Building a Case for South Sudan
Often times we succumb to
the temptation to conceive of an imaginary spare continent and spare countries somewhere. But that
is if I am mot in the “we” for indeed I am always convinced Africa is our
continent; our home; the only one that we have. We either construct this continent
or we all suffer and die. Many countries in Africa are either in active
violence or recovering from one or worse even preparing to enter into one. Many
are the people who are actively fighting wars across Africa whose owner they
know not. South Sudan is the youngest State on the continent but since its
independence the country is raved by active violence. South Sudan has emerged
to record one of the worst humanitarian crisis of our time. But do those
actively fighting in South Sudan have any idea whose war they are fighting? I
doubt if many do.
The region through IGAD
has always pretended to seek a solution for South Sudan but then again the same
people that we expect to help South Sudan come to her feet are in business.
They are warlords cum business men cum African leaders. All that matters to
them is not how many women and girls are raped but how much money can war
generate. They never get alarmed by statics on death and rape. They have been
in this endless negotiations designed to fail. I followed the negotiations for
the Sudans since the so called Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA). I have not
seen much change over time. In fact, the script remains the same. If you doubt
me go and read the CPA and read the 2015 Peace Agreement compare them then
return to me. If the CPA failed what makes us believe the latter agreement will
hold? I am not in the “us” again. I always choose safety.
Something has often
impressed me during these bloated negotiations. They are often timed. Negotiations
must never be timed. You cannot negotiate by saying that by tomorrow you must
have reached an agreement. That ceases to be negotiation. Whereas it is
important to operate within the confines of time; it is equally important to
take as much time as it is humanely possible to ensure the success of
negotiations. If our leaders have other urgent commitments, why take part in
negotiations? When will we learn this simple lesson? Strict following of
timelines have been one of the upsets to the success of the said talks. Until
now we have had many instances where the parties to conflict have failed to
meet the deadlines; they will for sure continue missing them out. Until we decide to realize that it is more important to get to the bottom of the issues than
following imposed deadlines.
To restore peace in South
Sudan it is critical to attempt creation of a nation out of the shambles that
it is. Stakeholders both state and non-state must be strong enough to suggest
outright dismantling of what is otherwise called a State in South Sudan and
restructure it afresh. Anything short of that will surely fail at some point in
a line that is yet to be drawn. South Sudan does not have any necessary infrastructure
of a State. The negotiations for South Sudan should not center on power sharing
and meeting dubious deadlines but rather on state formation. This is a comprehensive
process that might not require immediate known deadlines. Let deadlines emerge
with time as the state formation commences but as it were nobody is really
talking about state formation in South Sudan; all what is going on is
negotiations for power sharing in order to ensure calmness so that looters can
take as much as they can.
Building a Case for South Sudan
Reviewed by Ibrahim Magara
on
April 06, 2016
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