Sudan: Tribalism: A war whose time has come

Hate is an immense burden to bear. “We're one nation, and we're one people," said the US Representative John Lewis, a Democrat from the state of Georgia, on the House floor.

Congressman Lewis, an icon civil right leader and former aide to the civil right movement leader, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was referring to racism, bigotry and hate that still linger in the American society. Growing up in the southern state of Georgia, a home to the Ku Klux Klan headquarters, Mr. Lewis- whose only gun was a backpack full of books, was incessantly a subject of racial harassment, discrimination, beating, lynching, and most extreme of all is jailing. All for no apparent wrongdoing, other than the fact that he was born black! Yet, he still believes in a place called America.

As America struggles with racism, so do other nations around the globe. Although it takes different shapes, ways and forms. In Southern Sudan however, where people look exactly the same, speak the same with slightly different accents, yet tribalism remained the biggest threat of peaceful coexistence in this East African region.

For me, it's hard to envisage, how a man would spend all of his life as a freedom- fighter, only to turn around to err one segment of the society over another.  Given all the problems and challenges facing South Sudan in it's quest to become a nation, tribalism is the number one problem for sure, and how we dealt with it is a second. Tribalism continues to bloom and flourish, especially among the very educated and intellectuals of the society. It's a serious business and a profitable one, too.  And if there's to be any glimpse of hope for a country and a nation, tribalism must be whitewashed first and foremost.

It is self-evident the war between south and north would have not lasted as long as it had, had it not for tribalism. The war should have been won a whole lot sooner, whether militarily or peacefully. But since we are our own worst enemies, it lasted us two decades. In reality, it would not be the easiest thing to do to eradicate tribalism once and for all, but through our collective efforts; it really is possible to contain it at some point.

The government must do more in terms of introducing tougher and forcible laws that will make it a serious crime, punishable by up to prison time, imposition of compensatory and punitive damages upon anyone who would dare and engage in discriminating against other citizens based on their tribal background.

The reason why I'm consumed with this subject is because I believe that our nation's democratic foundation for fairness and equality will suffer immeasurably and irreparably if one sector of our society is treated differently from the others.

Sadly enough, news coming from south Sudan are not so encouraging, to say the least. It's being said that there is a wide spread of tribally motivated acts of injustices in the work places and in hiring criteria against the most vulnerable in our society- the small tribes, if you will. It's no longer a secret to hear some of these minorities say it out loud that they would rather be second class citizens some place else other than in their own. The consequences of such blind policies are deadly and must not be forgotten so easily.

During the 80’s, some angry citizens from Equatoria, under the leadership of Joseph Lagu, Joseph James Tombora and others, were able to influenced the then President of Sudan, Jaaafar M. Nimery to divide the south into three regions, thereby reigniting yet another civil war. 

Today however, our adversaries in the Islamic terrorist regime of tyrant Omar al-Basheer are still preying on us, taking notes of everything that goes on in the south, and they will hit us hard where it really hurts, and that's our unity.

Tragically, what is happening in Kenya should be a good reminder and an eye-opener, to everyone in a position of power in South Sudan, that any state built on lies, inequality and injustice is doomed to fail as it’s prevailing in Kenya.

The government of South Sudan is not doing enough in the war on tribalism. President Kiir, who I respect dearly, hardly mentions this pandemic in most of his speeches. Apparently, silence is not going to make tribalism go away quietly. It must be the talk of the day, at all levels of the government.

Southern leaders- both executive and legislative- must bear in mind that to be a leader is more or less like being a father in a household. Everybody in that nation is like your child, and you must love them equally regardless of their differences in behaviors, characters and personalities. At the end of the day, if we all cast aside these differences, we will see that we have similar likes and dislikes and similar interests.

Ironically, for one to be a leader, you must have the people to lead." And, if you think you are a leader, take a look over your shoulders, if you don't see anybody behind you, you are just taking a walk," said an unknown source.

The distribution of manpower in South Sudan encourages tribalism. Indeed, it's shameful. Individuals should be allocated based on qualifications and need for a particular area, for their services, and not based on tribal origin. When I was growing up in Nasir, the most admired and beloved local government administrators were respectively; Gabriel Along, from Bor; David Deng Athorbai and Bol Majok from Wau, and Clement Khamis from Eguatoria, just to mention a few. Our people are desperate for services providers no matter where they come from.

And as much as I am in favor of a smaller government, but an effective one, I can't help but call for a creation of an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and Tribal reconciliation, with some real powers that will enable it to do this very difficult task.

Luke K. Dak is a former Juba Radio Anchorman/ Reporter, and he can be reached at: