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By Peter Gai Manyuon
August 21, 2013 (SSNA) — We all know that Dr Lam Akol Graduated with a PhD in Engineering from the Imperial College of Science and Technology in London in 1980, Ajawin taught chemical engineering at the University in Khartoum for several years before joining the Sudanese People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM), 1986. He helped form and led the SPLA-Nasir, the Sudanese People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) faction. He held this position from 1991-1993, when he joined SPLM-United, serving various posts until 2003. Ajawin also served as Sudanese Minister of Transport from 1999-2002. When a Government of National Unity was formed in 2005, leaders of Khartoum’s government joined with SPLM’s leaders. When the deal was signed, the southern government was granted certain key ministries such as Foreign Affairs – of which Ajawin became the head. He is also a writer of several books and articles. From this snapshot, it is fair to say he is highly educated and that he has made his contribution.
Having briefly outlined Dr Lam’s background, I wish to briefly review what he wrote and was published by the Sudan Tribune. I will then conclude with my comments based on the article he has published. Dr Lam wrote his article on Sudan Tribune Website on the 14th of August 2013 titled “On the impartiality, objectivity and transparency of vetting committee” I have noted with concern and diligently that, Akol lacks nationalism, integrity, accountability, and transparency in him as a person based from the way he wrote his article, the best way I identify that is through reading his article. Why do I say this? I quoted what he said on his last paragraph where he says “why didn’t the Select Committee include members of the official Opposition? For a committee of eleven members, how come there is not a single member of the Opposition? This says volumes about whether the Assembly is really at a “turning point” or we are just being treated to an aberration and it will soon be business as usual. A body that brings people under scrutiny must be an open book he said”. Furthermore, he also wrote “are members of the Committee competent to carry out the required task. What are the qualifications of, say, the Chairperson of the Committee? Can she really follow the sophisticated reasoning being used in the debate around the vetting? I leave these questions to the Speaker and the MPs to answer. The role of the Chairperson is crucial as he/she directs and controls the debate “he said.
Logically, when you analyzed that as the person, you find that he is the man who is just in need for himself alone not fighting for the interest of South Sudanese people at large, he complains of his party to be represented in the vetting committees which is not bad, but the magnitude of his respond was malicious in reality, he has shown to the people of South Sudan that, he is just in need of the leadership that might benefits him as the person and the family as well not for public good. Parliamentarians did not took side during the vetting process, they have use their transparency and integrity in good faith that had been seen by the South Sudanese Communities and eventually was welcome by the President of the Republic of South Sudan General Salva Kiir Mayardit because truly speaking, you cannot give most of the sensitive positions to someone who is not qualified enough even Dr Lam know that very well as a PHD holder. I know some people might view his point as something that was trying to please the President because I read through the media that, he might come to South Sudan at any time from this month on ward but he should not mix his personal interest with public interest in this Country.
Some people who are really Nationalists might ask whether or not Dr Lam is a person of Integrity. The Integrity means simply, accountability, transparency and following your personal ethics as the person, you are supposed to be accountable in the words that you are talking about, transparent in all what you are doing and etcetera. The question is did Dr Akol observing that as the person or not?
When you talk about Leadership, you should know that it is something that can be seen from the way person talk, think and reacts toward issues that are of great important to the people in any Country but in South Sudan people assumed to be leaders including people who have no leadership skills and techniques in themselves but Akol has skills only that he does not know how to applied them so that people follow him accordingly.
Historically and even right now, South Sudan is having many PhDs holders or Professorship in all field of specializations as per Education is concerned worldwide, hence to the matter of truth and reality, not all of them will become leaders of the Republic of South Sudan in time to come, because Leadership is the gift from God almighty no matter how you think in your own way as individual person, take it from me today. This is the word of humor full of wisdom my dear Countrymen and ladies.
Dr Lam Akol was someone who lack patient and diplomacy in term of taking national issues simple, he is the man of complications and dictator at the same time that is why he does not like someone to be ahead of him, if you doubt just try to follow his profile since the liberation struggle, that is why he is in exile since the Originality of the Government of South Sudan from 2011 to date, and how can you call yourself a nationalist when the Independent of your Country was announced when you were no there, unless if he was for studies but he declared his intention before South Sudanese determined their destiny, some people might regard him as someone who was against the Independent of the Republic of South Sudan.
Some people might be wondering why the writer is trying to reflect on many issues in this article. Am writing this article based on what I have read with my own necked eye on the Sudan Tribune website where Dr Lam criticize the all parliament of South Sudan where he reached up to the extent that the chairperson for the vetting committees was not qualified according to him. If I may ask Dr Lam, how many doctors who are qualified are there in the National Parliament? I hope he might not justify his word, he thought there are no PHDs holders who are doctors who are there in the Assembly, to answer this, there are more than twenty (20) doctors who are MPs in the National Parliament more qualified than Dr Lam I tell you my dear compatriots truth must be said here in South Sudan, our parliament is having many intellectuals but only that, fact was not found since the inception of the government of South Sudan from the signing of the comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) and last it was found last week when parliamentarians disputed the appointment of Telar Ring Deng and eventually President of South Sudan General Salva Kiir Mayardit welcomed the decision of the parliamentarians as well.
I have followed all what Dr Lam Akol did since the inception of the struggle up to date, you fine that the man is intelligent as per Education is concern internationally no doubt about that but in term of thinking capacity he sometimes reacts negatively without analyzing the facts on ground, truth must be said my dear countrymen and ladies in the name of Jesus Christ God of Nazareth. Hence some people might be wondering why I have level the senior Opposition of the Government of the Republic of South Sudan under the Leadership of General Salva Kiir Mayardit like that.
Viewing that intellectually, make me to wonder of Akol vision for Leadership in the Republic of South Sudan in nearer future which no one is aware whether he might get the chance to come to the leadership of this Country or not since he is digressing from the right direction at this particular period of time. How can you claimed to rule South Sudan when you lack good public relations approaches as individual person? “The way you talk as the person determined who you are” no matter how many claims you will try to analyzed my point.
One of the elder told me something when I was still young; he said “you can be judge good or bad using the first word you aired out or the last word “once you spoken out wrong words at first people will begin imagining the reasoning capacity do that person has in his/her mind as a person, people will begin imagining whether the person is healthy psychologically and psychically.
To answer this, I can judge your statement as something not logical for someone who is trying to be the father of this great nation, do you think that she/he is in the parliament when he/she has no qualifications? Or you are trying to say, she/he has no PHD like you? my dear comrade, this is the world of dot com era and secondly it is not like the time that Intellectuals were not many in Southern Sudan by then during the liberation struggle but right now things have change gradually and you can testify by just seeing the government of South Sudan doing it best to maintain the dignity and peaceful co-existence of the people of South Sudan without you in the system Mr. AKol.
I always making a lots of debates with common citizen that Dr Lam is good person but now I have witnessed through your analytical writing that, I think most people have got confused especially majority of South Sudanese who like reading news on line globally, and I hope it had been published in different Media Institutions in South Sudan like Juba Monitor Daily Newspaper as well.
For your information, South Sudan has the Country is here now and is for the generations to come but the question is, will Dr Lam Akol make it to the top leadership in 2015 coming since he talk without following principles and guidelines of the communications skills, public relations?
Conclusively; I was the strong supporter of Dr Lam before I join the field of Journalism some time back but right now I act like mediator and someone who analyzed, view political issues , because we all know that, Journalist is supposed to inform, educate the audiences and talk for the voiceless , since the beginning of his opposition to the Government of South Sudan, he has gone contrary to the reality and objective that he was looking for with his friend Dr Riek Machar that gave the Independence to the Republic of South Sudan, and I hope no one will dispute that, it is matter of truth and concrete fact, we are enjoying self-determination through him and Dr Machar but the good thing with Machar was that, he was so tactful enough by working hard and harder with his President Salva Kiir Mayardit in achieving the referendum process that gave the independence of the Republic of South Sudan on the July 9th 2011 even though right now they are having ideological differences within the party but I hope those are minor issues that can be ratified by them and the Sudan People Liberation Movement (SPLM).
Some people in South Sudan and even me thought that Dr Lam Akol might be a good leader but mind you, he is trying to spoil his good way of making issues that of national concern. Opposition is good but opposes the person when you have clear vision and ideas that might take this great nation to another level rather than complicating simple issues that just need the way forward.
The author is the Independent Journalist who writes as Columnist for Juba Monitor Newspaper, you can reached him through;[email protected]