Nuer Silent Majority At Its Worst.

"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!"

20 August 2011

By Luk Kuth Dak

Luk K Dak
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 the 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. You can post your response in the space provided below. It will be read and approved - or rejected if it violates the rules of this website - by the editor/moderators
 

Posted in: Opinions
Comments
RSS comment feed
22/08/2011, 9:42 AM
 - Posted by Barnabas Deng
I am not a habitual commentator on this website, but after I read Mr. Dak’s article, I was impressed by what he mentioned that I had to register just to applaud his point.
Other than our historical independence, South Sudan is famously known for nothing constructive than the scores of horrendous tribal conflicts that subject innocent citizens to life of misery everyday across many states. While every able person within the discretionary age is expected to participate in the construction of the post-war South Sudan, many fellow South Sudanese are instead trying to settle past conflicts in retrospect.
It’s appalling to realise that every ordinary citizen in South Sudan is becoming a politician – unworthy politicians to make matters worse – meddling unscrupulously in political affairs and making dangerous comments in relation to remarks made by pompous politicians to the detriment of our national cohesion.

Shouldn’t there be a different between a politician and a citizen? Is it necessary that we all be politicians? If we have to settle past conflicts by pointing fingers at each other in an attempt to find the culprit, would that be a genuine reason as to why we fought for two decades? I guess not. A satisfying message to relay to the martyrs and appease their souls is to cultivate a spirit of nationalism, and form a nation we all would be proud of in future. Forming flatforms of conflict for tribal dwell of the braves and the mighty in the quest to prove tribal superiority is a practice that engenders division, and should not be entertained at all cost.

The best way forward is to bury the hatchet and write past conflicts in history books. Politicians will always be politicians. They say and do things that are surreal for an ordinary citizen. Ordinary citizens need to stay at bay from political affairs, save when they are choosing their leaders at election. Political commentary should be left up to those who can do it best within ethical and moral framework (God knows when they will be born).

A new perspective has emerged in global communication arena and our fellow folks need to develop a critical and logical frame of mind in relation to sensitive issues such as the VP’s apology to the Bor community. Publishing erratic comments aligned with tribal interests is a negative depiction of personal integrity. Why would a sane man trade his decency for the gain of a bloody politician?

Apologising for past atrocities, for the purpose of regional unity, is strength not weakness. Real men own up to their actions. In my opinion, the VP made a wise decision. However, of deficiency is the context in which the apology was delivered.

If only we could have few good men who reasons like Mr. Luk Kuth Dak, or perhaps, if our semi-illiterate tribal ‘traitors’(as Mr. Dak put it) would just change their mindset, then we would have a great country in future.

Being a country that was at war for decades, South Sudan has tribal conflicts that are so surmounting so much so that no measure of time will be sufficient to enable them to be settled first. So if we sow seeds of discord amongst ourselves, we sure as hell (how it pains me to say it) are on the highway to being a divided nation. Given the breadth of bitterness in many of our folks, we would still be shoving blames at each other’s face even in our graves. At least that would be the best place to settle it. So why don’t we be ladies and gentlemen at the moment, shake hands and forgive and forget?
Thank you mate!

23/08/2011, 12:05 AM
 - Posted by justin Chicago Opiny
My very first thank goes to you Luk dak for your braveness and openess and sincerity .If the two big tribes the Dinka and the Nuer have many people of your type I think and hope republic of south sudan will not take long to catch up with the rest of the world. You have spoken as a nationalist and that is how we all should look at us as south sudanese first and Acholi,Bari,cere and Dinka etc last.

We should put the culture of violence,warlike community and arogance aside ,it will take us nowhere and let us prove to our former masters that we can rule ourselves and not be a laughing stock that we shall be another Somalia in the making. We can use the media to bring all our people by creating programs and Radio listening clubs in all the states to bring awareness and preach peace and unity which is the cornerstone and the cement and the agregates to concrete and lasting peace in this beautiful country of south sudan.

I know we have educated people in all the tribes of south sudan and should only be used in the proper way to bring those who did not have the chance to get education. Education used in a bad way is not an education. We have to educate our people to leave together in peace and harmony. We collectively did a wonderful job during the referendum time now that the Goat is dead we should be please as the suffering of our people has been completed in more than 50 years when the liberation for our people started in Torit EES on August 18,1955 and finally ended on july9,2011. My people we should learn to co-exist as south sudanese and not based on individual tribes. Diversity in a united free south sudan should be the norm.
Add Comment
Log in
to post a comment. If you are not a Gurtong member yet, register here.
Current Articles | Archives | Search | 25 Latest Articles
Designed and built by Brand X