Does Lou Ariik vs Alabek Naming Dispute Still Make Sense After a Change of Name to Lou?

By Ariik Atekdit, Kuajok, South Sudan

Wednesday, November 6, 19 (PW) — On Monday November 4, 2019 a new order was issued by Tonj State Governor, Gen. Mathiang Magoordit decreeing that the county be named Lou County. The order discarded the use of Alabek County and/or Lou Ariik County and call for the people to get united and work for the development of the area.  I am writing to react to the recent move made by the Council of States and Tonj State authorities in connection to the three-year-old disagreement over which name could be appropriate for the people of Lou Ariik bordered to: Nuer (Kuac & Gok) of Northern Liec State in the north, Gogrial State to the northwest, Konggor to the west, Awan-Parek to the south and Apuk Padoc to the East.

For the last three years there has been a strong standing dispute that has befitted individual sections in the area and the clans. Lou Ariik is a geographical territory in Tonj North and the former Akop District.  The people in the area and the geographical territory has widely, historically & undisputedly been known and referred to as: Lou Ariik people and/or Lou Ariik Area/Community. There has been no any exploitation or forgery on the naming as history tells us. I stand to be corrected if I am wrong or biased!

Until 2016 when new counties were created for Tonj State, individuals in the area contested that they would prefer Alabek County as a name instead of Lou Ariik County which was decreed by the president in his order number 13/2016, dated April 17, 2016, creating a new county in Tonj State, named ‘Lou Ariik County’ as per the Council of States’ Resolution Numbers 02/2016 and 11/2016 dated April 15, 2016 altogether.

Two conferences were conducted in the village and ended sometimes with some kind of sabotaged resolutions. Former Governor of Tonj, Akec Tong Aleu decided to take side and unilaterally change Lou Ariik County to Alabek and remained away from visiting the area until his dismissal. Late Uncle Veteran Gen. Boldit Madut (RIP) reigned off without visiting the area until his removal and his untimely and regretful demise, yet we co-existed and continue to harbour the dispute and keep on move.

The compound name Lou-Ariik County spelt out that Ariik who is noticeably seen here is an ancestral chief and a founding member of Lou among others and who himself is the founding father of the current Pateek Community in Lou. Some people thought that it was not fair to have their county’s name compounded with this Ariik; contemplating that this would deny them value, I assumed.

The campaigns on this matter went viral and so much of history was disowned by others and wanted to choose Alabek to avoid the mention of Ariik in any documentation. And from there so many people put on the belligerent faces and unity of the people went on total destruction in the area at the expense of confusions. The supporters of Alabek continue to say in their arguments that Alabek is a name chosen by the majority without explaining as to why the majority chooses it.

Individuals like me have begged the supporters of Alabek for years to give out any available idea that carries substance to qualify us to lose the identity we hold on Lou. I have been a leading member supporting the name of Lou Ariik County. However, I have not blocked the means of co-existence and unity in all my arguments during the time and until today.

My idea of substance that I have been telling people is that Lou is the only unifying name that can hold us together and the existence of Ariik is a matter of area specification. Alabek is a mere county headquarters that can be changed and it doesn’t carry our identity. If I am wrong, any one reading this article can volunteer to ask the neighbouring communities of the Bul & Kuac Nuer or maybe the Dinka Communities of the surrounding area to say how do they refer to us for identity. Do they refer to us as people from Lou Ariik or as people from Alabek? The correct answer to this question is always the answer of identity and that is what we don’t want to lose, it is very expensive to lose it by now for if that happens then we shall remain without any values. Some people think the struggle is over the name of: Ariik.

The name of Lou Ariik County was and is not meant to promote Pateek Community as others currently assume, the history vested in Lou Ariik is not only for Pateek Clan but for the entire members and other clans that are found in the community. So assembling in the name of majority to choose wrong name in order to distort history and discard identity wouldn’t multiply. That is all I can say.

After the new Decree of Lou County what is the next reaction?

Some individual youths this time have used Facebook to threaten and insult Tonj State authorities for the new change. Most of the reactions of such come from the supporters of Alabek County. They still see that Tonj Government and Council of States are wrong to have resolved the matter with Lou County. So far I have not seen any reactions from the supporters of Lou Ariik County on the new change.

Anyways, I am not responsible for other people’s reactions over the matter.  I have my personal point of view; and that is the reason I am writing this article. Before my personal view the questions here should be: does anybody still have a problem with Lou County as a name? even without Ariik? Do you think that Lou County is irrelevant to you and doesn’t recognize you? Do you still have dispute over Lou County? If so how much is your being realistic on the matter? Does the name Lou take away from you any value at all? Does the name Lou promote anybody excluding you? If so; how?

As a member of Lou and of the intellectual community, I always don’t rush to writings without corresponding the materials and the senses of others and maybe the point of biasedness. The reason of my writing always is not to confuse people but to clear the clouds of confusion made by others.

When you want to solve a problem, the best practice is asking yourself the burning questions on the stuff and try to private them answers as solutions and then analyse the material answers. People don’t write or talk for the sake of talking, like the way I am seeing it on social media among my fellow citizens. Some people have been writing or attacking individual leaders or persons without explaining clearly the point that should convince all of us. 

Some individuals have been calling the government in Tonj that the change of Alabek to Lou County has a community’s security and conflict question in it. The question here is: who will fight who? And for what reason? How do you start it? What is your identity as a person; Alabek or Lou? If you agree with me that you are Muony Lou or Nyan Lou (a person from Lou) then why would you fight anybody for having agreed on a change to Lou County and choose Alabek village over it for your case? This question is for those whose homes are not even in Alabek.  Yet these individuals declare crisis over the greater population for what doesn’t exactly belong to them. Why wouldn’t you struggle for your village’s name to appear? If you feel less in possessing the name of Lou, then who is this that you think has more value than you over it and for what reason? Do you know the meaning of Alabek you struggle for? How doesn’t the name of Alabek came about? The correct answers to the last two questions can embarrass you, I swear. You must struggle for what you have a definition for. Ask you uncles and they will correctly tell you that the name of Alabek has history matter connected to Pateek more than the way Lou is connected to it. So why would you dare struggle for it?

I am seeing that some people must be losing points and senses and it is stressful to argue much on that. We have traditional songs that refer us to Lou overtime and until now, that is the history we must keep alive and continue to claim.

The neighbouring community to our West is called Konggor County and that is correctly their geographical territory’s name that represents the whole thing under Konggor than only choosing Aliek which plays its role as an administrative headquarters; and we have Thiik County instead of Kachuat.

  Gok State was formerly called Cueibet County but today they refer to it as Gok State just to satisfy the question of identity and geographical territorial claim, am I making sense here? I believe the case for Thiik, Gok and Konggor areas corresponds exactly to our situation. Correct me if I am wrong! It would at least sound to fight against Lou Ariik.

You wouldn’t have shown up to clash over Lou County, for I don’t know who should be your potential listener?  That will completely make you meaningless and Lou Ariik Community won’t buy your idea. If we have the Republic of South Sudan and not the Republic of Juba, then what is your argument here now in the case of Lou County? For me I have rested my case here! I support Lou County with its headquarters at Alabek, until then otherwise. Congratulations to the people of Lou! And Congratulations to Hon. Governor Mathiang Magoordit for his wise decision!

The Question of Two Counties in Lou Ariik; who proposes it?

When I was young, I had a case over a cow with one of my uncles. I opened a case and my uncle was summoned to the court. During the court hearing and decision-making process, I was given the right. Yet, again I thought of another case that I wanted to advance on. The traditional judging court asked me to finish the first one and start another one afresh, maybe at the later time. My holidays for school were counting down and I couldn’t convince anybody and I had a burning heart over the matter. The court declared the case closed and I went away with the cow of the first case but couldn’t proceed with the new case in the court on the same day. The above experience teaches me that first questions get first answers.

If it is true that issues at Lou Ariik bother all of us equally, the way I feel; then, why would it be assumed that creating more debating topics would make us more peaceful? Deciding to create a new county without solving the problem of the old county is not a solution to the problem in question. What if another problem arises with the new county that may be granted? Who will attend to it?

We must accept to solve problems prioritizing the need of now. The need of now is a settlement over the naming dispute in Lou Ariik Community. All of us in Lou have contributed to the problem matter of naming dispute. This means that we must attend to it and solve it first, make peace together, reconcile together, get united and think on other matters, if the situation allows. That is how best, I assume it. We can’t create new county to assume that we are flying out of the first problem from the old county, and then all of a sudden we become free. This is not intellectually wise or meaningful.

The reason as to why we want to split to more than one counties especially today is questionable. Some people have said that it is the SPLM’s vision of taking towns to people which is the driving idea but the proposed Majak County is already a town centre even more and before Alabek. So which town are we taking to Majak again? The town that is already in existence? We should be taking there a new commissioner and the conflict, right? The definition of the case here would be misplaced.

Some individuals are struggling to sell the idea that Lou County is now the biggest county in Tonj of the recent time. I would agree with that, but the we have been the biggest in Tonj for so long, even during the days of chieftaincies and we have to continue to be. What is wrong with that? Why would we want to get split to be smaller communities by now? The South Sudanese method of continuous splitting of administrative units endlessly shouldn’t be inherited to divide Lou population especially at this time that we are in critical situation and when unity is the one we need the most.

For Tonj Government and the Council of States, it is not every request of a new county that must be granted. I know if the Council of States can grant Majak County to split Lou Community into two then, this can correctly translate that Konggor, Apuk Padoc, Awan, Lou Paher would equally ask for the split as well. So Tonj Government and the Council of States should be ready to private 5 new counties in Akop District as the request multiply in the rest of Tonj. And for that matter we shall stand to follow up to see the reasons that will keep other communities not to get their rightful divisions to more counties, if Lou is allowed unquestioned.

The author of this article is a former Journalist, freelancer and analyst. He holds a bachelor degree in Bio/Chemistry. He can be reached @ email: ariqdudic@gmail.com. The ideas in the article are personal and do not represent the view of any association or organization. 

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