August 23, 2019(Nyamilepedia) —I am wondering how our ancestors (those of Thut-laajak) would feel if they came back to us and got us like this, would they not be ashamed? Off course, they would be ashamed of how our generation misused this community. The great Nuer community which was known for bravery, domination and consistency is deteriorated by this selfish, greedy and stubborn generation with the help of the tribe (Dinka) which has dedicated itself to the destruction of my community and the country as a whole. The Nuer were known for peace loving, protection of their territory, coherency and strong protection of the legacy of this community and that is why our ancestors were respected by all their neighbors.
Our ancestors explored and encroached a vast majority of land for us to enjoy, they were known to invade other tribes than to be invaded. They did not believe in other people but they believed in themselves, our ancestors lived in harmony not because they had no variation of ideas that is destroying us today, but because they know how to handle their differences in ideas. They were good in solving their conflicts and it was very seldom for a Nuer man to mobilize fellow Nuer men to fight with their Nuer brothers as I am experiencing today.
Long ago in the Nuer land, if Gatluak had a disagreement with Bol, he would not have to move around to neighboring Shiluk, Dinka, Marley, Anuak and Mabaan disseminating information about Bol that Bol is not a good man, nor would he take his gun and kill Bol, but he would have to call Gatwech so that Gatwech would have to mediate the issue and the same is true for Nyaluak and Nyibol calling Nyawech as a mediator. Our repertoire about the resolution of differences of ideas in our community today is very detrimental, you can see a fellow Nuer son now a day when having disagreed with his Nuer brother allying himself with other ethnic groups to eliminate his Nuer brother, what a pity.
Where have all those qualities of Nuer gone? We have inherited all those qualities, but what changes the situation today is use of money. Money has led some many Nuer sons and daughters to be blindfolded by the very enemy with only small portion of this community remained to be the protectors of the legacy of the Nuer due to their resistance to the enticement by the bribery.
I started to realize that there is a slight modification in the potency of Nuer when I was a seven years old young boy 20 years ago in 1999 while listened to a song sang by the neighboring Mabaan people after they defeated the Nuer in certain battle. The song which I heard while in my village Pakur in the Eastern Jikany Nuer land sang by the mabaan in Nuer language was, “Gat Nor (Nor refers to Nuer in Mabaan language and Gat Nor literally means son of Nuer) e dane locde ngenye, Gat Nor entame locde duale” which can be translated into English language as “Previously, the Nuer were braves, but now the Nuer are cowards”. In their thought, the Mabaan people believed that previously, the Nuer could never be defeated even in a single battle by any tribe.
Coming across my view about how Nuer are maltreating themselves, you may call me a tribal man, but neither the patriotism can let you enjoy the destruction of other tribes whenever your own is safe. I am concerning about the maltreatment of Nuer community by certain egotist Nuer sons and daughters not because I am a Nuer but because I am a concerned son of the land and the same can happen if I see such a maltreatment in other ethnic groups. All tribes are equal and no any single tribe should be exposed to destruction, if you call me tribal because I am telling the truth, it will be up to, but I don’t think that the optimists can consider my view a tribal phenomenon but only the pessimists can.
The unity of the Nuer people is far better than individual recognition but the importance of the unity of Nuer has not been given a consideration by so many Nuer sons and daughters particularly the politicians. Recently, I have come to realize that the suffering of the Nuer is not induced by outsiders but the Nuer people themselves because if they are not Nuer fighting Nuer, nothing can harm this community. The Nuer are very potent in all walks of life but the potency of the Nuer people is being impeded by the Nuer themselves not by the other ethnic groups.
The Nuer have been fighting with ignominious regime of Juba for six good years, the regime which has been empowered by different countries in Africa militarily to diminish the potential for prevalent of democracy, justice, peaceful transfer of power and indeed good governance for all which is always against the interest of many African dictators but the obvious intention of Riek Machar Teny. Despite all the tragic situations faced by the Nuer people for those six good years, a group of impatient Nuer politicians are intending to escalate a tension in this community by questioning the leadership of Dr. Riek Machar Teny, a man who is an ultimate hope of the people of South Sudan.
What would be worse than the killing of Nuer people that happened in Juba and other parts of South Sudan? And what mistake has Riek Machar done that can be compared to the maltreatment imposed on the Nuer people by the regime in Juba and its advocates. The deficit of common sense has led so many people to intending to do things which they don’t know their result. Common sense can show you a direction and tell you that Riek Machar is not a threat to Nuer community because he (Riek) has not been a betrayal and for the fact that the questions that have been asked recently by some of the Nuer politicians concerning the leadership of Riek Machar are not inevitable to the unity of this community.
Riek Machar has not been a problem to Nuer community nor has he been a threat to South Sudan, he is always a man of his people and his patience is what is contradicting to the views of impatient Nuer politicians leading them to come up with a call for leadership change. Lack of common sense is what is currently generating the impatient Nuer politicians to an extent of planning to mobilize people to oppose the leadership of Riek Machar which is very divisive move.
Common sense can tell you that a question for a change of leadership is not important in this critical time. Common sense can also tell you that Riek Machar has faced a lot of difficulties more than you may have faced for he has been standing tall with the Nuer people. Do you know the interest of an enemy (Dinka)? Are you supporting the interest of an enemy or not? If you support the interest of an enemy, then you are no longer an enemy to that enemy. Did you ever ask any Dinka about Riek Machar, if so, what did he/she said. What all the Dinka are saying about Riek Machar is that Riek Machar is not a good leader and do you know why? Good leader according to Dinka ideology “Is someone who is too passive to see the tragedy of Salva Kiir on South Sudan population and someone who support an idea that Dinka are the only leaders in South Sudan, a part from these things, they don’t consider any other qualities of good leadership.”
The only reason behind Dinka’s hatred toward Riek Machar is because the man is standing tall with the Nuer people and his potential in creating a prosperous South Sudan for all, not only for Dinka, and this is always contrary to the interest of all Dinka since Dinka ideology is that Dinka should rule forever which should be possible only when the Nuer and other tribes of South Sudan are divided, weakened and completely destroyed. If you act against the protection of legacy of the Nuer people by allying yourself with Dinka, advocating their weird ideology, are you still not an enemy to the Nuer people. The legacy of the Nuer people is prevalent only in the Nuer villages where the Nuer are not enemy to themselves and are not being bribed to destroy their own community. The Nuer in the villages are the one Dinka fear so much than they fear those susceptible individuals who call themselves politicians.
Common sense can let you realize that Riek Machar had never betrayed the Nuer people, but lack of common sense can let you climb to an extent of trying to question the leadership of Riek Machar. I cannot say that the group of people who have been escalating tension about the change of leadership are all defecting but lack of common sense is what is triggering them to do so plus some individuals being accessible by the regime in Juba, bribed to bark daily about the leadership change influencing some sensitive individuals with a clue imparted to them by the regime in Juba.
Nothing can make us (Nuer) proud than seeing our people united, but the unity of Nuer people has hardly been prioritized than wealth by the selfish individuals. My hope for the protection of this community from destruction is on youths, the youths are my hope because they are the ones who know the truth and the value of intimacy. The current situation intended by some politicians from our community concerning the leadership of Riek Machar is the plan of JCE to create a tension within our community and the movement at large so that our unity should be weakened and in turn, the Dinka can get an ability to continue the decimation of our people as an ensurance of the existence of Dinka Kingdom.
We have that group of people who is more tragic than tsunami and traumatic than earthquake, this group of people does not learn from the past. This group of people does not learn from December 2013 and July 2016 incidents. Everyone is expecting a ministerial post, and the question should be how many ministerial and MP posts SPLM/A-IO will have in the upcoming transitional government of national unity (TGoNU). The competition for position and bribery by the regime in Juba are the prominent causes of any division within the movement and the Nuer community in particular. The expectation for the appointment to the ministerial and MP post is what is tearing our community into pieces and this can tell you that some individuals within the movement are not in the movement voluntarily as committed members, but they are in the movement for some other people and their expectation for certain rewards.
IN CONCLUSION
I would like to remind any Nuer son and daughter out there that let us not forget the intention of our enemy and let you consider your community as yours, don’t love this community on behave of someone else like Riek Machar or Gatwech Dual and don’t support the movement because of Riek Machar or Gatwech Dual since each and every one of us knows what he/she is fighting for. If you support the movement because Riek Machar can recognize you, then you have no different with those of Taban Deng likewise if you support the movement with the expectation of being rewarded by Riek Machar. Let us all be careful of individuals who are only looking for recognition within the movement because these individuals are not in the movement voluntarily as respondents to the killing of the innocent Nuer people that happened in Juba triggered by the Dinka led government, but they are in the movement with an assumption that one day when the movement achieve its goals, they will be appointed to certain Ministerial and MP posts.
We all know that the enemy within is more lethal than the enemy outside and hence, we need to get rid of all those who are allying themselves with the government in Juba to trigger ignominious burden on us as it was done by those of Taban Deng before it is too late. What I want to submit to you the Nuer son and daughter out there being perplexed by someone bribed to the core by the regime in Juba dispersing propagandas about Riek Machar is that don’t listen to that betrayal anymore. Riek Machar is not your problem but your problem is the JCE and its puppets from the Nuer community.
I still have a hope, a big hope for the amelioration of this community and South Sudan as a whole from the hand of the JCE. I am hopeful that the people’s leader plus some true Nuer sons and daughters including me will not give up until the day the country is ameliorated and ethnocentrism is diminished and there the people of South Sudan will be prosperous, united and honest to themselves like Rwandan, South African and the people Mozambique who were once marginalized, divided and traumatized.
The Struggle continues against illiteracy, dictatorship, poverty, tribalism, egotism, selfishness, bribery, JCE, Salva Kiir, Makuei Lueth and Taban Deng Gai.
Aluta continua!!!
Gat Nyawal Turial can be reached via his emails at yientharngoany@gmail.com or gatwiel2017@yahoo.com
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