Nations are not built by whiners

South Sudanese still have, by and large, a very long way to go when it comes to development of a unifying, enduring sense of nationhood or statehood. As things stand now, we are merely a collection of tribal nationalities with conflicting interests.  In the past, our only unifying factors were our common struggle against the oppression from Khartoum and the fact that we were enclosed by the same geopolitical boundary set by the colonial dividers of Africa in 18^th and 19^th centuries.

The gravest onus is now on us to create a sense of ‘South Sudan-ness’; an identity that’d make an Acholi of South Sudan identify more with Zande of South Sudan rather than with Acholi in Uganda. This is by no means an easy task; however, it’s a task we’ve neglected in vain search for tribal voice and hegemony. We’ve become a nation of whiners, who offer nothing by way of alternative solutions.

Whining, polemics and acrimonious writs have become our source of solace. We keyboard divisive pomposity and verbosity that make us feel good about ourselves but at the end of the day contribute towards the divisiveness the same writing was supposed to combat. With no doubt, this has become an oxymoron that typifies what it means to be a South Sudanese; an that’s a sense of self we wouldn’t want to be our defining identity.

Everyone in South Sudan has become a whiner!

The President of the country and his officials have become nothing but a bunch of whiners, who believe everything that’s wrong with South Sudan isn’t their incompetence but a work of some evil man called Riek Machar. The officials whine about international community favoring rebels, about UNMISS siding with Riek’s forces, about journalists siding with rebels, about IGAD’s impartiality, about the venue of the ‘Peace Talks’ and about everything!

Respectable leaders don’t just whine incessantly. They only point out all the obstacles and problems they face and then rush to suggest workable solutions and alternatives. If these whiners say anything as an alternative, it’s always something that benefits them. South Sudanese citizens only feature as pawns in the leaders’ quest for power and wealth.

The rebels, who present themselves as a clean alternative to the government, are nothing but another bunch of the same: opportunistic whiners. They whine about President Kiir remaining president, about IGAD’s partiality, about government atrocities while forgetting their own atrocities, about Nuer marginalization when Nuer still stand next to Kiir and fight against fellow Nuer who are part of government’s forces, about dictatorship when they were part of the same system they just left…etc.

If the rebels think they are a formidable alternative to the government then why is it that we only hear the problem stalling the talks being the issue of power-sharing? Why is it the question of who’s to have what powers that’s the problem? Why’s anything in the interest of the citizens taking back stage?

We’ve seen so far what the rebels are! They’ve whined their way from complaints about internal reforms within SPLM to their claim on South Sudanese echelons of power. For the rebels to be seen as credible voice fighting on behalf of South Sudanese citizens, it has to be clear at the talks that they represent the people.

And South Sudanese tribes have mastered the art of whining. The Jieeng whine about Nuer being prone to violent rebellion and Riek Machar being the ultimate killer while forgetting the atrocities committed by a government controlled largely by Jieeng men. Jieeng’s self-righteousness has a lot to do with everything that’s wrong in South Sudan.

Nuer too complain about being marginalized by the Jieeng while Nuer officials still hold senior positions in both the government and the rebellion. The third most powerful man in South Sudan, Magok Rundial, the current speaker of the national assembly, is a Nuer. While hundreds of Nuer civilians were brutally massacred in cold-blood by government’s forces in Juba in December, it’s always prudent to remember that Nuer forces, let by the notorious White Army, have also committed atrocities. There’s respect in accepting one’s wrongs before labelling accusations on others.

Pass this resolution and impose sanctions

The United States delegation at the United Nations circulated a draft resolution this week to work out a possible, targeted sanctions against South Sudanese personalities seen to be impeding the peace process being mediated by IGAD in Ethiopia.

This is a good step since previous warnings were mere lips-service meant to show us that something would be done. We still know that countries like China and Russia will oppose any possible sanctions against South Sudan given the way they present themselves as natural opponents of US’s indiscriminate wielding of power. While this resolution has a long way to go, it’s a needed step in the right direction because South Sudanese leaders have shown during this 10-month long war that they only care about power.

However, the most appalling thing is South Sudanese government’s response to the threats of sanctions. Dr. Marial Benjamin, the foreign affairs minister, argues that any sanctions would negatively affect the peace talks. What these leaders need to understand is that these sanctions aren’t going to be aimed at the whole nation to cripple whatever economic breathing space is left. These sanctions are merely targeted sanctions aimed at forcing naughty officials, both in the government and in opposition, to get their heads straight and start thinking about their people.

No right-minded leader in any part of the world would impose economic sanctions on a country that’s teetering at the edge of famine. The sanctions will only be aimed at obstructers of the peace and at a possible ‘Arms Embargo’ in order to prevent the continued on-and-off war in the country.

I don’t know how the minister thinks these targeted sanctions would negatively affect the peace process. If the parties renege on their promises or refuse to negotiate because some of their officials have been sanctioned then such action would actually give impetus and authentic ground for the imposition of sanctions. These sanctions would not be imposed because United Nations Security Council fancies sanctions. The sanctions are a function of the intransient and insensitive attitude of South Sudanese leaders; leaders who see little rationale in alleviating the suffering of their own people.

Unless the minister believes the government is obstructing the peace process, I believe there’s nothing he should be worried about. The government made very reasonable concessions, however, it’s the final result that counts. If these concessions don’t bring peace to ease the suffering in the country then a lot needs to be done.

It’s common knowledge that the rebels want to indirectly negotiate their way to power. That’s a reasonable concern; however, the two parties are locked in a meaningless power quest that leaves none of the parties blameless. Even more painful concessions need to be made to avoid the imposition of these sanctions.

President Kiir, being the head of the government, needs to take charge of the talks and stop giving us an impression that he’s incapable of bringing peace to South Sudan. In his recent interview with Qatar-based Aljazeera TV, the president sounded very pessimistic, helpless and unpresidential. He sounded like a clueless fellow just handed power and has no idea what to do with it.

The president should be the voice of the people. He should be positive and come up with innovative strategies to bring peace to the country. The pessimism the president portrayed reflects so much  what’s wrong with South Sudan. He should stop asking people to go an ask Riek Machar about the peace talks. Riek isn’t the president of South Sudan. We’d expect more from the president of the country.

I therefore believe that these sanctions are warranted to accelerate the signing of the peace agreement. If South Sudanese leaders don’t want sanctions then peace is the only way out.