Dr. Riek Machar or Hon. Michael Makwei Lueth: The Successor of President Salva Kiir
7 min readBy Benjamin Guarken Chiman, Khartoum, Sudan
February 7, 2018 (SSB) — It’s often argued by most of the world bodies that, an agony being faced by South Sudanese is purely a man-made one. Some people still think that it’s an external brokered tragedy. On the one hand, the search for viable remedies to this grown and nursed agony seems to stem from every single heart of its citizen.
Though differences sound louder then what seem to unit them, they still have the sense that; they belong to one nation, one country. They still share some blood bonding. They still possess secrets to share. Above all, citizens from both divisions are held in a constant vicious cycle of poverty! AND THAT UNITS THEM MORE!
On the other hand, wrong solutions often proposed by the international community and South Sudanese politicians seems to be aggravating factors then being remedies in themselves. The lack of trust among the citizens themselves is more likely to be the main pivot to why a consensus would not easily be attained for a viable and durable peace in the near future. The citizens of both camps (in governments, opportunists and oppositions) plus their leaders have low affinities to themselves as people of one nation, despite their similar and undeniable pain of trounce.
The leaders look far from the centre of the compass for escape-goats. They export their weaknesses and problems to the ends of the compass with hopes that they will find refuge somewhere there, the ends of the blue sky. It’s like a placebo! It’s unlikely to be a soon-to- conclude scientific research. They will never find a refuge and acceptance from anywhere except from themselves, many world bodies belief only that theory might work.
The possible diagnostics or curative medication is being missed nonetheless; it will merely lie in reaffirming internal trust and solving problems at the centre of the compass rather than speeding to the periphery.
This point, however, should bring these leaders to accepting what they will not achieve despite what they achieved in the past. It will greatly require citizens to act audaciously too, to forgive the culprits of their sufferings. By doing so with clear conscious and mindset, will a man like Hon. Michael Makuei Lueth, if given a chance to lead the country can do it. He could salvage the nation maybe within two years’ time.
The far ends of the compass fear him for his valour and forthrightness. Also, the trauma periods requires aggressive rules and foretold warnings more than the TV decrees and amnesties. He sounds to predict and enunciate his arithmetic before he operates judiciously. This is what a post-war country needs!
In a nutshell, this submission should not be taken or construe that he owns the only wit in the nation but it’s the last episode of the series. There are thousands waiting for that single chance with pure patriotism. There are many leaders of his calibre, but many are with the view that, he holds the traits that could manage a nation under physiotherapy or a nation whose citizens are suffocating.
It may require rules with less mercy. Cleaning an old would require no mercy, aggressiveness benefits the patient at least. As this may be applicable for the sake of South Sudan, Makuei Lueth can change the image of the nation from outsiders. The outsiders speak their minds, they act the way that pleases them.
Looking to what happened at the beginning of leadership in some of the African countries. It was less mercy and more of rule of law, above all. It should also be cited that, this was before the power corrupted these strong leaders. Some of those countries that had men like Hon. Makuei where; Zimbabwe with white farmers under President Mugabe, Uganda with Asian under Edi Amin, and Libya with the USA under Muammar Gadhafi. They were great men who took decisions from the centre of the compass.
They put their citizens first. These giants emerged immediately after the post-traumatic periods of their nations. So, any leader without Makuei traits will take about 10 years to implement at least two out of his/her campaign promises. The nation calls for a new flavour!
The second option if not the first, is to swallow the past and start a brand new day. A new day smeared with forgiveness and sincerity. A new day would means pardoning Riak Machar to return home without reservations from him or from the ruling powers. This should be realized to be the only option at hand in salvaging the nation from her schizophrenia. This option is like an emergency C-section consent to sign. Why is it likely the only option the nation has got?
The time-span spent while wrestling and the dwindling economy are the only two possible answers. To elaborate further on time, people should make a retrospective view from 2013 to the present. Five years have gone with Machar partially or completely outside the country. Yet the situation has been deteriorating; the nation has been shrinking in resources, Rebellion is not demarcated. Rebels are not known as some people are in today and are out tomorrow.
There is a vicious cycle going on. To cut this circle, it requires a broader sacrifice to voluntarily except Machar like Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya, Emmerson Mnangagwa of Zimbabwe, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi of Egypt and that long list. Maybe by allowing Dr Riak Machar to the top chair, peace could be attained in the shortest time possible.
Given the fact that, Riak Machar has been away from the country for five years, his men in the bush have not been defeated, he has not been apprehended and brought to the court of law, dollar rate has been growing horns, hunger continues to engulf the nation, other nations under broad day light exploits country’s resources, development remained the worse in the world, killing remains the order of the day, unknown gun man are gunning down known men and women, educations is going down its belly, infrastructures are growing old, country is being deserted by thousands day and night , top and close allies are resigning from the government and many more example that are visible to even blind person.
These parameters warrant a closer sense of inspection to the centre of the compass. It should, however, provoke a sense of suspicious to what is happing from inside rather than looking to the West, to the North or to the East as the main problem to the problems of South Sudan. I think the problems lies with its citizens. There seems to be an acute abdomen aching more than the swollen limb or a headache. There is air under the diaphragm!
In conclusion, I think we the citizens of South Sudan are the problems to ourselves. We support our leaders based on tribal sentiments but not based on their willingness to serve the nation as servants. We have given ourselves to be used for personal gains when we all have the guts to say no to ‘individuals’ interest and yes to ‘national interests’.
The solutions are hidden in the hands of its citizens. It’s more about making sacrifices than in showing of muscles .Giving Makuendit Lueth a chance will do more good than the opposite. The tainted chain of suffering should swiftly be cut short. We have suffered enough to suffer again!!!!
The writer, Guarken Chiman, is a South Sudanese national who graduated from the college of medicine, Bahr el University, and currently lives in Khartoum, Sudan. You can reach him via his email: guarken@gmail.com
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