How Does Upper Nile State Response? If Country has to be divided or remain one!!!!

By / Lwanyo Awang Padiet

I want to start with my appreciation to our fore-freedom fighters for 17 years ANYNYA Movement and the current freedom fighters for 22 years “SPLM/A” and the achievement both brought to us respectfully the Addis Ababa agreement and Comprehensive Peace Agreement “ CPA”.  Let Peace be with our fallen heroes in their graves.

Upper Nile State is in critical potion for its geographical location as South / North border State. Now the State is under National Conventional Party “NCP”, though less is known of how such an important state in term of its geographical strategic stand point end up in the hand of NCP party, some critics think SPLM would have done better to maintain the Sate and give one of other nine states to NCP to fulfill a requirement in CPA which demand one state to be given to NCP, which wasn’t define which one?

The aim of the article is not to attack SPLM leadership a party which I’m a member of too, nor reverse the leadership decision which end Upper Nile State to NCP because that’s not applicable either. But also I want to caution people foe underestimating NCP control over the executive branch of Upper Nile State government.

Think of it this way, governor is political position, and I don’t think he goes to his office to run his job on daily basis. The governor is there because he and his party have a plan to put in place since he’s a candidate of a party and not a candidate of the people of Upper Nile State. This is not a personal attack to the governor, but this applies to every body that might have end up governor of his/her party NCP under such circumstances and here are the concerns.

Do NCP have policy to implement? Yes. Do I know what type of policy? No .Does the policy the same with one of SPLM if they were one in control? No. Do SPLM have to watch closely? Yes. How? Through conventional means, we don’t want unstudied decision which may cost lives in unnecessary military confrontation since we are still on CPA road map.

That’s our state status quo, then let go back to our main title how do we response? Or are we prepare?  Can we establish now mutual relation between South Kordufan State, informally Nuba Mountain, White Nile State, and Blue Nile State informally the Funj or Hangasana?

I believe the role of Upper Nile State citizen in 2011 is very crucial either the ways whether in separation or in union to ease down the aftermath of referendum. So let us involved to start create such a relation for betterness of our fellow citizens and that doesn’t require a government mandate to do so.  To me, I’m comfortable of any decision our people will make in 2011, because for sure the circumstances will not be the same.

But what’s important to me is how do we be more effective as a partners and key players in new Sudan theory or the upcoming State of South Sudan and give away the role of opposition to others to play too. Learn the game to rule and give away the game of opposition.

We need a new mentality in our political leaders, a mentality associates with services and development for our people before they make their own political decision and awareness in our citizens in their decision in who is the candidate they support and what they’ re going to get in return. Stop giving blanc cheque..