By Deng Nyiwel Dhieu
During days of Khartoum regime, South Sudanese were united, fighting for their freedoms. There were no Nuer, Dinka, Shiluk, and many other tribes that people are grouping themselves into today.
Our movement was promising a country and the people a peaceful nation, where everyone should be equal and have the right to education, health care, security, and many others.
We were fighting as Southerners, regardless of regions, states, tribes, and personalities, because of our clear vision of self-determination in order for us to have our own independent state, president, constitution, flag, and national anthem.
And that’s why we have achieved it as Southerners, and today, we call ourselves South Sudanese with our own flag, Constitution, and national anthem. At some point, we are likely to lose the reason we lost our lives for independence.
A disunity mindset is cultivated in our citizens’ mindsets such that we see ourselves as tribes and groups and not as a nation as it’s supposed to. We normally turn political differences into tribal contexts for political strength and backup, which is a disaster.
We lost a number of our fathers, mothers, children, and properties in the sense of tribal war. There’s no way we can eliminate tribe for a peaceful and beautiful nation.
This country is full of sovereignty through our tribes and others’ necessities. Without a single tribe, we can’t make up beautiful South Sudan. This divisive politics is putting our generation into dark and hopeless nations.
If this country is run based on individuality and personality, it will not bring us genuine ideas, vision, and others’ desires. Disunity politics is fragmenting our country into separate tribes for generations to come.
Let’s put an end to this disunity and divisive politics among our citizens. We need to see ourselves as brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, and leaders in this nation rather than as tribes.
We have already made history worldwide as a nation with 64 tribes, and that’s fine, and it needs us to work cooperatively as South Sudanese building South Sudan. Our political differences should be addressed as the country’s politicians, rather than tribal representatives.
The writer is a member of the Transitional National Legislative Assembly representing Aweil Town and a member of the National Liberation Council of SPLMIO.