South Sudan has caught disease that ails Africa

By Mugambi Nandi

Africa is rich in natural and human resources, yet our enduring story for the last fifty years has been one of famine, disease, poverty, conflict and corruption. This sad story is interspersed with the occasional positive story – such as those of great people like Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu, Wangari Maathai, and a few others. It is a story we have written ourselves for the larger part.  The scramble for Africa about a century ago had nothing to do with illuminating the “dark continent” with the light of the gospel and civilisation. It was about resources. The interest China currently has in Africa is not driven by philanthropy and a benevolent, if communist, urge to share their resources with Africa. It is about exploiting the resources in Africa. Dictators in Africa (as elsewhere) seek to perpetuate their stay in power because it grants them access to and control over national resources. And although we have not had the ignominy of producing a Hitler, it is not for want of aspirants.

With a few exceptions, we seem to have a vicious cycle of leadership crisis. Yet Africa has produced men and women whose character and achievements are an inspiration to many, all over the world. By enthusiastically embracing the two world religions – Christianity and Islam – and propagating them with zest that surpasses that of the original missionaries, Africa has demonstrated that it can be adaptive when it chooses to be.

If we can embrace religion as we have, how come we are unable to embrace our ethnic diversity, and all that is good in us? Barely two years after its independence from Sudan, the Republic of South Sudan is on the precipice of a civil war. The optimism we shared with our brothers and sisters as they voted in the 2011 referendum is about to turn into despair.

The world stood by South Sudan as they fought against domination and mistreatment by the Moslem Arabs of the North. Concealed in the religious dichotomy between the Moslem North and the Christian South, was the race issue of the black people being treated as second-class citizens.

The Dinkas and the Nuers and other ethnic groups united in their struggle for freedom from the North. They won the struggle. In a disappointing turn of events, they have turned against each other over the control of political power and natural resources.  The current conflict is a clear indication of how weak the glue that holds African ethnic groups together can be. It is an unnecessary conflict in which innocent lives are being lost, and property destroyed. It is a blemish on the world’s newest country. It is a distraction from the arduous task of nation-building that our brothers and sisters should be engaged in.

When the conflict broke out about two weeks ago, Dr Riek Machar denied that he had anything to do with it. Shortly after, he showed his hand when he demanded that President Salva Kiir should release political prisoners and step down as a condition for talks. It is not clear whether the talks are about political power-sharing or distribution of wealth from the oil resources. The one thing that has come out clearly is that there is an ethnic angle to the fight. Whereas ethnicity is not itself an issue in many political conflicts, it is an easy clarion call made to galvanise support from the masses.