By Abraham Garang
The breakthrough in reaching an agreement on unified command structure, by parties to the senseless war and feet dragging strategy, deserves appreciation and support from all people of walk of life in the country in particular and worldwide at large. The issue of unified command had been a thorn in the flesh of the nation for quite a time now. Let us pray that the new and old commanders in the structure will exert utmost effort to ensure that the country moves forward peacefully.
The outgoing war was brought about by greed for power, domination and above all lack of enough experience to run an independent nation given that we were emerging from the mentality of war waging, that was not preceded by plans on how to manage the desired nation that some of us shed blood, were martyred, lost limbs and property in the course of fighting. This time round, all of us must shun pursuing ambitions that kill, but put the interest of the nation above any partisan, tribal, sectarian interest and instead embrace willingness to shoulder responsibility of rebuilding the country.
For the country to move forward, the civil society entities need to take center stage in championing the agenda of rebuilding the nation. All of us are aware that the recent call by some section of the civil society organizations for change in the status quo, through peaceful protests, has created a wide gap of mistrust between the government and the civil society fraternity in particular and those organizations and supporters of the status quo, both within all political spectrum in general.
To restore the lost trust, all of us, regardless of affiliation, must champion the efforts that are geared towards creating a conducive environment for dialogue in order to reach a common ground where we collectively follow direction that heads to the rising sun of hope in a brighter future.
The civil society organizations must take the lead in going down to the grass roots to sensitize the civil population in both urban and rural settings throughout the country about the importance and the need for coming together for the sake of peace for all. The people at the grass roots level must be informed that the future of the nation lays in choosing right leaders through peaceful, fair, free and credible elections. Let everybody be made aware that choosing leaders does not need to be based on tribal affiliation but on merit and integrity. Negativity generated by elections in other countries in the region and indeed on the continent of Africa must be explained carefully to the people so that our nation remains clear and free from them.
The Troika countries have tremendously done well in pushing our leaders to work towards bringing back peace and stability to the country. It is only an ingrate, who would not acknowledge the role that those countries and other friends of South Sudan have been playing to ensure that parties to the outgoing senseless war bring back sensibility to our country. As we commend their role, we appeal to them [troika nations] to consider supporting the civil society organization reach the unreachable in the remote areas of the nation in order to sensitize them on how to peacefully be participants in leadership choosing in the upcoming anticipated elections. The United Nations Mission in South Sudan, UNMISS could help in availing transport means.
Abraham Garang is a South Sudanese Journalist based in Uganda. Contacts are; +256773951175/ +256705650071. For WhatsApp; +256758178070.