In the previous part (2) of the above-mentioned article, I raised some critical strategic Sudanese issues that many Sudanese people firmly believe to be their sources of crisis and agony, namely; the national identity, the relation between religion and state, the lop-sided development strategies and policies, the nature governing system, the historical structural injustices, the hate speech, the extreme centralism of authority, and suchlike. Sudanese challenges are not confined to, just, these issues, there so many others, providing that we go to the Sudanese nations in their respective areas and villages and, attentively and not selectively, listen to their respective grievances and suffering.
If you visited, most if not all, of these Sudanese nations in their respective rural areas, and villages in the four corners and directions of the country as well as the middle of the country, they would tell you that ‘Identity’ is not a challenging issue to them and that it is not one of their priorities and that it doesn’t form any obsession or nightmare to them. They would tell you that ‘Identity’ issue is intellectuals and elites’ issue there in the center, in Khartoum. They would tell you that, identity issue is outside of their primary concerns’ circle. They would tell you that their basic needs and priorities are as follows; they would say “we need security, we need sustainable peace, we need potable water, we need nutritional food, we need quality education, we need quality healthcare services, we need agricultural inputs, we need animals’ healthcare services, we need good roads, we need quality transportation facilities, and we need sustainable electricity power. In a nutshell, we need quality service delivery.” Poverty, disease, illiteracy, never allows Sudanese nations to talk about anything else outside of this vicious triangle. Identity to them, a luxurious issue.
No one would dare to raise ‘Identity’ as a challenging issue to them. They would firmly tell you that they are Sudanese, no more, no less, just Sudanese. They would bombard you with many embarrassing questions such as “who mandated you to talk on our behalf?” “who told you that we are Arab?” and “who told you that our ancestor is Al abbas?” “who told you that we are pure Negro?” these innocent and honest people will keep bombarding you with these critical questions until you give up or run away otherwise they will opt for beating you physically or will consider you a mad person and will chain to a tree.
Likewise, if you payed another crazy visit to these same people in their respective areas and villages and kept asking them another such a stupid or crazy question of religion, they would treat you similarly. Sudanese nations are religious nations by nature. They have their own respective spiritual religions. Sudan is a multi-religious and multi-spiritual country. Religions and Sudanese spiritual and indigenous beliefs have been co-existing together and in harmony for centuries. Religious diversity is a bless, identity diversity is a bless as well. Our God is God of diversity. HE LOVES DIVERSITY. That is why God has created in all tongues, colors, and features of life
Sudan National Project is about Sudanizing the Sudanese nations by making them have one Sudanese identity ‘Sudanism’ as well as maintaining and sustaining the Sudanese religiously multi-diversified structure and personality. Sudan National Project aims at suffocating these abnormal damaging voices that are not consistent with the Sudanese national consensus. Sudan National Project aims at liberating the Sudanese nations from the chains and shackles of those who want to condition and bottle us in certain crucibles of identity and religion.
I conclude this article by saying that Sudanese nations are smart and clever nations; they know what they want and what they do not want. They know who is who and who is what. Consult them, engage them in the processes related to their concerns, interests, and affairs. Don’t try to manipulate them they too smart to be manipulated.
In the coming part (4) of the article, I will be talking in depth about the basic components and constants of the Sudan National Project.
Be continued.
Mahjoub
Kampala, Uganda.
mahjoubferen@gmail.com
