By Kon Joseph Leek,
Feb 15, 2017(Nyamilepedia) —— This article is about how tribe is submerging the State, how we are more loyal to our nations that our State, how we use the tribal tickets to be crowned ministers or generals and later fence ourselves with our tribes to save the State
The word tribe is by itself unique, it shows us our identity and origin when pronounced, it shows us our roots. Group of people often of related families who live together sharing the same language, culture and history is its definition according to Cambridge Dictionary. The word TRIBE becomes too witch-hunting when it become tribalism (having very strong feeling of loyalty to your tribe) especially when used at the expense of the STATE
Still, there is no problem with tribalism on the context of existence as tribes alone and on the scenario where there is no STATE. When you put the interest of your tribe above the State at the expense of many other tribes that makes up the State is what is bad especially when taking advantage of the government position to exploit others
Note that there is no dividing line between the word Tribe and the Nation for they carry less tangible phenomenon than a State. A Nation just like Tribe of course includes tangible people but what create a Nation are less tangible elements. A State is an institution, it’s territorially defined political unit that exercise ultimate authority and that recognize no legitimate external authority over it (John T. Rourke, 1995).
In Africa, many Nations were coalesced into States and for that, South Sudan is a Country or State with many Nations – probably 64, in many European countries, only Nations were turned into states.
When the Southerners fought against the Khartoum regime, it was a collective contribution from its Southern nationalities where other nationalities were used as proxy against other more determined nationalities to frustrate their struggle. Today, South Sudan is a State with its many nationalities including those ones who were used against its struggle – this is it; a ground that is cleared can be used as resting place by even those who did not help in clearing, a house built can still accommodate and cover the others from rain and the sun. Some of our leaders today were used to fight a proxy war against their own brothers in the name of militias, most of whom are generals and politicians, no wonder; a State is born for us all!
Now, what is interesting is the misuse and the mixing of the two; Tribe and the State. Those who have been and still are causing havoc in South Sudan, I mean the warlords are doing so in the name of tribal mobilization. If a person is not satisfied as an individual in the government or army, he goes out to mobilize his tribesmen against the State to satisfy his own agenda. We have seen this with Late Galuak Gai, Late Tanginya, Johnson Oliny, David Yauyau, Martin Kenyi and Dr. Riek among others.
No wonder, as for the warlords of whom I have named some of them above, those that got fame and position through tribal fencing, can be a surprise for them to easily and hurriedly denounce it whole heartedly when they just got smuggled into the system using that ticket.
Tribe has been accepted at one point as a friend, rejected as an enemy at another and finally smuggled in through the backdoor as an accomplice to fulfill the agenda. Our leaders denounce tribalism in the daylight and save it to massage their tribal interest in the night. The reason behind this is that we entrust our tribal affiliates (members) to hold the public (state) positions to satisfy our tribal interest as we encircle him as a fence. We look at the public (state) position at the national or tribal lenses (context). We can’t save the State agenda with the tribal interest. Never at all!
Tribalism has been used as a final blow to accomplice a state’s need and we expect to shine! Hell No!
With the above explanation, once understanding is utterly defeated to identify the dividing-line between TRIBE and the STATE. We can’t satisfy the State at the angle of a Tribe; rather we can satisfy the State at the angle of understanding the diversity of its nationalities
…….to be continued
Reach the commentator on j.konleek@gmail.com
