AS CEASEFIRE HOLDS IN SOUTH SUDAN: A LESSON FROM SOUTH SUDAN FOR NIGERIANS’ PRO- SECCESION
AS CEASEFIRE HOLDS IN SOUTH SUDAN: A LESSON FROM SOUTH SUDAN FOR NIGERIANS’ PRO- SECCESION
By:
Nurudeen Dauda
14th July, 2016
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It shows lack of Historical knowledge to believe that the only way to have “United Nigeria” is to have “Nigeria” with people that “Speak” one language or practice same “religion”. Some Nigerians have been agitating for Independent “Sovereign Nations” of their only ethnic or “religious” group. Those people erroneously believe that when they have a country of their only “ethnic” or “religious” group they would develop faster. For those people, Nigerians have nothing in common and the “UNION” was a forced marriage as such we should separate. However, In my humble opinion, those people need to learn a lot of lessons from South Sudan.
A ceasefire appears to be holding in South Sudan’s capital, Juba after four days of heavy fighting between rival forces which left more than 270 people dead. President Salva kiir and his rival, Vice-President Riek Machar, announced a ceasefire which came into force on Monday (11th July, 2016) at 15:00 GMT. South Sudan is the “Newest” country in the world (A five-year old country). Gunfire erupted in South Sudan’s capital, on the 7th of July, 2016 a day after a shootout between opposing army factions killed five soldiers. It began shortly before President Silva Kiir and rebel leader turned Vice President Riek Machar were to hold a news conference at the site. Late Thursday (8th July, 2016) five soldiers loyal to President Kiir were killed in a clash with troops loyal to Machar. Each side accused the other of opening fire first. Col. William Gatjiath, Mr Machar’s military spokesman, said: President Salva Kiir is not serious about a peace agreement entered into.
South Sudan broke away from former “United Sudan”. The former Sudan has 52% Blacks population, 39% Arabs, 6%, Beja 2% foreigners and others 1%.Area 2,505,810sq km, land 2.376 million sq km and water 129,810 sq km. However, Ethnic groups from the South Sudan, who are not Arabs, led by among others the late Mr John Garang waged a rebellion against Sudan for about 22years; Late Mr John Garang a prominent leader in the struggle died before his inspiration came to reality and after his death the struggle continued till their Independence.
With the “ON” and “OFF” crisis in South Sudan it is clear to everyone that religious homogeneity is not a guarantee for peace. It’s gradually becoming apparent that religious homogeneity is not a guarantee for nationhood, patriotism, and nationalism; just as religious heterogeneity is not a guarantee for civil war as in the case of India. However, South Sudan had witnessed decades of conflict (civil war) with Sudan before 2011 which marked its Independence. South Sudan is the world “Newest” country and it has 10 states with abundant oil wealth. The leaders of South Sudan accused the Republic of Sudan for Marginalization, Racism, Corruption and Embezzlement of their oil “Wealth”. It is pertinent to note that, South Sudan like the Nigerian’s Niger Delta Region has abundant oil “Wealth” and also laid claim to the oil “Wealth” having its being destined to be found in their territory. The majority “Baba Arabs” of Republic of South could not be said to be blameless, for they had their shortcomings, which for me, is the emphasis for “Arab nationalism” as against the Republic of Sudan’s nationalism. South Sudan having got their Independence in 2011 they began to have internal crisis between their first President and his Vice President.
Mr Riek Machar, was once sacked as the Vice President, in July 2013 and clashes erupted on December 15, 2013, initially started as a power struggle between President Salva Kiir and sacked vice President, however, the struggle soon metamorphosed into “ethnic struggle”, even though, Mr Machar denied that, the struggle is on ethnic basis. It is worth mentioned to note that, President Salva Kiir is from“Dinka”ethnic group, which is the major ethnic group in the new country and Mr Machar, is from “Nuer”ethnic group, which happens to be the “Second ““Major” ethnic group in the country. Both President Salva Kiir and Mr Riek Machar were in Sudan people’s Liberation Movement, SPLM, which led decades of conflict in Sudan. Soon after the death of Mr John Garang, Mr Salva Kiir and others became prominent in the struggle which subsequently led to their Independence.
The rebel leader, who was once sacked as the Vice President, Mr Riek Machar, has the backing of the “Mutinous soldiers” and ethnic militia called, “white army.”The previous violence erupted in half of the country’s 10 states after President Salva Kiir alleged coup plot by forces backing the sacked V.P. The conflict lives about 1,000 people death and displacing about 200,000 thousand persons. The rebel leader then said: “We want a democratic nation. We want democratic free and fair elections...” Daily Trust, Wednesday, December 25, 2013 (P.31).
Jideofor Adibe in his Thursday column (back page) Daily Trust of October 10, 2013 states that: “Ethnic Homogeneity is no guarantee that any nation will work as the experiences of Somalia, Burundi and Rwanda show. Similarly we have had countries break up after co-existing for nearly a century. We have also seen countries that started as agglomeration of different ethnic nationalities such as Germany, France and China succeeds as nation-state.”On the same note, he added, “Being endowed with abundant national resources is no guarantee that a country will thrive as the cases of Democratic Republic of Congo and Liberia illustrate.”
It is on record that, we witnessed centuries of civil wars among the Yorubas (Ife and Mudakeke) who share ethnic ties with dialectical differences; we are also aware of civil wars among the Hausa states in the pre-colonial era. The case of Omulari and Ogulari struggle in the Igbo land is also not left out. Nevertheless, the pre-colonial era in the South-South witnessed a series of civil and communal wars among the various ethnic groups in the area. For example, will the Ikweres and the Ijaws, for instance,in the Republic of Niger Delta co-exist peacefully? Will the Orhobos allow the dominance of the Ijaws? Will the Ognis continue to watch the Ikweres having their ways in Rivers state?
Emir Muhammadu Sanusi II (Former CBN Governor) in a paper he presented at Arewa House, Kaduna from 11th 12th September, 1999, on the topic issues in restructuring corporate Nigeria he argued thus: “…We are all Nigerians. But we are also Fulbe, Yoruba, Igbo, Kanuri, Efik, etc. as well as Muslims, Christians, animists, etc. The historical process which brought together these heterogeneous groups was never destined to achieve a magical and immediate erosion of their histories and a total submersion of their individual identities into a common national milieu…” He added that, “…The task of nation-building does not lie in ignoring these differences, as the military have tried to do. Unity is not necessarily synonymous with uniformity. But it also does not lie in a defeatist attitude of despair, or a return to a nihilist era of ethnic agendas and tribal warfare. It lies, instead, in an intelligent appreciation of the complexity of the problem…”
However, those who argue that, what brought us together was the 1914 amalgamation the Late Dr Yusuf Bala Usman in his highly articulated paper titled misrepresentation of Nigeria facts and figures has this to say: “This entity, which is falsely presented as constituting the South, standing distinct and cohesive apart from the North, at the time of the 1914 amalgamation, was itself produced by a series of amalgamations going back to 1893. In that year the Oil Rivers Protectorate was amalgamated with other territories nearby, which the British had subjugated, to form the Niger Coast Protectorate. This Niger Coast Protectorate, which, only in 1897, came to include the conquered Kingdom of Benin, for example, was, in 1900, amalgamated with a series of protectorates the British had imposed in the immediate hinterland of the Colony of Lagos, to form the Protectorate of Southern Nigeria, administered separately from the Colony of Lagos,” Adding that: “Six years later, in 1906, the Colony of Lagos was amalgamated with this Protectorate of Southern Nigeria to form the Colony and Protectorate of Southern Nigeria, which far from being some cohesive colonial entity, was, largely, a sphere of influence, from which the British kept out other European colonial powers. The military expeditions for colonial occupation, here in fact, continued, right up to 1914, and beyond,” He added that: “The Protectorate of Northern Nigeria, proclaimed in 1900, was also just a sphere of influence claimed by the British. It did not exist as a distinct entity, which could be termed, the North, up to 1914, and beyond, when military expeditions to establish it continued. It was a variegated collection of the subjugated, hitherto largely autonomous, emirates of the Sokoto Caliphate, the subjugated Sheikhdom of Borno, the Igala and Jukun Kingdoms and numerous independent polities, which by the time of the 1914 amalgamation cannot be said to have constituted a distinct entity standing on its own, as the North, distinct from the South.”
Prof. Farooq Kperogi said, “Many Nigerians think our country is unworkable because it was “forced” into being by the British colonialists. This view frankly amazes me, “he added, “Is there any nation in history whose formation was the consequence of a democratic consensus ?” Also, “Historically, most nations were formed by conquests, expansionist wars, and forceful cooperation, not by consensus.”Furthermore, “many Nigerians also cherish the illusion that they inhabit the most diverse country on planet earth .But India, a post- colonial country like ours, has a lot more diversity than Nigeria has. It has over 800 languages, several mutually irreconcilable religions, a huge landmass that is several times the size of Nigeria, and a human population that is more than that of the entire African continent combined. Yet it is one country, and it was formed in fairly the same way as Nigeria was formed. (Weekly Trust: Saturday, June 30,2012).
“Nigeria is only about 160 million in population, the 13th largest country in Africa in Landmass, with some 400 languages (most of which belong to the same language family), two major religions (which share tremendous doctrinal affinities, unlike, for instance, India that has such mutually exclusive religions as Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, Christianity, and other Eastern mystical orders).Why it is difficult to conceive that a nation can be formed out of this? Prof. Farooq Kperogi -(Weekly Trust: Saturday, June 30, 2012).
“…out of India’s over 1.2billion people, only 258 million people speak Hindi as a native language, according to the country’s 2001 national census. That number represents less than 25 percent of India’s population. Although Hindi is, along with English, India’s national language, it is spoken by less than 50 percent of the country’s population because people in Southern India, who speak a multiplicity of mutually unintelligible languages, intensely resent its imposition as a national language. So, India is polyglot nation like Nigeria. Prof. Farooq Kperogi-(Weekly Trust: Saturday, July 7, 2012).
Nigerians should face reality and live with one another peacefully; Ethnicity or religious differences should not form the basis for country’s balkanization. America is what it is today because of its patriotism and nationalism. Unity is not Uniformity but for me it involves respect for one another’s culture, beliefs, norms, values, and religion. Therefore, in my humble opinion, the “Roadmap” to peaceful co-existence is transparent leadership with justice, fair-play, fairness, tolerance, equity, honesty, accountability, and Good leadership.
The late professor, Chinua Achebe, in his book “The trouble with Nigeria,” Said, “There is nothing basically wrong with the Nigerian character. There is nothing wrong with the Nigerian land or climate or water or air or anything else. The Nigerian problem is the unwillingness or inability of its leaders to rise to the responsibility, to the challenge of personal example which is the hallmarks of true leadership. He submitted that, “The trouble with Nigeria is simply and squarely a failure of leadership.”
Lastly for me balkanization or dismemberment of the country is not the answer. May God bless Nigeria!