It is believed that Sudan is composed of over 580 tribes or ethnic groups. I’m not sure to what extent this figure is accurate; nevertheless, let us assume that it is true. It is also said that the total population of Sudan is estimated to be over 50, 000,000 people. I’m not sure of its accuracy either. But let us take for granted that all these figures are right. Why does this diverse composition become a source of conflict rather than a source of stability and security? One wonders how a country like India—the world’s most populous nation, with 1.47 billion people and 2,000 distinct ethnic groups—has remained at peace during such turbulent times. And how does a country like Indonesia—with 287.9 million people, over 1,340 distinct ethnic groups, and as the world’s fourth most populous nation—manage to live in peace and harmony? And how does a country like Nigeria, with a population of 241 million people and more than 300 ethnic groups, manage to live in peace?
What is it that prevents Sudanese nations from becoming one nation? What is it that hinders the Sudanese nations from peacefully burying their differences and becoming one nation? What is it that cripples the Sudanese nations’effortst and will to make Sudan a better place that accommodates its diverse cultures and backgrounds? What is it that stifles the Sudanese nations’ energy and dynamism to be one strong nation capable of making a real difference in the world? Is it because Sudanese nations lack good governance and leadership? Or is it because Sudanese nations lack a shared vision? Or perhaps because Sudanese nations look quite dissimilar due to the discriminatory Strange Faces Law? Or perhaps Sudanese nations are suffering from a crisis of identity? Or is it because Sudanese nations’ spiritual beliefs, religions, and traditional practices have failed to live in harmony with each other? Or is it because Sudan is too big to accommodate its nations’ ambitions or too small to satisfy its nations’ interests? Or is it because the nations’ armed forces have betrayed them by abandoning their noble mission of protecting them, the national constitution, and the borders? Or perhaps the so-called national political parties have been at war with each other ever since political independence? Or is it because the various Sudanese civil society organizations have intentionally abandoned their shared mission and vision of protecting the nations’ interests and aspirations from the state’s coercive power? Or is it because there has been no democratic permanent constitution and national project since the political independence of this unfortunate country? Or is it because the Sudanese nations themselves have kept taking things at face value and with absolute naivety?
These inconvenient questions must be welcomed, accepted, and answered courageously by all of us without exception. It is unfortunate that Sudanese political leadership lacks enough willpower and guts to answer these questions. Sudanese nations will remain fragmented and scattered until the Sudanese politicians acquire the courage to answer these questions. The scattered Sudanese nations will not be transformed into a single formidable nation unless Sudanese political leadership finds the courage to make things happen by courageously answering these raised questions.
Go to India and see with your naked eyes how Indian leadership were able to transform their diverse nations into one giant and formidable nation. Browse their constitution’s provisions in order to learn how the constitution is made. Go to Tanzania and see with your naked eyes how Tanzanian leadership were able to transform their tribes and ethnic groups into one dynamic nation.
Go to Tanzania to learn from the legacy of the ‘Father of the Nation,’ Julius Kambarage Nyerere; also, ask about the administrations of former president John Pombe Magufuli and current president Samia Suluhu Hassan to understand how they maintained a unified nation and how they were able to transform their diverse nations into one nation. Step down from your arrogance and stubbornness and go to Rwanda and Botswana and ask their current presidents, Paul Kagame and Duma Gideon Boko, the same question. People learn by asking. If you don’t ask, you never learn; likewise, if you do not step down from your arrogance, you will never learn. Arrogance is one of the real challenges in Sudan.
Transformation of nations into one nation is a prerequisite for a country to take off. It is incumbent upon national leadership to equip themselves with enough political willpower and guts to transform their nations into one nation. Shared vision and mission, clear national project, clear strategic plan, loyal, committed, and informed followers, good leadership, and good governance are constituent elements of a healthy nation. It is unfortunate that Sudan lacks all these constituent factors of a robust nation.
Sudanese nations resort to their respective tribes and ethnic groups rather than their state because they provide them with security, peace, and safe haven. Tribes and ethnic groups’ visions, missions, strategic goals, strategic plans, and projects are superior to those of the state. Sudanese nations will never abide by or respond to the directives and policies of the government until they sense that the government’s strategies and programming are responsive to their interests and aspirations. Their tribes and ethnic groups will remain as their comfort zones until the state transforms them into one nation.
I conclude by saying that arrogance is a detrimental trait; the Sudanese leadership needs to rid themselves of it if they are truly in pursuit of real transformation. Learning from global best practices is an entry point to a genuine transformation process. Let us copy these best practices from the outside world and domesticate them into our local policies and strategies.
Where There is No Vision, the Nations Perish.
Mahjoub S. G.
Kampala – Uganda
May 9, 2026
