Stop recycling political retirees in these elections

By Atok Dan Baguoot

“A free New Sudan cannot be ushered on the map of the free world without intensive pains that are the result of the delivering the child”, Hon. Elijah Malok Aleng. As we strive to realize a free New Sudan, we also need to bear at the back of minds that this little breathing space which we enjoy as far now was a result of enormous contributions exerted by some of our parents and colleagues who had fallen and maimed in the battle fields and who had also taken courage to deny and deprive themselves of all possible social aspects that constituted normal human happiness which is always the target of any person in life. Several wars fought in the Sudan were not just for the sake of cultural indifferences or anarchism but people had justifiable reasons to spend most of their active and productive ages engaging in one way or the other for a free generations and posterity.

Among those who had been denied childhood and youth-hood privileges are some of the current leading figures in the South and in other marginalised areas as the Sudan neo colonialism only engulfed all the Afro Arabs and Black African ethnicities in the Country. In the genesis of conflicts between the black African ethnic communities and the Arabs in the Sudan, Southern Sudanese championed in realizing that vague and fake independence of Sudan as it was signified by mutiny at the eve of the so called Independent in 1. 1. 1956.

Now that Sudan is at the eve of going to polls to determine who is that genuine political force or party to lead the country to referendum since those that had been leading this unfortunate vast piece of land called Sudan all got their ways into where they occupied through illegitimate means. This credit would rather go to one of them whose hands are purely clean from bloods of innocent citizens who had perished in all civil unrest and other related factors, started on the very day this country started fighting its own citizens for the greedy of ruling but not leading them.

Sudan had been ruled and harshly ruled by both internal and external forces dated back before independent and the worst part was done by our northern brothers hereafter the country was granted independence.. Sorry, none of the ladies in the north ever ruled so it was done by brothers alone. Our historical records and experiences shall always be the barometers of measuring the outcomes of these elections as well as referendum in the year to come.

Not even the ugliest of all the forces that ruled or ruling Sudan will dare to decline based on their historical misdeeds on the marginalised Sudanese. If I were a northern Sudanese and more so Arab descendants and even from a northern political force, I would decline from participating in these elections because they have really misruled, mistreated and mismanaged this country for so long to the extent that if history could speak it would have persuaded them to stand aside based on how interested they could be in the willful unity of this country and to see that a new dawn of hope and peace is brought to this country by a different body among the marginalised founded political forces whether be it in the South and other areas that fall within the definition of marginalisation according to Sudanese contextual used of the term.

But since politics is a trickery affair in Sudan, none bothers to heed to this national consent thus, everybody is fighting its way to either continue misruling or usher a new era of hope although, it would be upon the peace loving Sudanese and marginalised Sudanese as the country is layered by socio-economic injustices for so long to give who what so that children born within this era continue enjoying this relative peace brought about by either CPA and other related loop holed deals signed under this forceful reigned of NCP. It is forceful because NCP forced its way into leadership of this country like any other political party as far Sudan’s contemporary history. SPLM came in the same manner but it has some logical excuses.

Now, the daunting task before innocent blind voters in the country is that will they vote freely for the right instrument without being coerced as it used to happen or this free mandate still be manipulated by muscle strong body to continue looting and mistreating the unfortunate masses of the Sudan as it used to happen since independence, though my guilt conscious couldn’t allow me to use the term “independence” freely. Yes, independence is about hoisting up of that coloured piece of cloth and sovereignty in which you mistreat your subjects but also fundamental human rights, good governance and rule of law must be components to it so that it gives meaningful concept of the term.

Our voting in this historical election, couple with next year referendum would add flavour and a litmus test to our exiting unity, besides it being springboard to either perfect unity or separation if not disintegration of the Sudan into several states with ugly maps as the coordinates would be interlined running from areas of interest to make a solid country exists on a world map.

If these elections are not carried out in trustful manner, it will touch old wounds and expose this existing vague unity into ugly maps difficult for school children to draw, therefore, we can avoid it by adhering to democratic principles by allowing the winner takes what is rightful to him.

During the reign of those old Sudanese parties, ranging from the first party of independence up to date, Sudan had never had peace with itself so it would be wise to give this chance to a new party because new broom sweeps cleaner. Voting those old Sudanese political parties would just be recycling political retirees whose efficiency levels are already known according to their previous performances in handling affairs of this nation.

If our Arab northern colleagues are really interested in maintaining unity of this vast historical rich country, then they would have more reasons for voting the SPLM Presidential candidates whether be it republican presidential candidate as well as president of the government of Southern Sudan especially those northerners who registered in the South, while forgetting the rest of their candidates in proxies. I opted for the SPLM leaving SPLM-DC because leader of the SPLM-DC, Dr. Lam Akol is being seen as NCP candidate in proxy thus, a political minded Southerner with traditional hatred of North cannot vote for him and as a result it would widen chance of Sudan uniting voluntarily.

As a Sudanese interested in strengthening the existing unity of the country and in giving chance to marginalised Sudanese to quench their thirst of power denied them for so long, there is need of giving the leadership of this country to SPLM to decide its fate after all separation is not a preferred option among the Southerners when the world is pulling together for regionalization and globalization and we are never exceptional. Separation is always an option among the southern populaces because of existing negative cultural rigidity found in the minds of our northern colleagues who always consider themselves special in any arena. So it is a matter of making tainted unity more attractive to all the Sudanese regardless of their geographical whereabouts and dump all those previous nuances in the dust bin of unfortunate history.



For the sake of maintaining the greatness of this vast and diversified nation on the face of the continent, we always need to part with our ideological cultural deceits inculcated in our minds at birth by tribal racial confused elders and adapt global principles so that we are always what God gathered us on this piece of land. Late Dr. John Garang De Mabior used to say that we cannot be divided in diversity rather than be united in diversity because it is in diversity where our hidden strengths lie. The sole reason behind those powerful nations on earth is there vastness in sizes and populations so we can also equate Sudan with those because this very unity that our northern brothers brushed aside would one time be needed by them who made worse.

I believed in the theory of time for everything, so this is the only time we can put our broken of yesterday aside and open a new leave rather than using those broken pieces of yesterday to begin building on this new foundation yet we very well know that these broken would never hold us firm in this stormy season. To conclude this long argumentative thesis, I would like to tell my indicted president Mr. Omer Hassan Ahmed El Bashir and Comrade Dr. Lam Akol to stand aside and leave the arena for Yassir Arman Saeed and Comrade Salva Kiir of the SPLM to decide on where they would wish to see this country otherwise, the issue of the Hague International Court would be handled within by them because nobody can dare to penetrate our stick forests or ugly mud houses in Khartoum to come and take a person that our internal laws deem innocent. Or being resistive to internal adjustment of bad deeds done during those nasty periods would accelerate and activate warrant of arrest whenever Luis Mareno Ocampo sees that more atrocities are being committed in the name of sovereignty use to kill the citizens.

Lastly, those other old parties that have ruled Sudan those years have done their parts otherwise; there is nothing better they can do when they have not told the Sudanese why they didn’t do better when time was there for them to perfect their leadership styles and strategies. I prefer calling them recycling of political retirees to continue committing more atrocities because they the same Sadiq El Mahdi and Dr. Hassan El Turabi in the person of Abdallah Deng Nhial and many others of 1960s up to date. NCP is the ugliest face of old Sudan as Late Dr. Garang used to describe it. Meanwhile Darfur forces are still fragmented that future of this nation cannot be entrusted upon them and never dare to ask me because you know what is going on today in Doha.

Therefore, SPLM remains the only genuine and preferred choice of the day and not even SPLM-

DC because Dr. Lam Lam Akol is much used to defection that he will even forget and defect not knowing that he is the head of state. Birth of New Sudan has cost us more than two million lives which accredited to SPLM.

Atok Dan is a journalist working with Southern Sudan Radio & TV and can be reached at atokfuture@gmail.com