By Onyi Itara, Uganda,
Opinion. (Updated In f..ks changed to in fact)
Nov 17, 2014(Nyamilepedia) — Who does not know him? A fierce fighter whose name continues to rent the air from the world’s East to the world’s West, from the world’s North to the world’s South without coming to a stop! Just for one reason; making largely supported wise calls and at difficult times – a characteristic typical of his mental toughness.
His 1991 difficult decision of binning Dr John Garang’s pull for a united Sudan and the subsequent call for a separate state speak volumes. He remained composed over his call until he achieved it on the 9th of July 2011, all the necessary difficult obstacles in the way for the South Sudan independence, wisely crashed.
History repeating itself, the Dr, Riek Machar, though appeared against the badly needed federalism before the December 2013 ‘Salva-made’ crisis, re-drew his vision for South Sudan governance and tough-mindedly said from the claws of a leopard, federalism is the answer. In one of the interviews he had, he advised that “what will bring us [South Sudanese] together is a system of governance that accommodates our diversity and that is the federal system of governance.
Actually, what has been/is discernable in Dr Riek Machar’s politics is his ability to read the future, his country & peoples’ needs, challenges and solutions before any airing. When he is done with the reading, he airs out. One would agree with the author that every piece that Dr Riek Machar aired before and is about to air, went and goes in line with what the majority need. By and large, what he airs, within a second, attracts peoples’ interest. He has this very undisputed characteristic (of reading things). Link it to his strategic planning PhD.
This is a fact. Go back to the 1991 saga. Dr Riek Machar envisioned Sudan’s future with the blacks in it, and saw that it was unbecoming owing to the stumbling block that stood between the two i.e. Arabs and the blacks. So he asked for self-determination to wrest the Sudan’s continued marginalization. In fact, circumstances were laughing with the united Sudan, and if the earth had collapsed, what would the Southerners have done?
So his call for self-determination quickly caught Southern Sudanese eyes without much ado. He got their overwhelming support for the call and finally hit the last nail on the coffin in the Referendum vote (January, 2011) in favour of separation. Unlike Dr John Garang who could not and did not achieve his call for a united Sudan, Dr Riek Machar could and did achieve his successfully!
Now he is standing for democratic reforms and a federal Republic of South Sudan, a stand that has moved the nation and hundreds of others upside down – give it time, he will achieve once more. Who says this wise leader is a fool? Save your insults! Even a kid in his early 6th, understands Dr Riek Machar fully. Unlike the current President Salva Kiir who is not fully understood by an elder in his early 100th.
Could Dr Riek Machar Teny be heading for political stardom in the inevitable Democratic and Federal Republic of South Sudan? Cut yourself away from sitting on the fence, and be the judge!
To comment on the author’s article, kick him hard on onyi.itara@gmail.com
