By: Luk Kuth Dak
August 19, 2011 (SSNA) — I don’t know what other advice do you have for the overwhelming Nuer silent majority who is either not brave enough to face it off with the traitors and the betrayers in their community, or simply doesn’t give a darn about the Nuer reputations being constantly tarnished by some illiterate bullies.
Yes, you don’t have to have a degree in political Science to know that when a plan is not working, you should change the strategy before it is too late. That’s how smart people do business. They search for solutions. They don’t simply try to dig their head in the sand and hope that somehow the problem will go away!
It’s time to change that bigoted sentiment that the Nuer are superior to everybody else in South Sudan, but with absolutely nothing to show for it. In truth, the opposite is the sad reality here. If the Nuer supreme leader, Latjor, were to return to life today, he would be vomiting in disgust at how we’ve muddled the state of affairs of his nation that he once built on values, dignity, bravery, integrity, honesty and respect.
It’s sad, indeed, that today, the only voice you hear from the Nuer nation is the voice of division, revenge and bitterness towards our fellow countrymen. The compelling question is quite simple: Where are the voices of wisdom, common sense and reasoning? And why the Nuer intellectuals are doggedly silent and so afraid of these illiterate bullies that even their putative leaders like Dr. Riek Machar, Justice Luk Jok wouldn’t dare challenging them?
You be the judge.
But unless one is clearly a counting illiterate, it’s almost stupid the claim that the Nuer Nation is marginalized in South Sudan that thugs such as Peter Gadeet and Gatluak Gai had no other alternative but to pick up arms to protect its interests!
Yeah right!!
All the while, Dr. Riek Machar sits at the helm as the second most powerful man in the country. James Hoth Mai, SPLA Chief of staff. Justice John Luk Jok, Justice Minister. Gabriel Changson, Culture and Sports Minister. James kok, Humanitarian Affairs Minister. And Dr. Barnaba Marial Benjamin, Information and Broadcasting Minister.
The list goes on and on, ladies and gentlemen.
Moreover, in a nation building, everybody’s a pivotal role to play. You don’t need to be the president to serve your country. As Dr. Martin Luther once said: “ If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that he hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, here lived a great streets sweeper who did his job well.”
That’s really all it takes.
Evidently, there are traitors in all of the Southern tribes, but the Nuer is leading the league and basking the role. When Gadeet and Gatluak were killing innocent civilians and turning their villages into morgues, for purely individualistic purposes, they were cheered as heroes and liberators of the Nuer nation from the so-called Dinka domination, the entire Nuer nation was stone-silent!
Ironically, when the Vice President, Dr. Riek Machar, offered his sincere apology to the Dinka Bor community, the band of thugs in the Nuer nation wasted no time to denounce him and showered him with adjectives that I can’t dare repeat here! Once again, Nuer intellectuals were missing in action!
Personally, I’m not a big fan of the VP, Dr. Riek Machar. I have never quite gotten over his past betrayal of the movement, which almost resulted in the destruction of the revolution. Now, however, I can’t help but laud him for doing what only brave men do: take full responsibility for their actions. His apology to the Bor community, though a little too late, is the right thing to do.
Understandably, not everyone in the Bor community may accept his apology. But if a few patriots and some kind-hearted ones among them do, then, that’s what matters.
It’s our hope that other leaders will soon follow suite.
The author is a former anchorman at Juba Radio. He can be reach via e-mail at: [email protected].