fbpx
Contributor's Opinion

Why Achieving Unity is Difficult in South Sudan

By Rajab Mohandis,

An image depicting unity of purpose of people

Janu 20, 2016(Nyamilepedia) —– The common word during all public speeches in South Sudan is “Unity”. Politicians and religious leaders all call for unity in the country. Generally, a speech without a call for people to unite across political and social divides looks incomplete. This marathon call for unity is a great initiative, however; it remains a mystery to see the immediate results after the appeals.

Several factors still stand on the road to unity. The ethnic divide manifested in politics or religious institutions, the animosity between farmers and the pastoralists is an obstacle the efforts to unite South Sudanese. I think the appeal for unity is falling on deaf ears.

In the world of chemistry, granules of sugar and salt cannot be thoroughly mixed to form a uniform mixture. However, by introducing a common solvent for both substances, it is possible to mix the two to form a uniform mixture or solution.

Based on this analogy, one would proposes that instead of instructing South Sudanese to unite automatically across their social and political classes, a medium of common interest, call it vision, needs to be defined. Once effectively done, all classes of people will find themselves naturally uniting in that common vision.

One popular example of a common vision was the referendum for the independence of South Sudan. From Juba to the towns and villages across South Sudan, people naturally united around this common vision. It didn’t matter whether their academic qualification was one day of classroom studies or a doctorate degree, almost 99% of South Sudan reasoned, spoke and acted in the same way especially at the ballot box. We were indeed “one people and one nation” in the first half of 2011 probably than at any point in the history of our country.

Considering that a common vision can unite people more and faster than instructing them to do so mechanically, it may be appropriate for South Sudanese to define and pursue a common vision in which communities, ethnicities and interest groups will naturally dissolve. To be effective, the actions that drive the vision at all levels should match its wording.

By Rajab Mohandis, a South Sudanese citizen with keen interest in political developments in the country and can be reached on: rajabmohadis@gmail.com

Related posts

South Sudan; The Way Forward To Genuine Peace and Stability.

.

The independence of South Sudanese Judges: a constitutional and legislative perspective

Editors

Dancing with a Wolf: A Reflection on Gambella Politics

.

1 comment

GatNor January 21, 2016 at 12:52 am

If the last paragraph is indirrectly suggesting that the so called born to rule idiots with their JCE delusionaled elders’s objective which is creating a Jaang kingdom, for the Jaanf in South Sudan is perhaps the only solution to best that will dissolve South Sudan’s problem, then the elders must starts by dissolving their objective of trying the creation of a tribal kingdom.before they are desolved forcefully by a more workable system of inclusive united, multi ethnic, multi religious democratic federated South Sudan. These tribal councils are absolutely insane.

Reply

Tell us what you think

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

//lushaseex.com/4/4323504
%d bloggers like this: