A thief is a thief only when he is not your relative. When a thief is caught and taken for punishment, the relatives shout here and there. Sometimes, they take guns and threaten to initiate violence if the thief is not released. For the sake of peace, the thief is then released and the thievery continues. We are our own problem.
When a teacher sets a standard examination with a principle of bringing up competent students, students and even their guardians jump up seven meters, wanting to kill the teacher. They want the teacher to teach nursery school things and set a substandard examination to pass students even those who cannot read a page or two. We are our own problem.
When an HR manager fails a job seeker because he lacks all needed to win a job interview, the job seeker and his relatives almost go to court to open a case against the HR manager. Instead of the job seeker educating himself on what it takes to win the job interview despite having qualifications, he makes the HR manager a great enemy. Some job seekers even refuse to apply for any job advertised by the organisation from which they once failed an interview. Some take it personally, ambush the HR and harm him. We are our own problem.
An employee fails to run his duties as the contract explains and when he is fired, he wastes money on opening a case in the Ministry of Labour. He wants to retain his job by force. Some fired employees even report the case to their army Generals and government officials to threaten the employers to reinstate them. Once reinstated, they sit on their duties and the organisation or the country runs as slow as a tortoise. We are our own problem.
Politicians lobby for positions with full enthusiasm, promising people to do anything to improve lives. When appointed, they swallow the promise and do anything to steal money, no matter how it is secured. They grab property of the people they had taken an oath to serve with honesty. When relieved of charges of corruption, they collect members of their tribes, distribute guns among themselves and declare a rebellion. They ambush people, kill and loot their belongings. As peace-loving as Salva Kiir Mayardit, a peace agreement is signed and rebellious politicians are integrated into the government. Thereafter, the looting continues. We are our own problem.
It is a crime to sneak into South Sudan or sneak out of it without valid travel documents. But foreigners come and leave South Sudan with ease. They pay officers at the borders to sneak them into and out of South Sudan. The rate of crimes is on the rise in South Sudan. Who knows those they sneak into South Sudan are wanted criminals in their own countries? We are our own problem.
A foreigner or even a native goes to the airport with prohibited stuff, but when patriotic security officers try to confiscate that thing, the culprit calls an Army General and the Army General says give the phone to one officer. The army General orders the officers to kill their eyes and free the culprit to leave undisturbed. It looks like people joke with the word “confiscation”. Machines for forging money are confiscated, but they reflux to the same or different owners. As a result, fake money continues circulating. We are our own problem.
Guns are disarmed from civilians and locked into containers, but within one month, they flow back to civilians. Who should be blamed? Containers? Army Commanders? Or officers keeping keys to the containers? As the disarmed guns flow back to the civilians, communal clashes continue day in, day out. We are our own problem. We are the problem that South Sudan is facing. We are our greatest enemy.
Thanks for reading “Sowing The Seed Of Truth”.