SPLM Canada Representative's Resignation: The Causes And Effects

It was 10 O’clock morning on Thursday November 13, 2008 when I turned on my computer, a daily routine to me. Few minutes after surfing the internet, I suddenly came across a resignation letter written by the SPLM Canada representative, Peter Lam Both of the city of Calgary, Canada.

The news was not news at all to me, but I found it difficult to understand in the first place what might have transpired the decision he took.

I scratched my head and wondered what prompted him to do so. But I paused and mechanically examined how he came to the office, the uproar that surged thereafter, the nasty campaigns secretly and openly launched by those who questioned the legitimacy of his appointment, and so many other controversies that surfaced.

Despite all these, he nonetheless became the SPLM Canada chief. Undoubtedly, he proved, along the way, his opponents wrong. He served SPLM in Canada professionally, courageously and positively, with dignity and pride although his appointment was viewed as partisan, nepotistic and undemocratic.

We know that in politics no one can climb a political ladder without full support from those who have already reached the top. This was what happened. Peter Lam ascended to SPLM leadership because of his dear, but now soured, friendship with Martin Majut Yak, a controversial figure in South Sudanese politics and former resident of Calgary.

By training or otherwise, the man is eloquent, gifted public speaker, unassuming, talented, intelligent, affable, hard-working, task oriented and diplomatic; ultimately, a rare breed in South Sudan we need the most. He has accomplished so many things in Canada to promote and advance South Sudanese cause. He made several attempts to bring high ranking officials from the South to come to Canada to educate Canadians about our struggle which led to the achievement of the CPA and how this CPA we now enjoy be supported and kept alive through public engagement and capacity building. I must confess that his achievements, seen and unseen, are too many and commendable.

Like I said, he came to power and showed his true talent although he was allegedly handpicked by his friend Martin Majut. The story about their relationship is long, but it is not in the best interest of this letter. To cut the story short, let me go straight to the core causes of his abrupt resignation and what to come next.

The causes are speculatively many, but I have to make it brief:

1. Last SPLM Convention: During the   SPLM National Convention in May 2008, Peter went to Juba as part of the Diaspora delegates, dubbed as Seventh Front. When SPLM’s seemingly internal squabble almost caused the breakdown of the party, due to ethnic power struggle and interest grouping, he was believed to have sided with Dr. Riek’s group versus Kiir’s and was delegated by the Nuer populace in attendance to convince Kiir’s group to reverse the Vice Presidential contest, citing negative repercussions; an action that chided by his political Godfather Martin Majut, Kiir’s right-hand man. So Lam bites off the hand that fed him.
2. Tribalism: Behind closed doors, it is hypothetically believed that the Dinka, mainly President Kiir’s base, abhor the Nuer’s dominance in the most important Western countries, say Washington and Ottawa, respectively. To get rid of the Nuer prevalence, restructuring the leadership abroad would do the trick. First, to create two parallel administrative portfolios, one for a paid GoSS Liaison office   independent of SPLM, and the SPLM office operating separately without salary allocated to the representative. It works in Canada, but not in the US. Why? This is food for thought.
3. Lam’s own Making: The failure of his leadership attributes to his personality and immaturity in politics, to be honest. The guy holds an academic degree in Political Science, plus other degrees he earned in Social Work, but practical politics is an art. And anyone who dreams to be a politician must know or familiarise himself with the art of politics. That’s to know how to enter and exit when circumstances dictate; it’s an unpredictable game. You can be both a fox and a dove depending on time and condition. But my brother never puts this into consideration.

Leadership needs one to keep up with events; local, national and international news so as to be well informed about/of what’s going on, and as a result you adjust and shift your priorities and commitments, and flow with the current. This needs immense reading of country’s newspapers, collecting information from both friends and strangers alike, and from a bunch of other information sources; from there you can make your own analysis and judgment.

Secondly, one has to make connections. Not just making mere connections with people who might misinform you, but with people who would stand behind you in times of crisis and peace.

Thirdly, politics is a risky business. It can turn a once-trusted, honest person to be a monstrous liar and a manipulative character.

Fourthly, politicians are never afraid of making mistakes, for mistakes help them develop their leadership skills and knowledge. This way, leaders never give up because of mistakes they have made in the course of their political career, but they learn to avoid and perfect future mistakes they could make. Yet Lam chose to be too kind, honest, principled, trusting, and shy to make intentional mistakes. Do we have to blame him for being who he really is and what he thinks best (following his conscience and rational judgment)? No. But rational judgment (or rationality) cannot work without irrationality.

After judging from the above causes, Sudanese Canadians may wonder what would be the future prospects of the SPLM and their community at large without Peter Lam as a leader. His departure will hinder SPLM’s professed progress in Canada big time. We may not realize it now, but we will soon feel it.

Allow me to say some of the things that will kill SPLM Canada:

1. The incompetent, tribally appointed GoSS Mission officials in Canada will likely assume both SPLM and GoSS Mission leadership.
2. Power hungry individuals will emerge to vie for the top job vacated by Peter Lam. Two worse possible scenarios will result: first, since Peter was a Nuer, then there wouldn’t be a reason that the spot would be filled by another Nuer.
3. A Dinka man will be a probable candidate for the job, but the office of the GoSS Mission in Canada is already ‘Dinkanised’ with 90 percent Dinka, mainly from Aweil and Gogrial. Do we want a reminiscence or duplicate of Aweil-Gogrial ‘kitchen cabinet’ occurring in Canada again? Maybe not. Maybe a Bor Dinka would be a better candidate, but the fear of Nyandeng’s encroachment and influence in Canada is another factor. How about Equatorians or Luo of Bahr el Ghazel or a Shilluk from Upper Nile? Strategically not.  Numbers count. Numbers count because the majority of SPLM members in Canada are mostly Nuer and Dinka. Placing another person in Lam’s position from a minority tribe would be a death sentence to the SPLM’s dream of reaching as many people as it can in Canada.
4. Regardless of tribalism and regionalism, finding an educated, honest and non-tribal leader in Canada, whom white Canadians could trust, will be rare to get. If so, that may take time.

Until then, I cross my legs as I wait to see what is going to happen. I wish SPLM Canada good luck in their future endeavours to choose a leader who will mend the deep-seated tribalism, nepotism and incompetence. Lastly, I wish Peter Both the best of luck in his future career, as he’s always been and hope that he will be there to help when needed.
 

Deng Yiech Bachech holds BA (Hons) in Political Science (University of Saskatchewan) and currently a MSc. Student in Sustainable Energy Development (University of Calgary). He can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..