that after the tenureship of Philip Thon from Duk county and Kuol Manyang from Bor county as governors, then it is time for someone from Twi East county to take over. After the short list was finally revealed, a man who I respect so much looked to be the likely winner, albeit, against my will especially because of the manner in which the whole process was conducted.
After his successful appointment as the governor of Jonglei, Aguer Panyang was perceived by many as the final hope for the state of Jonglei; a state that, through well documented evidence, was and still is in the headlights of tribal mess. In my last article (surprisingly rejected for publishing by Paanluelwel.com), I did display my reservations as to the euphoria that arose after the appointment of Aguer. This is what I had to say:
“when Aguer Panyang is appointed as a governor of Jonglei sate, there is no doubt that it is going to be the same old story in Jonglei. Kuol Manyang, Makuei Lueth and Aguer Panyang are made of the same piece of cloth”.
My worry for the state grew even bigger. The few names that I have just mentioned are nothing but Juba insiders. We complain about the Juba government all the times but when it comes to electing our leaders, we always rush and pick the same one we always yell about. What? Are we stupid? When Makuei, Kuol and Aguer arrived in Bor town about a month or so ago, his (Makuei’s) welcoming was akin to a story often told with the Twi East folklore by Bol Goch who, himself was sort of a leader in his own rights and claimed that if animals were slaughtered and people feast and celebrate, there would be rain. People will dance in joyous celebrations and that the dead would arise and come back to life when the rain stops. Guess what? The rain never stops and the dead never came back to life. The whole celebration ended up in utter nothingness. I liken this story to the sort of celebration that Aguer Panyang received when he became the governor.
Aguer Panyang, Perceived by many as the ultimate redeemer for the people of Jonglei state, I still hold on to my skepticism. I guess my pessimisms were spot on when Aguer appointed his state cabinet. I seriously take it as a very reckless choice of personnel in the Jonglei leadership. Just to quote Ariik Aguto Reng who (although silently giggling) wrote on Facebook that:
“7 of the 13 or a whooping 54 percent of government portfolios/positions have gone to Bor County. Wow – that is just too many for one county and thus unfair. As well, 221, 106 out of the 372, 043 or a whooping 59 percent of the population of #Jungle state is from Bor County according to National Census, 2008. What? How could they be that many; I must now go and bang my empty skull against a rock as a healing therapy.”
The red sign he has shown (and the most daunting and probably politically dwarfing one) is that he has only promoted the people who brought him up: Makuei Lueth to be exact and his borawis. The people of Duk, definitely our most important neighbours and in a political sense our most needed electorates, have been virtually side lined. Only two of Aguer’s cabinet leaders are from Duk County? That is just an insult. A whooping 7 out of 13 from Boor is just unfathomable. Well as I said, we are in for a downward spiral again. My Twi East brother has just shown his backside to us. It makes me think that perhaps it would have been better if a Borawi was elected governor or a Duk county fellow. I am gutted and am sure many are. Let’s see where Aguer takes us. Fingers cross!
In a conclusive remark, I congratulate Dut Achuek and Wal Athiu Madol on their appointments. I think they are fit for their jobs. I just think that a little more could have been done to make sure that there was a little bit of power or leadership sharing between the three counties. I would have, as well, preferred individuals from SPLA/IO; the likes of Alier Ateny and Jesus Deng Mading to have got a little bit of recognition in Aguer Panyang’s cabinet. It just tells you how polarized we are as a state. Even this 28 states idea was a hard dough forced down our throats. It has no meaning. It does not unite us. It does essentially divide us.
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