Since the dawn of this year, people have exchanged several messages, inspiring one another to strive for the best. But one specific missive that delves into the adage that “the grass is greener where you water it”, in the advent of elections in South Sudan, is catchy.
As National Legislative Assembly Speaker, Jemma Nunu Kumba, calls on political parties to reach a consensus on holding elections this year, it’s the very people to water and make this country greener or fail and it dries up. So, make your choice.
In pursuing our goals of the year, in our minds’ eyes, imaginations of a fancy World full of bread and butter, milk and honey, heaven on earth, land of peace and abundance, that must be South Sudan, which, we must water to achieve the yield of our expectations.
Our names will never be written in books of legacy if we keep switching residences outside in search of peace, as though angels rule those other countries.
The grass is never greener on the other side of the border but where it’s watered. Who waters the side to make it greener matters a lot, and we must endeavor to do the same on our side for it to become greener.
We don’t have to go anywhere to make things better; we just have to put effort into making things better where we are.
It’s so easy to look at a situation from the outside and think, “that people have it better,” and the only solution is to move in the same direction, try to achieve or get what they have but the truth is, their success is a result of their actions, not simply because they are in a different place.
Taking the Democratic Republic of Congo as a case study, after decades of living in limbo under President Mobutu Seseseko, though limping in the lane of democracy, yet, recently conducted successful elections.
We should cease to attribute the successes of other countries in conducting peaceful elections to better circumstances; the very citizens worked collectively to nurture it.
Let’s also cease to envy other countries of the prevalence of peaceful situations, and note that they put in a lot of effort to get to where they are. Again, they took the time to water the grass and make it greener, every time you see it.
The challenge is, let’s think of what we can do to improve and take at least one small step towards achieving our goal of attaining peace and conducting credible elections.
Of course, it may take more effort to restrain our egos and to value every individual citizen, love each other, and embrace peaceful co-existence to experience the expected result, just keep “watering” it, and there will be some progress.