Politicians are like children. Children cry and when they are given what they cry for, they can laugh when tears are still flowing down their cheeks. I swear, the politicians of South Sudan are destroying politics completely. They play it as if they are playing.
When a politician is appointed to a certain position, Salva Kiir Mayardit becomes his Godfather. He points out the portraits of Salva Kiir Mayardit and hangs them wherever he lives. He points out the tag bearing the picture of Salva Kiir Mayardit and puts it on his chest. He almost kills whoever tells President Salva Kiir Mayardit to step down.
To him, the government of South Sudan is more than perfect in all what it does. No corruption, no tribalism, no nepotism, no unemployment, no debts, no hunger, no flooding, and no nothing. To him, all the states are connected to Juba, and all schools and hospitals are built and equipped. The security is up to date, no unknown gunman, no robberies, and no smuggling of drugs and their consumption.
To him, Salva Kiir Mayardit stays the President of the Republic of South Sudan for now and forever. When he attends political rallies of the SPLM and a disgruntled cadre shouts “SPLM will rule for the next 100 years”, he issues a bank cheque to that cadre and promises to employ him if he continues shouting so. Whoever says something good about the government becomes his best friend.
The whole of Bahr El Ghazal region becomes, according to him, a land of wise people. Warrap State, where the president hails from, becomes the best state to live in and Akon, the hometown of H.E Salva Kiir Mayardit, becomes a paradise, what they call a heaven on earth. Wherever Salva Kiir Mayardit goes, even if he is not invited, he will smell the footprints and follow the president.
Whatever the president says, even if he insults him, he will clap his hands to the point they may get swollen. Every speech, according to him, is the best speech to have ever been read out.
But when President Salva Kiir Mayardit relieves him, either on charges or on a normal government reshuffling, the government of South Sudan becomes the worst government in the world according to him. The Salva Kiir Mayardit he worshipped yesterday becomes a weak leader today.
To him, corruption, tribalism, nepotism and unemployment are at peak. Salva Kiir Mayardit, according to him, does not give meaningful speeches, loves his own people and is not qualified to lead South Sudan. The Salva Kiir Mayardit he saw too young yesterday becomes too old today. The elections he agreed to continue extending yesterday must be conducted today so that Salva Kiir Mayardit and his ruling party SPLM are voted out.
He comes to normal senses and visits other relieved officials to gang up against the government. Bahr El Ghazal region becomes the land of foolish people, Warrap State becomes a state which produces weak leaders and Akon becomes a hometown developed with public money. Everything he said was good yesterday becomes the opposite today simply because he is relieved. He does all this to threaten Salva Kiir Mayardit to reappoint him.
But because Salva Kiir Mayardit sometimes moves on like a camel despite dogs barking at him, the only way he sees open is the bush. He picks up his gun and goes to the bush to fight the government of South Sudan.
When asked, he says the government is doing nothing to the people of South Sudan and that, I’m fighting on behalf of the people of South Sudan. This is a white lie! Why is it a good government when a politician is serving and a very bad government when he is relieved? This is just because of food, nothing else. Politicians think South Sudan is theirs. They destabilize South Sudan because of something small called interest. Interest is smaller than South Sudan.
The author is a medical student, University of Juba.