Luanyjang state: Supposedly an Established State
By Gum Thany Mon, Juba, South Sudan
March 20, 2017 (SSB) — For those whose Luanyjang is not familiar to, be informed that this community is one of the largest sections of Dinka of Bahr el Gazal in South Sudan. The community is situated in the then Tonj East in the defunct Warrap state. Luanyjang shared Tonj East with Rek Jalwau of a renowned sultan Gum Mading Akuecbeny until the idea of having many states and counties emerged.
Due to the creation of more states that led to the subsequent creation of unregulated more counties, Luanyjang was lucky to be divided into four counties of its own. Luanyjang is currently part of Tonj state. The community was known for its famous spiritual leader Aguer Adel Makol.
Dear readers, having read the brief history of Luanyjang, I want to bring to your attention as to what prompted me to write this piece of article.The further creation of four additional states on top of the then 28 states perplexed me on what were the criteria used that didn’t qualify Luanyjang. On the night of 23/1/2017surprise had befallen me when Madam Rejoice Kwaji (Madam Decree) a renowned news anchor known for breaking news from the office of the president readout the New Year’s presidential decrees concerning increment of states.
What flabbergasted me was not about the additional states or the appearance of Madam Rejoice herself that night but the omission of Luanyjang from the list of newly established states. From my own point of view that I hope would be the view of many, Luanyjang would have been a state of its own since the initial idea of increasing the then 10 states came to light. Why? That is a question everyone may ask except the sons and daughters of this community who of course will be the beneficiaries of the idea if its works, I guess.
The reasons to me are simple and clear that I hope may convince every reader before I am accused of being behind unnecessary plotting of the states. Firstly, the area; Luanyjang has an area of 320square kilometers. It is really a vast land, I guess. This of course is being justified by the communities and states bordering it. The area is bordering Nuer Bul from the north, Rek in the south, Nuer Kuei, Nuer Adok and Nuer Adol from the east and Agar Pakam from the south-east.
That wider excess itself tells the meaning compare to the other states with narrow outreach. Its area alone is more than Gokrial and Twics tates combined. Luanyjang is made up of 12 sub-tribes exactly the number that encompassed the today’s Gok state leave alone the Twic state with only 6 sub-tribes. According to 2008 census, Luanyjang had 16 polling stations and only 3 out of 16 were reported.
In the 3 reported polling stations, their population was 58,000. Those 3 were Pan-nhial, Makuac and Mapar leaving Romic out which is the headquarters of the county. The question is where were the population of the remaining 13 reported to? But according to NID, Luanyjang population was 238,635 and that answered the question of population in case anyone may doubt their population to make up the state of their own.
Luac community depends mainly on raring cattle and agriculture beside other incoming generating activities such as fishing among others. Such activities that they have like any other state contributed to its economic viability to mention but the few.
Beside the above reasons that might be the factors influencing the leadership in creating more states, I hope Luanyjang deem fit and if it is the SPLM ideology of taking town closer to the people i.e. services closer to the civil population at the grassroots levelthen there is need for this community to also benefit for they profoundly contributed to the liberation of this country in kind and form and they deserve such award.
Dear readers, I would want to inform you that the writer of this article is not one of the sons of the area or is he inculcating division among the citizen of Tonj but through coordinative observation that we must adhere to and a purpose of giving right to their owners is important.
The writer is a student of physics and mathematics in University of Juba. He can be reached at: gumthany94@gmail.com/ +211955078580
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