By: Deng Emmillo Mou, South Sudan

The history of great nations is linked to purposeful leadership. You can't talk about the United States of America without the inspiring leadership credentials of Abraham Lincoln and JF Kennedy, or Dubai without referring to the daring visions of Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, or Singapore that went from third world to first world in three (3) decades without the uncommon dedication of Lee Kuan Yaw. Unfortunately, few South Sudanese politicians have a skewed concept of what leadership entails, an aberration sort of. Many see it from the prism of long convoys, the paraphernalia and appurtenances attached to public office holders and naked show of power.

They revel in the attraction it holds but despise the responsibilities that come with it. But power is nothing without responsibility.  Leadership is about inspiration and impact. It is about taking the people to where they ought to be even when they don't realize it.  It is the most effective way of changing a society's trajectory in her quest towards fulfilling her destiny. 

Leadership without impact is vain. The parable of the talents emphasized on the importance of making the talents yield positive results, and so is leadership.  The political elites here constitute a non productive class who rely on the control of Country structures to access economic rewards. For them, politics is a game for self centered political gains,  a scheme for corrupt enrichment. The reason Africa has remained a burden on the world is basically tied to the challenges of leadership. The scramble for power and the sit tight attitude of many African dictators are cogs in the wheel of progress of African liberation and progress.  They seek power as an end instead of as a means.  Power and authority are meant to be used to transform the lives of many, to positively change the collective destiny of a people, to lessen the burden of the less privileged and turn their fortunes around.  

A study of the crop of the current leaders jostling for the soul of South Sudanese shows that Gen. Salva Kiir mayardit is refreshingly different.  He has never had any previous dealings with any arm of government or on his Citizens in any manner whatsoever. But he has already  become a government on his own, embarking on projects that ordinarily should be the exclusive preserve of the government and changing the trajectory of the life of the beneficiaries.

More importantly, there is a method to his infrastructural peace intervention and human empowerment. He embarks and accomplishes strategic projects that are in line with Sustainable Development Goals of Africa and are critical to eradication of poverty. He has set an extraordinary example with his Country South Sudan  and has shown what model governance should be. These kinds of leaderships are not for his personal aggrandizement.  His political philosophy is rooted in the ideology of planting trees whose shades he may never enjoy. It is for posterity. What actually is governance if not to give people the best education, to make the justice delivery system effective, to make the health care delivery system accessible and affordable, to provide other basic infrastructure and inspire the people. 

The Holy book says that you do not light a candle and keep it under a table. You mount it on the table top to illuminate dark places. The Father of Nation, His Excellency Gen. Salva Kiir's soaring transformation of his Citizens right now, and his extraordinary success story is a testament to the truism that the limitations to what one can achieve is in the mind.

Furthermore, his heroic tales talk to the people of South Sudan. It tells them that someone who is rejected does not reject himself-herself, that even when they are neglected and abandoned by the government, that they can turn around their fortunes despite the abandonment. In other words, it tells the south sudanese that their destiny is in their hands, that they are the master of their ship and the captain of their souls. That explains the wave of transformation he introduced in his Country without waiting on self-absorption in the government. 

He understands the role of government in the lives of the people and this he has shown in his Country with his court, hospital, market, school, road and rural electrification. No local government can embark on the kind of ambitious project he has embarked on. 

He has built a Juba city with his own acknowledgement or Government allocation, and without expecting a return  obeisance.   

He has taken off the financial burden the Country government would have incurred from developing South Sudan from the shoulders of the Central government. To this, a public observer and social issues commentator said, “Gen. Salva Kiir mayardit is an icon and miles apart from others. His selflessness and leadership roles are unrivalled by any other person I have ever known. I am informed that he has transformed his South sudanese villages to a modern town across the Country. I have not met him for a single day but I have witnessed so much about him. I heard he is interested in governing in the next chance of the 2023 election. Ordinarily he should have been sent to Government House or SPLM leadership unopposed but the nature of democracy requires a contest of ideas. Personally, I will support his aspiration when the time comes and save South Sudanese one more for fulfilling his promises during the war struggle to deliver full services from these professional rogue politicians.

South Sudanese people are enjoined to queue behind this man and take back the Country from  monumental incompetence politicians and from the jaws of the jackal Rebels masquerading as President whose real interest is to pillage the Country further and lay siege on her finances. Gen. Salva Kiir mayardit  has already outperformed the most President in the Africa Continent leaders using his personal resources and selflessly too. He has shown uncommon capacity as a public person. A male cock is known from the cradle. With Gen. Salva Kiir mayardit at the helm of affairs in South Sudan since, we shall someday look back at his period in service and proclaim, "This was our finest moment".

I pray for the president of the republic of South Sudan, and I pray for the South Sudanese of South Sudan.