By Mak Banguot Gok
Juba, South Sudan,
July 24, 2021 — This is a reflection on some of my fellow Nuer who have just shown aggression toward me some other days due to one of my social media pieces of writing to the Nuer of Gambella in a related view. They argued that,”Mak Banguot” was strictly an Ethiopian Military Infantryman (paratrooper) and couldn’t be on familiar terms with the Ethiopian politics behind his military services during that time”. Some come into sight as only swaying that, a military person doesn’t know politics. But, I disputed them! All in all, I like the way scores of them (Nuer) argues for they had a few essentials in sequence about what the Nuer of Gambella are at the bottom of.
However, the present Ethiopians political inconsistency is upsetting loads of the Nuer folks in different ways. And, with this article, I would like to articulate the points that, indeed a political perplexity robbed the best part of the Nuer to the peak that many have route to the support of TPLF (Tigrayans) without first properly thought of the end-benefits. Thus! It is a political query that needs the Nuer’s collective act in response to Ethiopia’s current bloody transition. This is primarily more important for the Nuer of Gambella who, according to the incoming information, caught up in between the TPLF (Tigrayans) and the federal government of Ethiopia. I say so because, it has been a tradition that, any political change in Ethiopia since 1907 in tie with Gambella and its people, is always coupling with pro or drawback of the Nuer people both in Gambella and South Sudan. Nuer needs care at the same time as rousing by Ethiopia’s nowadays political transition.
Hence! When thrashing out on the Ethio-political upheaval with any of the fellow Nuer folk in comparative prospects, scores of them have politically resorted to the very Nuer habit of running at a loss of enthusiasm in much of the modern political events. “Nuer does support what does not profit them out of a political arena.” In most cases, anyone who has interacted with the likes of Nuer folks in a variety of social spectrum, including social media platforms would agree. Meanwhile, the Nuer (especially) those in Gambella caught up in political unevenness flanked by the rival Ethiopian forces likely to politically mess up the Nuer interests. You continue on your own finding and become conscious of this justification. Whilst in front of the Ethiopia’s bloody political changeover that built-in the Tigrayans against Ethiopia governing system, it is worrisome for much of their commentaries (the Nuer people of Gambella) situated in a conditional solidarity with the Tigrayans.What suited their interest at the Tigrayans ’cause is unknown. Does the Nuer of Gambella properly think of the advantages and disadvantages of such a conditional solidarity with Tigrayans so far?
Nevertheless, others moderate Nuer are seeing no any conclusive or a genuine reason for any Nuer whether in Gambella or elsewhere to politically stand compassionate with the Tigrayans ‘unjust cause in any form.This is because, the Tigrayans who have ruled Ethiopia for virtually three decades had shown their ill-political anxiety and move toward toward the Nuer people for nearly their decades in power. Existence of the Tigrayans ‘divisive rule in Ethiopia made the Mighty Nuer become politically susceptible and defenseless in the sub region. TPLF’s political conspiracy against the Nuer people of whether in Gambella or in South Sudan has been detrimentally preventing Nuer from political success of all kinds and, it has a say in the Nuer’s prevailing political and humanitarian affliction in the subregion. Indispensable examples can support this ground. In Ethiopia, the Tigrayans ‘conspired with Anwak of Gambella against the Nuer people. Meanwhile, in Gambella, Tigrayans plots against the Nuer lasted for nearly three decades since 1995 when the existing Quasi Federalism was establish.The TPLF clique have placed theGambella People ‘Regional Government under Anwak Autocracy with many OKelles have been the only presidents of the Gambella ‘People Regional State since 1995 till only once took over by Dr. Gatluak Tut in absence of the TPLF’s Addis Ababa political architect. Tigrayans have formulated this discriminatory political agreement with Anwak in pretext of an early 1990’s Anwak Phony revolutionary collaboration with TPLF against Dergin, the name of GAYNA militias groups. Whilst in South Sudan, Tigrayans collaborated with the Dinka-led government in Juba and politically harassed the Nuer people of South Sudan in the rightful endeavor for system change in their own country. The Tigrayans ‘ill-objectives against the Nuer are known and need only its separate article starts with the illicit role played by Siyoum Mesfin as former IGAD Envoy to South Sudan during the initial years of the conflict. Mesfin demonstrated his party (TPLF) ‘real political attitude toward the Nuer whence misled the region and others stockholders, including America about the real situation in South Sudan.
Nonetheless, the Nuer in Gambella as usual are conditionally thoughtful of the Tigrayans even whence the group was openly rebuffing the Ethiopian Law of the Land. You may have read the recent development in Gambella that, a young man named, Gatluak Buom Pal (son of former president of Illubabor subregion of Ethiopia, Thokwaath Pal Chai, staging rebellion and, he with others disgruntled Nuer officials are forming what he thought of to be “the Nuer-led armed revisionary movement” against the Federal government. You wonder! In fact, Tigrayans ruled Ethiopia for nearly three decades. And, their problem now is more or less linked with ravenous power (simply because the Prime Minister is not from Tigray).They want to lead forever! Those of the few Nuer who might be empathetic of the Tigrayans ’cause are best described as politically hearing impaired. Such are those who have a cheaper political rationalization. The big problem is when those Nuer of the Tigrayans enthusiasts often fails to explicate the dissimilarity that stuck between what they are supporting today and, how the Ethiopia used to be in the direction of the Nuer as a tribe during the Amhara reign since the origin of Gambella as local River Port for exporting Ethiopian coffee to Sudan and overseas in 1907 till 1956 when the region has been officially transferred from South Sudan to Western Ethiopia as an agreement between British and France imperialist.
For those Nuer who support Tigrayans whilst a citizen of South Sudan, it is likewise a defect of an objective political manifestation. Some of the Nuer folks uniformly thought of the Tigrayans revolution as somewhat having analogous characteristics with ours in South Sudan. They don’t know that TPLF’s political agenda is the worst of its kind in the region with the democratic form of governments. “When the Tigrayans lost the democratic political race after M. Zenawi, they refused to go along with the democratic changes as it has structurally happened”. Others Nuer are just being deluded by the mythology of an old adage that, ‘Tigrayans are warriors like the Nuer”…….etc. Nevertheless, I don’t agree with any Nuer on such apathetic political cynicism because of what I personally deem as a liberal way of analysing Ethiopian political unrest situationally. In fact, TPLF has a long history, and it is a tradition of every ruling political organization (tribe like Tigrayans) that has its achievements and crashes.
Nationwide, since the institutionalization of a Quasi Federalism in 1995, the economics system of Ethiopian still being commanded and remains owned by the TPLF-led government with 90% of the Ethiopia economic production is governmentally owned by the Tigrayans. Few examples are the Ethiopia Telecommunications, Electricity, Water Industry, and engineering sectors, banking systems, trade and investment to mention only a few means of economic production. Privatization of the economy has been introduced recently by Dr. A. Ahmed to benefit other Ethiopians. Trillions of the Ethiopia Birr come back from other 11 federal regions after the Nationwide Audit in every year for three decades don’t go back to Addis Ababa, but redeposit in the banks of Tigray. Therefore, theTigray region alone had 780 operational branches of the Ethiopia National Bank when war started. There has never been any other region with all these banks. Industrial installation such as, the pharmaceutical, textile, and food, cement and construction materials, weaponry industries and transport system to mention only few were repositioned from other regions of Ethiopia to Tigray region. As a result, Tigray alone has about 42 installed manufacturers of different goods and services. No other region has such industries in Ethiopia. These are few of the tragic examples that, for a layman, it can be difficult to know the areas on which you support them.
The impact of an Ethnic Federalism worked best for Tigrayans at the expense of other tribes. For the Ethiopians, amongst the three successive regimes which captured Ethiopia ‘state powers in modern history TPLF (Tigrayans) imposed their own desire over their subjects and governed without having a sense of accountability. True, at times change occurred but always lacked continuity. Political systems were changed by force by TPLF rather than by constitutional means. The absence of strong and functioning institutions played its own negative role in missing the chance to attain rule of law.
These again gave way for the prevalence of tyranny where the issue of government transparency and accountability were out of the question in Ethiopia during the TPLF ‘reign. Though offering gifts and bribing officials has its own cultural roots, in the era of Tigray People Liberation Front (TPLF), the level of corruption and the amount of resources and capital the country lost significantly increased at an alarming rate. One of the major factors for the rising level of corruption in Ethiopia was nepotism which is a result of ethnic politics by Tigrayans. The appointment of weak persons with no professional qualification and integrity in high public offices gave way for nepotism and corruption. TPLF, as the dominant member of the ruling coalition, the Ethiopian Peoples Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) assumed power in the early 1990s when the then global political order, known as the Cold War, was over. For countries like Ethiopia that were siding with the east, the situation brought a good opportunity to improve relations with the west and this enabled the Tigratans to garner diplomatic and financial support. But soon, the party’s real intention became clear that instead of entertaining plural ideas, it began to take repressive measures against its opponents. And in order to advance its economic gains, Tigrayans resorted to a land ownership system which granted the state exclusive right to land ownership of rural and urban land. This gave an opportunity for the party’s Tigrayans officials to amass a large amount of capital illegally by selling plots of public land with a significantly higher price. This also enabled the party’s Tigrayans to ensure its monopoly in the sphere of politics and economy.
Favoring economic opportunities to supporters and disfavoring opponents became a common practice. TPLF turned into business entities contrary to the principles of the country’s criminal and civil codes. Tigrayans appointed as managers in key profits marking public institutions by their ethnic affiliation rather than by their career. Laws were legislated to favor Tigrayans-owned companies. After Tigrayans lost the central role in the Ethiopian politics, they retreated to Mekele and used the wealth they plundered from the nation to orchestrate ethnic conflict and subversive activities.
As compared to the previous two regimes, in the era of TPLF corruption became rampant; nepotism also became the order of the day; the social fabrics which hold the society together eroded and morally decadency became pervasive. The fugitive Tigrayans gangs pumped their ill-gained money circulated outside the formal channel to rally groups of people for demonstration, blockade of roads, and political upheaval and provoke ethnic violence by deploying mercenaries. They also used their money to transport explosives, armament and ammunition to fuel conflicts. Money launderers preferred the informal channel because it is untraceable. If they use the banking system, it would be easy to trace the amount of money they deposit, where and to whom they send. Besides engaging in contraband, the Tigrayans officials and their business partners took part in the import-export business without opening a letter of credit from the Ethiopian National Bank. With this, as to the economist, they managed to evade a significant amount of tax. They have managed to accumulate wealth illegally that could have been utilized to foster other development activities. The illegal trade went as far as the livestock sub-sector. Livestock such as cattle, sheep, goats, camels and donkeys find their way to neighboring countries in such a manner. They exchanged the commodities with various kinds of currencies widely used in those countries such as the Kenyan shillings, Djibouti’s Franc, Sudan’s pound, US Dollars and others. In return, they purchased commodities or deposited the money in foreign banks.
In Djibouti, hard currencies are sold in the open market and anyone can purchase and use it for whatever purpose. Efforts to control contraband in the border checkpoints and airports have been carried out but the illegal traders have their own roots and transit goods in a clandestine manner. The rampant corruption prevailed in the revenue offices and were exploited by the illegal traders. Some army’s and government institutions’ vehicles were immune from inspection at checkpoints and brought untaxed goods to the city. Illegal trade was fused with political and ethnic affiliation and this helped culprits to continue their illegal activities with impunity, as to him. Price setters in the tax collection sites were handpicked from the politically dominant Tigrayans ethnic group and levied tax in a discriminatory manner. When some traders were requested to pay a much higher tax than the amount of goods they imported, others were let to take their goods worth of million birr freely into the country just because of their ethnic affiliation. As to the law, the non inclusive politics that prevailed for the last 27 years significantly hindered business and economic activities.
TPLF supporter groups in the diaspora are also involved in money laundering through remittance. A person who wants to send money from abroad to his relatives here in Ethiopia will send the hard currency to the launderer there and tell his relatives to get the money here in birr at the black market exchange rate. As a result, the nation lost hard currency. Had the money been sent through the banking system, the nation would have gained the hard currency to boost its economy and foreign trade. What is worse is that the criminal gangs who have linkages with the TPLF channel the hard currency to foreign banks and used it to purchase arms to smuggle them to the country via neighboring countries to advance their subversive activities.
The author, Mak Johnson, can be reached through email at Makjohnson2005@yahoo.com/johnsonmak61@gmail.com,
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