{"id":2767,"date":"2025-03-06T09:35:38","date_gmt":"2025-03-06T09:35:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jubaglobal.com\/?p=2767"},"modified":"2025-03-06T09:35:39","modified_gmt":"2025-03-06T09:35:39","slug":"why-south-sudans-past-still-haunts-its-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/directtopic.com\/jubaglobal.com\/why-south-sudans-past-still-haunts-its-future\/","title":{"rendered":"Why South Sudan\u2019s Past Still Haunts Its Future"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

OPINION ARTICLE BY<\/em> Prof James Okuk<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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What\u2019s unfolding in Nasir today ripples far beyond its borders, reaching Juba and beyond, stirring memories of the 2013 civil war that tore South Sudan apart. The devastation of that conflict\u2014lives lost, communities shattered\u2014should have taught our leaders something. Yet, it\u2019s heartbreaking to see the political and military figures steering our security and governance still blind to those hard lessons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The collegial presidency in Juba was meant to be a shining example: a system of teamwork, talks, and shared vision to lift the Republic of South Sudan toward peace and prosperity. Instead, we\u2019ve watched it crumble into isolation, plotting, petty fights, betrayal, and the rewarding of failure. But why? Here are nine reasons digging at the roots of our crisis:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1. A Shaky Start: The Revitalized Transitional Government of National Unity (RTGoNU) kicked off without unified forces in place, as promised in the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan (R-ARCSS). Worse, the Council of Ministers had no clear plan to guide the nation.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Rushed by Outsiders: Regional and international powers pushed government and opposition leaders to unite in Juba fast, even though trust and good faith in the R-ARCSS process were nowhere to be found.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Forgotten Countryside: Rural civilians and organized forces were ignored, left to fend for themselves with whatever they could grab, fueling chaos.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. No Jobs, No Hope: Without real development projects or work programs, our restless youth\u2014full of energy\u2014turn to guns and militancy instead of farming or building a future.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  5. Tribal and Spiritual Decay: Chiefs and religious leaders have been dragged into politics, losing the trust and moral pull they once held over the people.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  6. Sudan\u2019s Mess Spills Over: Chaos in Sudan\u2014after President al-Bashir\u2019s messy ousting\u2014pitted the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) against the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), unsettling our region further.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  7. Cash Running Dry: Oil revenue has tanked, leaving RTGoNU broke, with public funds vanishing into private pockets or stashed under mattresses.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  8. Missed Peace Chance: The Tumaini Consensus Initiative in Nairobi fell apart in September 2024 after SPLM-IO delegates walked out, souring Kenya\u2019s role as a peace guarantor and stalling progress.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  9. Political Games: Multi-party tricks, inside and out, stall elections. Those comfy in power see no rush, while SPLM wrestles with its own messy leadership handover.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    These nine failures keep tormenting our liberators and so-called peacemakers in Juba. The White Army in Nasir mixing with SPLM-IO forces? That\u2019s just a symptom of this bigger mess.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The collegial presidency experiment has flopped\u2014it\u2019s time to ditch it for a normal presidency, like the rest of the world uses. Recycling old, worn-out ideas\u2014the \u201cDead Horse Theory\u201d\u2014won\u2019t fix this. Our current leaders, whether in government or opposition, need to connect with the people in real ways. The people must organize, not for chaos, but with purpose, to take back their power and demand their rights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Here\u2019s the way forward: blend the Tumaini Protocols with the R-ARCSS, pulling the best from the 2005 Interim Constitution of Southern Sudan. Set elections for 2027 as the heart of a new transitional government\u2019s plan. Oil money should fuel this, not disappear. We\u2019ve got two years from 2025 to make it happen. Courage and sacrifice are the only way out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    South Sudan\u2019s past doesn\u2019t have to be its future\u2014but only if we act.
    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    OPINION ARTICLE BY Prof James Okuk What\u2019s unfolding in Nasir today ripples far beyond its…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1359,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2767","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/directtopic.com\/jubaglobal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2767","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/directtopic.com\/jubaglobal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/directtopic.com\/jubaglobal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/directtopic.com\/jubaglobal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1359"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/directtopic.com\/jubaglobal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2767"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/directtopic.com\/jubaglobal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2767\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2769,"href":"https:\/\/directtopic.com\/jubaglobal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2767\/revisions\/2769"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/directtopic.com\/jubaglobal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2767"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/directtopic.com\/jubaglobal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2767"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/directtopic.com\/jubaglobal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2767"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}