50 Years without a Leader like Dr. John Garang: An Irrefutable Prediction!
6 min readBy Emmanuel Ariech Deng, Juba, South Sudan
June 10, 2016 (SSB) —- No body appears on the scene to be fitting into the shoes of the late Leader Dr. John Garang in his leadership style. Notwithstanding the twelve years of his untimely departure, all of his boys prepared to inherit the vision and the style went contradictory to the way he had wanted them to advance the promise. All the groomed comrades have become rivals among themselves. President Salva Kiir is on hot soup to bring them together! Impatiently, Comrade Pagan Amum has gone astray, Dr. Majak D’ Agoot has gone astray, Deng Alor Kuol has gone astray, Oyay Deng Ajak has gone astray, Rebecca Nyandeng has gone astray, Gier Chuong, John Luk has gone astray, Edward Lino has also gone astray leaving other groomed comrades with an invisible boycotted option. “I have consumed my time in the bush and my colleagues with me in the movement have had enough experiences to take ahead the SPLM vision”, roared the late Leader in Nyayo Stadium in Kenya 2005. These words were a wise leader words trying to predict his death as well as reminding his comrades to progress.
Dr. John Garang de Mabior, the icon of peace, the convincing public orator, the zero tolerant for corruption, the George Washington of South Sudan, the non-entertainer of militia groups, the leader we have lost without testing his administration in an independent South Sudan in comparison to that of the jungle, has yet to be born again according to the well-wishers of peace and nationhood. It might be true that he is not born over the last ten years or so but presumably, the leaders of his caliber may exist in a far remote part of political chances and luck. This sentiment goes without Dr. Riek Machar Teny and his protracted friend, Dr. Lam Akol Ajawin. The type of Garang character is not even his own family either, as the elder son (Mabior Garang De Mabior) who should have embarked and properly utilized the popularity of his late father, surprisingly conquered with the fierce political opponent of his Dad who presided over the Bor massacre of 1991, that resulted into thousands civilian death, Mabior own community and again in 2013 with the same Bor affected similar scale of insurgency.
John Garang’s family alliance to Dr. Riek’s political camp as it has been proudly claimed by Mabior’s closest friends, expressed their disappointment over the government deviation from party visions and goals but contrary to the perception of local observers and general public, the family was allegedly, financially allured to accept and boost the opposition stance on the 2013 crisis at the international arena. Their presence in the opposition side portrayed the government to have diverted from the intended course of action, development and transparent delivery of service to people. The international friends who knew Garang’s credibility right from the war-time to 2005 CPA in Naivasha, Kenya had to believe and uphold their support to government to opt for economic war indirectly impose on the regime to change its attitudes towards the most powerful Country for bilateral relations. The standing perplexity is that, how long will the country exist in mess without experiencing State failure? May be any possible intervention will put back the country on track but not without SPLM.
The disgruntled politician of the North was once right, when (he) Yasir Arman, predicted fifty years without a character of John Garang in both parts of the then country. He said this in his mournful statement after the death of Dr. John Garang. He would of course likely to be right for over past ten years now and might even go down the line to the remaining forty years of his forecast in which he publicly said “Sudan has lost a leader that it cannot procreate within a period of over fifty years”! Considering the loggerheads with our incumbent and opposition politicians now, those with the feelings for Statehood have deeply reflected with sadness, the statesmanship of Dr. John Garang De Mabior. When we revisited his speech videos, interviews and addresses, one could simply agree with Yasir Arman fifty years or more without a leader like Dr. John Garang, the man who created things unchangeable by political masqueraders we unwillingly see on the screens, newspapers and on negotiating tables to shamefully assumed they had done everything the same way Garang had done it.
The death of John Garang to the People of Abyei, the People of Nuba Mountains and the People of Blue Nile is a complete come back to square zero. Nobody is certainly sure when to revive the CPA of Dr. Garang about its content of the People of Abyei, Nuba Mountains and Blue Nile since Dr. Riek CPA2 contained only his position and his ethnic community. The moment these people remembered their twenty-one years with Garang and what they imagine to do alone without Garang, painfully reattributed to the reflections to believe that more than fifty years will pass down the history without a principal architect to fit into the shoes of Comrade Dr. John Garang De Mabior. Those who think their character is that of Garang would not be happy to read this article but that is a reality not in line with bragging, the fact a learned person (s) and clergy groups cannot dispute in memory of Garang’s political tactics and Country representation internationally in respect to current political events in the Country.
Many leaders around the world try very hard to leave a positive legacy behind as they retire to keep their children on pleasant historical records but to our desperation in South Sudan, Leaders killed, proudly moved, and talk without thinking for their children fate with those they had offended. Let us accept to be realistic and work harder to fulfill the vacant left behind by our exceptional brothers as we pray to God to procreate them in another dimension in order to pursue the rebuilding of a great nation, South Sudan.
Otherwise, the views expressed here entirely represent the writer opinion in regard to the situation. I remain your part-time contributor for the issues of common concern.
The author holds Bcs-IT, (Kampala International University) and reachable via ariechemmanuel2015@gmail.com or contact me through, 0955437785
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