March 27, 2014 (SSNA) — Is it really possible that the current war being fought in south Sudan’s Greater Upper region can be successfully cordoned out from returning to Juba, and hence the whole of the Greater Equatoria region after it was in fact started their?
At least that’s what some Equatorians are thinking and hoping it happens.The point I want to make here is whether the war is successfully kept out of Equatoria or not, no Equatorian can escape the impact of this war.
As such should Equatorians think of this war in a more sober way, there are many options that they can chose in order to react at this particular time, but non-involvement is not one of them?
I know there are people out there who think that as long as the rebels keep to Jonglei or Malakal , or Bentiu or any other villages within the Greater Upper Nile region, a person in Juba, Torit, Maridi , Yambio, Wau or Raja is in fact safe and have nothing to worry about .
Sadly enough the reality says something completely different. For now where the war is being actively fought represents well over one third of the entire South Sudan’s territory. These places are also where the Oil fields are.
No wonder Oil being the government’s only source of revenue, all activities financed by the state are obviously going to be compromised sooner or later.
Many have already start feeling the pinch as productions fall down to around a quarter of what it used to be.
Could this possibly lead to the “real coup” that president Kiir, being conscious of his underperformance, has continuously anticipated it all these years!
This brings us to the core purpose of this article and it is all about how much are the people of Equatoria involved in shaping the Salva Kiir’s government policies in relationship to the war and its root causes?
Or on the other hand, how much is Equatoria able to influence the rebel’s agenda for the country? Or how is Equatoria influencing the agenda of the SPLM G- 7 (former detainees) or that of the countless South Sudanese civil societies or that of the International Community, and its tools the AU, the IGAD or even that of Yoweri Museveni?
Still there’s another question: “How much has the Greater Equatoria equipped itself to contribute in finding a negotiated settlement to the current crisis and addressing its root causes besides the monotonous talk about elections, or Equatorians being civilized people bla bla bla.
In this country of wild untameable human beings. Elections only represent the superficial face of the real monsters that they harbour inside their sick and shellfish brains.
Elections will come and go, but unless the basic foundations of good governance is set in place, those in the government today will find themselves rebels in the bush not too long from now and vice versa.
I understand the positions being taken by the three Equatoria Governors, but they need to do more if they are to remain relevant to the ever changing situations both at home and abroad.
Especially that all government official serving under Salva Kiir are now expected to talk ill about the US administration, the United Nations, the European Union, the trioka countries, one wonders whether any of them are questioning where the country is heading to.
Practically speaking my fellow Equatorians, the situation where we are now in, isn’t any more about supporting the rebels or being on the government side. The two are in fact nothing but the different faces of that single coin called SPLM – and it’s not taking the country nearer to anything good.
As south Sudan prepares to embrace yet another decades of a full blown civil war given every writing on the wall, it’s time that each and every matured citizen sees these developments for real.
The bottom line in the quickly unfolding events, whether you bought into the Kiir’s stories of his perceived coup or not, South Sudan will never be the same again.
It’s this bit that we need to take very seriously. From there we should and begin to actively participate in shaping the kind of country (s) we want for ourselves in the not too far future!
Dr Justin Ambago Ramba is a concerned south Sudanese citizen and a voice for the voiceless. He can be reached at [email protected].