These days, rumors are very thick in the air that the Supreme Command of the Army has been composed of only one or two tribes and that these two tribes are from the Northern part of the country and that the other parts of the country have intentionally been excluded. I sincerely pray that these rumors be groundless because if they prove true, then the de facto military government has totally destroyed its neutrality and compromised its integrity. This move is a large-scale scandal, particularly in a country populated with over five hundred tribes. No justification can ever support this unfair move; however strong its proponents or its merits may be. Such a move will undoubtedly hinder the vision of making Sudan a place that embraces the diversity of its nations. This move confirms the accusations that have continuously been stated and adopted by many Sudanese political oppositions and revolutionary armed movements about the ethical and administrative corruption and favouritism of the successive governments and military regimes Such a move connotes bad intentions on the part of the ruling regime and junta. Such a move solidifies and enhances the argument concerning the Northerners’ domination over all other parts of the country; politically, economically, militarily, socially, and culturally. Such a critical decision can never be taken by mediocre army leadership, let alone by professional army leadership. These days, the entire country is on thin ice and that any unwise move on the part of the de facto regime will surely fuel and trigger the stressful situation. Sudan is passing through a critical juncture in its history; to be or not to be. The military establishment is still stubbornly insisting on adding insult to injury.
Since regaining its independence, Sudan has been suffering from an acute leadership gap, which has developed into a catastrophic leadership crisis. Leadership is the capacity to unleash and release the power and potential of people for actualizing their dreams and fulfilling their common vision. Leadership is not a position but rather actions that serve the interests of the citizens. Leadership is about admitting what you don’t know. It is about asking for help. It is about listening attentively to the people you lead. Sudanese leadership is in short supply of such qualities. Leadership is about learning from its mistakes. However, Sudanese leadership does not admit mistakes and claims to have none. The de facto military regime has never admitted any mistakes and has never consulted its people for any advice. It believes that it is absolutely right and that others are absolutely wrong. Such short-sighted leadership will surely lead the Sudanese people to the abyss.
As I have said, leadership is a process, not a position. However, that does not apply in Sudan, where leadership is a position for the accumulation of fortunes and enrichment—a way of looting, corruption, and suppression. It is known that leadership is a process of taking people somewhere; yet in Sudan, it is a process of taking Sudanese people to nowhere.
Seventy-plus years since gaining independence, the Sudanese nation is still led by cycles of dysfunctional political systems; there is no hope on the horizon. All sorts of ideologies have been applied and practised, yet Sudan is still riding the same old rocking horse. It is still in the habit of carrying out the same monotonous aimless rat race. A race that has politically debilitated and economically impoverished and diplomatically alienated Sudan in the international area.
Sudanese Unionists applied their political ideology and failed; the Umma political party applied their ideology and failed; Communist ideology was, likewise, applied and failed. Socialists, as well, made their attempt and failed. Radical Islamists applied their ideology for 30-plus years and miserably failed to transform the lives of the Sudanese people into happiness and joy. Military regimes have made their share of political, social, and economic jumble and chaos and yet never want to go. What is wrong with Sudanese people? What is that mistake that Sudanese people have made to be punished in such a cruel manner by their pseudo-leaders and politicians? Is it a sin to be Sudanese? Is it a curse to be one of the Sudanese nations or ethnic groups? Or is it just bad luck to be Sudanese? I, myself, don’t know, but surely our Almighty God knows.
Sudan, this unfortunate country, has become an experimental field—a guinea pig—for over seventy years. All sorts of failed political and theological ideas and experiments have been tested without any tangible or significant impact. Sudan, this bleeding country, has been victimized by its own obsolete leaders. Fortunately, the revolutionaries of the Sudanese popular revolution of the 19th of December 2018, which removed the military regime of the National Congress Party on the 11th of April 2019, will surely fill the leadership gap.
When a country is led by dwarfish and small-minded leadership, the logical result is ongoing, nonsensical war. It leads to a chaotic situation that the Sudanese people desperately want to escape, a nation split into antagonistic factions, and millions of Sudanese refugees scattered worldwide alongside internally displaced persons whose whereabouts are unknown. The result is thousands of our youngsters drowning in the Mediterranean Sea in their pursuit of a better life and human dignity in Europe.
Sudan is a great country populated by a great nation, and God has endowed it with an abundance of natural and human resources, yet it has been stripped of good leadership. Billions in hard currency have been spent by these political systems and regimes since gaining independence, yet our healthcare facilities remain below international standards. Our airport is a scandal, our seaport is another, our educational system produces ignorant graduates, our agriculture fails to bridge the food gap, our electricity does not meet quality specifications, our Nile water is being stolen on a daily basis, and our roads are of low quality.
Our capital, Khartoum, is the dirtiest in the world, and our institutions are the most corrupt. Our army is the only one in the world tasked with brutalizing and killing its own people—the only army that has never fired a bullet against an external enemy, but rather millions of bullets targeted at the chests of its people, not to mention deadly chemical weapons. Concerning infrastructure, one stands speechless—no comment.
Bad leadership and bad governance are real curses. Sudan is the only country worldwide whose incoming governments destroy everything related to the outgoing regimes.
Have you ever heard of a Sudanese political leader being jailed for corruption or oppression? Have you ever heard of a Sudanese president held accountable or brought to court because of embezzlements or bad governance? Have you ever heard of a Sudanese minister being jailed because of looting or stealing public funds? I, myself, haven’t heard, and I strongly believe I will not hear of such an impossible event.
its leadership is absolutely immune from being held accountable. Millions of hectares of Sudanese land belong to or owned by, just, one or two families while thousands of Sudanese people are just labourers on those hectares. Sudan is in desperate need of political hygiene to hold these political leaders accountable. There is a proverb that says ‘if you want to get imprisoned, be a president in Italy or Israel’ and I’m saying that if you want to a multi-billionaire through corruption and with impunity, be just commissioner in Sudan.
“Poor people have their arms and legs amputated because they are alleged to have stolen money or assets, while others are looting on a large scale with impunity.”
I conclude by saying, ‘God save Sudan, God save Sudan’. If quick intervention is not taken, Sudan will be broken into pieces. If quick intervention is not taken, Sudan will be dismembered into fragile semi-states. There are people, ethnic groups, and even political entities whose vested interests are in the dismantlement of this country.
The tragedy of Sudan is a gap in leadership and a lack of vision. The tragedy of Sudan is that its leaders come to positions of power empty-minded and short-sighted. They come to leadership without purpose, vision, or a strategic plan. They come to power without a national project or agendas. The rat race that started in Sudanese politics in 1994 must end; it is a bad race. In such a race, ethics are brutalized, a common vision is victimized, and the average Sudanese individual falls prey to uncertainty/hardship. The tragedy of this unfortunate country is that truth is hardly said; when one’s vested interest is imbedded in the falsehood, they rarely raise their voices to tell the truth.
The only way out is that the political rat race must stop, and chasing rats must stop as well.
No for War, Yes to Berlin Conference.
Mahjoub S. G.
Kampala, Uganda
