Put aside the fact that President William Ruto is a public figure, and anyone can name himself with his name. Put aside the truth that President William Ruto is the only president in Africa who can answer one question with five correct answers.
Put aside the truth that President William Ruto is one of the few presidents who point at the eyes of the Western world and tell it how it should handle Africa.
But the chief reason why I name myself William Ruto originates from how William Ruto, the son of a mere farmer, struggled through the sons of former presidents to become the President of the Republic of Kenya.
It was almost a miracle, believe me! What made it almost a miracle was the fact that the then outgoing president Uhuru Kenyatta, son of a former president, had collaborated with Raila Odinga, son of a former Deputy President, but William Ruto, son of a veteran farmer, wrestled both of them down and won elections as the President of Kenya.
You know what, it is not easy to pull a rope, particularly a political rope, with sons of former presidents. Guess why? An elephant can’t pull a rope with an antelope! Of course, the winner is always an elephant. That pulling of William Ruto was the worst of all. Imagine one antelope pulling a rope with two elephants!
Sons of former presidents have their paths to the presidency already cleared and paved by their fathers and, they only wait for the time to clock. It began with Uhuru Kenyatta, and it would have become seconded if Raila Odinga had won the elections. Thank God the secondment was interrupted by William Ruto.
If Raila Odinga had won the elections, the son of late Daniel Arap Moi would have been seen warming up, preparing to contest for the presidency after the tenure of Raila Odinga elapses. After his tenure, the son of late Mwai Kibaki would be seen warming up, preparing to contest for the presidency and the lineage continues.
There would be no space for the sons and daughters of ordinary citizens to come to power. The winning of William Ruto is a booster dose to the sons and daughters of ordinary citizens in Kenya, East Africa, Africa and beyond. It has instilled a belief that one day, a son of a mere farmer can make it to the presidency.
As a young man with a dream of leadership, I have taken the winning of William Ruto personally and I’m very optimistic that one day, I will make it to J One. If people are killed because of having a leadership dream, then so be it. But the fact remains that I do not want it now, but I want it later when my time comes.
As a son of a veteran farmer, just like William Ruto, it is not going to be easy, but thank God the footprints of William Ruto are as clear as crystal for me to follow. South Sudan is imprinted on my heart and that, I’m going to be a glassy leader, I mean a transparent and an accountable leader whose office remains open to the citizens.
I’m not going to squeeze myself between God and law, meaning God comes first and then the Constitution follows. I must make sure the innocents are freed and the guilt convicted instead of freeing the guilty and convicting the innocents.
My number one priority will be rushing South Sudan to a hospital to have its missing enzyme replaced. South Sudan lacks an enzyme known as “implementase”; an enzyme that speeds up the process of implementation. Because of that, a decision made, for instance, in 2014, is still being implemented today.
We decide today, we implement it tomorrow, and we do not joke with leadership. I say “we” because the issues of the country are not decided by one person but by all decision-makers. If there exists a country where issues are decided singlehandedly, then that country is a sanctuary place for all types of crises.
Once we have agreed that the construction, for instance, of Bahr El Ghazal Road is starting tomorrow, I will go next tomorrow to inspect how far it has reached, and the inspection continues. By that time, South Sudanese will have gotten the leader they have been longing for, just like Kenyans have gotten theirs.
The author is a medical student, University of Juba.