ELECTED NONE EDUCATED IN DINKA COMMUNITY SPECAILLY IN AWEIL COMMUNIT, WHILE EDUCATED ARE PRESENT.
BROTHERS AND SISTERS,
I THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR HARD WORK AND OFFER TO MAKE WEBSITE IN TO A PLACE WHERE WE COMMUNICATE AND DISSCUSS OUR PROBLEMS, AND SHARE OUR THOUGHTS.
CONCERING ELECTED OFFICIALS NONE EDUCATED IN AWEIL COMMUNITY OR SOUTH SUDAN I THINKIS WE SHOULD CHANGE IT, OTHER THAN THAT WE ALL WILL GO DOWN HILL. NO ONE EVER THOUGHT ABOUT THIS PROBLEM, SINCE OUR INDEPENDNCE DAY IN 1956. WE HAD BEEN MISLEAD BY UNEDECATED PEOPLE AND STILL EXITE IN SOUTHRN SUDAN AND SOUTH SUDANESE COMMUNITIES, SPECIAL BHAR EL GAZAL. MY QUESITION IS WHY DON'T WE ELECT EDUCATORS INSTEAD OF NONE EDUCATED?
A PERSON WHO IS NOT EDECATED ALWAYS HAS PROBLEMS THAT EDECUATED PERSONS DO NOT HAVE.
1. READING AND WRITING PROPERLY
2. SPEAKING LANGUAGES
3. BRINGING BAD NAMES TO A COMMUNITY WHEN THERE IS ACCIDENTS THAT HAVE HAPPENED, PEOPLE WILL SAY ARE POLISH MAJORITY.
4. ALWAYS LOOK OUT HIS/HER OWN BEST INTEREST.
5. CAN BE TRICKED BY OTHERS WHO ARE WELL EDUCATED
6. MAY ORDER FALSE PUNISHMENTS FOR INNCCENT PEOPLE.
7. THEY DO NOT KNOW HUMAN RIGHTS.
8. NONE HAVE ABLITIY TO BETRAY THE COUNTRY IF THEY ARE LEADING
AND THERE ARE SOME MORE ABOUT NONE EDUCATED PEOPLE AND HOW THEY AFFECT COMMUNITIES. LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, DESPITE ALL HTESE PROBLEMS, WE GO THROGH, WHY WE STILL ELECTED NONE EDUCATED TO LEAD US?
MAY GOD BLESS YOU ALL, AND MAY HE HELP US FIND THE RIGHT PEOPLE TO LEAD OUR COMMUNITIES.
Education sometimes creates problems, for instance, John Garang is super educated but he has been terrible throughout his leadership career. The former tyrannical dictator of Liberia, Charles Taylor is another super educated figure but he didn't know the right way of helping his people. Education is of paramount importance but it is sometimes pernicious if not used wisely. Therefore, we must be careful with selecting or electing our leaders.
My point is that getting a right person doesn't necessarily overwhelmingly rely upon education only. There is must be other factors inaddition to education.
Since independence from British, there has never been a proper democratic process in Sudan, especially in the south and Aweil in particular. Hence, most of the so-called leaders have come to power through crooked and hooked methods. I guess the idea of foolish majority weaseled in through bad representation: ungodly means, lack of accountability, transparency or simply the absence of procedural due process. Had there been a flourishing democracy in Aweil (or Sudan as whole), I opine that uneducated cohorts of leaders would have found it hard to lead and gain for us ‘the foolish majority status’.
Although there is some truth to your opinion, I am afraid that I can not embrace it in its entirety. This is because; even educated people at times do not have the interest of the public at heart. In that case, we are at liberty to decide whether it is worthwhile to be led by an uneducated but thoughtful and forward-looking person or by an educated but tribalistic, egoistic, diehard leader. To say the least, Garang Aher has just vividly illustrated the pitfalls of educated men who are of no prime use to their society. Look no further than Sudan.
In my opinion, a yardstick for a determining a good leader, is through his or nationalistic achievements/endeavors/good intentions/sound policies---. In short, even though educated leaders outshine uneducated ones, it is a not always the case. Thus, all we have to do whenever democracy knocks on our door, is just vote in good leaders.
Your standpoint is indeed appropriate. But what about the situations where one person is perceived to be everything, for instance, John Garang, for two decades in his tragic leadership, has been taken as somebody who has a superior knowledge to all southerners. He has been thought to be a superman in the history of South Sudan and thus all his work has been unquestionable. For two decades, people think John Garang can't be asked nor told to do anything because he's been better thinker and more educated than all Southerners.
You mentioned a "collective responsibility." I agree with you on that point. But what about the situation where one person turns to discourage the "collective responsibility" by making himself everything without giving other citizens an equal participation and management in the system. For instance, John Garang, for two decades has been discouraging diversity in the Spla/m leadership. Do you think these particular situations would promote and nurture "collective responsibility," democracy, equal participation and management, soevereignty of the people, integrity, accountability, honesty, trust or confidentiality in our leadership?
My point is I am trying to discourage your principal focus on education. Though education is extremely important, we have to find who is truely for the purpose of discovering and promoting the growth, development, and nurturing of his people capacities. Education alone can't make somebody a better leader.
Thank you so much for such a great topic. You are so valor a boy !!
This kind of topic is or was in every individual mind , particularly, me but was apprehensive to do so. I was a little bit afraid because of the experiences we learned from our past leaders,educated or uneducated ones.For instance, Lual Lual , Lan-bar or whoever he nicknamed himself, Malong Awan and so on and so forth as far as Aweil leaders are concerned, in the SPLA/SPLM.I do not want to expound their regulations , either negatively or positively in the movement.We all , the jach el amer, know about that.If you, Garang Dhieu, were from Dima, amarek-rek or matuasat, if not mistaken , well awared of unfairness of the administration.I do not want to go farther in details because of enormosity of the topic. Could time allow me, I must do so.
Briefly, I am quite sure that Garang Aher and Alic Garang have successfully satisfied you. Aweil or southern leader , must be the one who is or has been informally and formally well informed. For example,he or she should not be the one who credits their taboos and discredits others'.He or she should not be the one who hates Lako , Galuak, Piol Piol or Kuku for having break fast in front of parents in-law ,in case of southern sudan.For Aweil , they should be the ones who , either educated or not should not use their power basically for their subtribes , subclans or clansections. No pariath for pariath , pamiath for pamiath ,pacier for pacier or ......
My understanding of the leadership goes back to the family institution, where the father is always the head of the family and the mother the deputy and the children are the subjects to be governed, guided, regulated, educated, protected, and developed to be the responsible people in the future. Under this simple scenario, parents who are the key players in this small institution always strive to make their subjects better people in the future. They always strive to make their children potentially powerful and competent people in the future. I mean the parents are always alert of their children social, psychological, economic, and security needs. And it is from this perspective that we take a great care of ourselves as parents and focus also upon the proper growth of our children. Further, I truely believe that no parent would every feel happy when his/her child goes to bed with empty stomach, when his/her child has no proper education, when his/her child has no proper medical care, when his/her child has no drinkable quantity water, when his/her child has no future. All the parents have ethical responsibility that it is their obligations to try their best to make the life and future of their children better and predictable.These are apparently the responsibilities of the parents to their children worldwide. And they are guided and regulated by parental love and and respect to humanity. Nevertheless, most of the responsible parents don't do that because there are conventional laws that guide them but their instinct or intuition tells them what their responsibilities are to their the governed (children). The responsible parents do that because children are extremely vulnerable to all problems and therefore they deserve an undivided attention and caring tendency. And this job is not only done successfully by the super educated parents but I believe all parents overwhelmingly respect this ethical responsibility to their children. This kind of atmosphere always creates a wonderful environment for integrity, honesty, trust, respect, responsibility in the term of accountability to flourish in the family institution. Thus I believe these are ethical values every leader (irrespective of any institution) should take and guide him/herself with them.
My point is that I believe the same thing should be applied in other larger institutions like local and national governments. Those who campaign or contest seriously for political positions at either local or national level should know that, they are going to do the same work as they are doing at their homes to their children. I mean to say that, people wherever they are deserve an equal treatment and unquestionable moral standing as our immediate family members do. There is no different at all except that the whole world is so corrupted such that every opportunity to get either a promotion or elected is being seen as the way to get richer, to rob the visionless and voiceless masses of their rights and opportunities to make a better life.
Therefore, I urge all our leaders to take these values to higher levels of the leasdership. It is of tremendous importance for the leader to understand that his/her principal role is to discover a new knowlege and impart his/her your people, to feed your people with truth and not false nor harmful propaganda, to impartially disseminate new ideas to your people, to develop a connecting and comforting relation with your subjects as you do at home to your children, to confront problems current problems and future threats to avoid passing on to the next posterities, to provide a proper security to your people, to fight for their rights and freedom and equality even if you are in a life threatening situation, and to give them education so that they can be productive assets in the community, to mention only a few.
Mind you dear folks, I am not unrealistically undermining the enormity of the challenges in the government but the fundamental reality is that we have to develop and adapt a new fashion of being a part of the vast majority in our communities, leaders in particular are the ones required to develop the spirit of being loving, caring, compassionate to everyone under their authorities. It is true that a poor or incompetent leadership can cause enormous problems in the community and I am sure all of us have witnessed this scenario in our movement. Our movement has suffered a lot of indecipherable leadership deficiencies because the heart and mind of the head of the movement is operating outside the interest of the vast majority in South Sudan. This environment of being preoccupied with your personal ambitions is not at all conducive to our social, political, and economic growth. Some leaders sometimes are tempted to use public resources to help their children and immediate relatives asuming that the welfare of their relatives has overridding importance over that of the vast majority under their authority. I believe this is unethical because it seriously goes against the public safety, public economic security, and public uniform growth. Though I am aware that the whole world is so corrupted; I still want leaders from infant (undeveloped) families, communities, societies, and countries to change and adapt the philosophy or principle that would work for the common good.
Leaders have to recognize that they are the voices and visions of their people and consequently anybody who is neither represented nor fairly represented would be like a blind persons who doesn't have a guidance. Leaders have to be careful because they are the "white blood cells" in the community like "white blood cells" in the body. "White blood cells" in the body never give up untill they are all destroyed and I want leaders to be destroyed by the problems confronting their people before their subjects are consumed by the problems.
This is Just Metaphor.
Garang Dhieu, education is extremely important because through it we can discover new skill to advance human knowledge and make our life better on the earth. However, it won't guaranttee somebody to be a leader. Let's adapt a forward progressive motion instead of backward motion and sideways.
The bottomline is that the respect, integrity, honesty, trust, and accountability we maintain in our families must reach the highest level of our leadership or administration.
I read your post carefully however, I failed to understand what you are trying to address. In which situation are referring to when you talked "elected none educated in Dinka Community?" Do you know that experience is the best teacher?
I have no reason whatsoever to refute the fact that basic education is a necessary requirement for modern leaders. However, we ought to be a little sympathetic with our situation in southern Sudan. Southern Sudan has historically been denied many opportunities including education which of course culminated in the present conflict. It is therefore understandable that majority of our leaders don’t have sound educational background, they simply had no educational opportunities available for them. Few of them who were lucky to go to schools immediately after the first war which was concluded in 1972 also had to cut their education short because of the SPLA war. So given these realities, education will not be a major leadership requirement in southern Sudan for quite a long while.
At the same time, whether a leader is highly educated or not doesn’t really matter that much, what is important is public enlightenment. Public’s political consciousness is what determines the nature of politics in a given society. Enlightened masses know their rights, they know when to hold their leaders accountable for their failings, and this helps in ensuring the availability of good governance. But in places like southern Sudan where almost 99% of people are illiterate, education isn’t the priority; leaders simply need to possess strong leadership qualities including love/passion to serve their people. So brother Garang Dheiu, what we need to do now is to help in educating the public issues that are vital to them, we need to make public understand that government is for the people and not the other way round. We need to eradicate the long held perception that leadership belongs to a leader, and so people are accountable to the leader. This is the most important task people like you should shoulder in the days to come.
That is a grea article Garang Aher, I like your level of analysis. Keep it.
I think we are all aware of the circumstances most of our grown-ups or leaders have run into as Kuot made it clear. Our objective is not to find the replacements for the uneducated leaders but the principal objective is to find the leaders that are for the progress and growth of their subjects, and this can be done without considering education primarily. We need leaders that would take the full responsibility of furthering the capacity of their subjects to a much greater capacity, and this situation can be fulfilled by anybody irrespective of education attainment. We need leaders that care about what is affecting their people and work to find solutions for the problems, and this situation can be fulfilled by anybody who cares for his family problems and relatives welfare. We need leaders that seek informational and advisory help from their subjects in lower positions, and this situation can be met by somebody who stands for creating co-operation, integrity, trust, and accountability in the community leadership. And I believe we have such leaders in Aweil community regardless of their education background. Those leaders who have suffered fighting arabs still have a power to lead if they are given the best information to guide them in this arduous time.
On our part with respect to this matter, we need to encourage an environment that would promote and nurture integrity, trust, honsety, respect of everybody irrespective of status, and responsibility in the term of accountability in the leadership. We have to strongly stand behind our leaders to recharge and energize them to be able to meet the needs of the current and future challenges. I believe there is no worry that Aweil leaders would not guide us properly. Some responsible and caring leaders are there and some will join in the leadership positions very soon in this interim period. And I believe these fresh and truely better educated ones will supplement the capacity of our current leadership. Hitherto, we will have a better leadership in place and everything will be done more appropriatly and efficaciously as opposed to the past leadership enormous failures or bewilderments.
To stress a little more, the principal failure is deeply rooted in lack of co-operation from the top down to the bottom; that is lack of connection between leaders and the subjects. Humility and sympathy, particularly for the leaders is extremely important for their success and excellent performance. However, arrogance and exaggeration of one's capacity when dealing with these complicated issues could seriously jeopardize the lives of the masses. There should be a well connected atmosphere among the people for them to succeed and perform better in their endeavors. True communication is the key to move forward. It would create a strong groundwork against shackles of the current problems.
Education is not the principal prerequisite for somebody to be a leader in Aweil. However, we need the leader who stands for the security and prosperity of Aweil as whole. We need the leaders who would seriously aggressively fight or confront problems so that they are not passed upon the next generations. We need unifying leadership in place right from this moment on and that can be done by those who are in the field and potentially by those who are in their way into the field.
i want to thank you all for your effort, time that you had spent collecting ideas, and thougts about this topic. ELECTED NONE EDUCATORS WHILE EDUCATORS ARE PRESENT.you're really apprciated, and i thought it was a tough topic, at the same time an important topic even i failed to misplace it as some of you may think. However, you may want to forgive me, i am not an expert on this. In my point of view, education should be the first priority of leadership, so that people can learn to make the best decisions for them.
KOUT KOUT, You had mentioned quite a few words about our ancestors, and you even focused on how our ancestors didn't have opportunities to learn and recived education becuase of Sudan civil war. War broke out in Sudan and some of our elders failed to continue their education. But what happens to our parents and relatives who didn't belive in education or technology, who didn't care about education? the reason i brought this up is because they had an opportunity to learn and get educated, but they refused .I feel that our ancestors didn't take full advantage of the opportunities they had back than. Instead of sending their childern to school to learn, they forced tehm to tend cattle and work on the farms instead of pursuing education. I mention this because you said that our ancestors didn't have this opportunity due to civil war. My main point is that education is the key, and fundamental to society and leadership. Please, help me to enligten people to the truth, that education is paramount. Also, to my friend DENG ATHINGS,
what i'm trying to address is that education is that education is paramount,and therefore to not elect uneducated people while educated are present. I believe in experiences like you said, but not right now in Southern Sudan. Southern Sudan needs skills, education, people who have obligations, and accountabilities to lift up the country. Our poeple have fought for almost 21 years, and we are still losing lives, and properties while our enemies are educated themselves, and live good lives. With out technology, and education nothing will bring us together. Brother enemies will still bom villages with guns, and even forc Southern leaders to go South, and kill their own people of Sothern Sudan. With education we will defeat our enemies and bring our poeple together. Also we need to look for Southern people who are educated, capable of the leadership to lead us to teh victory in which we desire.We need someone who is willing to work for the nation, and protect his country.We need someone who is believe in elections and development.
Garang Aher, i was inrigued by all of your points toward leadership, until it sounded that you don't believe in education, and for Aweil to have someone who is educated to be governer.how would you lead people and you're not educated? don't make sence to me. it is okay people sometimes have different point of views about things. I got to go brother nice chating with you
Dear brother garang dieu,ur point is right,right man in right possession.any one deserve according to his education,and not random one that is happening now in sudan.when a fish seller became a governor while inducated sell fish.how can they lead people. it really a very folish system. we must have to change it ,but how dear garang .when educated just sit and dont complain.but iam sure that system will be change by us, we new generation
i beleive this topic is discuss essentially to point of no doubt. a lot guys give out example about super educated indiviadual, but they still act or lead wrong direction rather fisherman.
therefore, we should not put an education as first prioty for leadership. you should be leader regardless of your educational background. what is vital of choosing a good is convern consistency, conpetency, accountibility, and capability of individual.
as late Santino Deng Teng said " even if you teach donkey upto university, it will come as donkey" which mean a bad man is a bad man no matter what!!!!!!!!!!!!!.
quote: Originally posted by: Garang Dhieu "dear all, i want to thank you all for your effort, time that you had spent collecting ideas, and thougts about this topic. ELECTED NONE EDUCATORS WHILE EDUCATORS ARE PRESENT.you're really apprciated, and i thought it was a tough topic, at the same time an important topic even i failed to misplace it as some of you may think. However, you may want to forgive me, i am not an expert on this. In my point of view, education should be the first priority of leadership, so that people can learn to make the best decisions for them. KOUT KOUT, You had mentioned quite a few words about our ancestors, and you even focused on how our ancestors didn't have opportunities to learn and recived education becuase of Sudan civil war. War broke out in Sudan and some of our elders failed to continue their education. But what happens to our parents and relatives who didn't belive in education or technology, who didn't care about education? the reason i brought this up is because they had an opportunity to learn and get educated, but they refused .I feel that our ancestors didn't take full advantage of the opportunities they had back than. Instead of sending their childern to school to learn, they forced tehm to tend cattle and work on the farms instead of pursuing education. I mention this because you said that our ancestors didn't have this opportunity due to civil war. My main point is that education is the key, and fundamental to society and leadership. Please, help me to enligten people to the truth, that education is paramount. Also, to my friend DENG ATHINGS, what i'm trying to address is that education is that education is paramount,and therefore to not elect uneducated people while educated are present. I believe in experiences like you said, but not right now in Southern Sudan. Southern Sudan needs skills, education, people who have obligations, and accountabilities to lift up the country. Our poeple have fought for almost 21 years, and we are still losing lives, and properties while our enemies are educated themselves, and live good lives. With out technology, and education nothing will bring us together. Brother enemies will still bom villages with guns, and even forc Southern leaders to go South, and kill their own people of Sothern Sudan. With education we will defeat our enemies and bring our poeple together. Also we need to look for Southern people who are educated, capable of the leadership to lead us to teh victory in which we desire.We need someone who is willing to work for the nation, and protect his country.We need someone who is believe in elections and development. Garang Aher, i was intrigued by all of your points toward leadership, until it sounded that you don't believe in education, and for Aweil to have someone who is educated to be governer.how would you lead people and you're not educated? don't make sence to me. it is okay people sometimes have different point of views about things. I got to go brother nice chating with you MIDWEST GARANG DHIUE "
Going through all your responses, You had adequately addressed underlying issues as per the topic concern but what surprised me most was how we still seem to stick at the common phenomena which had made us sluggished behind all through.
Iam in total agreement with those who doesn't see it necessary to have an educated folks as leader but the problem with it is, leaders doesn't make good use of the learned folks to give them good strategies that could enhance their leadership and kinds of leadership they are delivering. I got many instances to cite here but I choose not to endanger the reputation of our leaders, I will exercise more constraint here.
Just like many of you who argued for competency and not education, I share the same feeling that education should not be on the very top criteria but it is time to reset new course guys to try it other way. That doesn't mean we start it right now but possibly with our generation who gonna picked after these "old folks' are gone. This perception doesn't carry any logic at all when it will not be the uniform criteria from other Southern Sudanese counterparts. Imagine electing an MP who is more competent but lack modern education to translate all his strategies and hence ending up being backbencher with all the decisions being made without his judgement. This situation will create those bitter days in the SPLA/M when we have more men in uniform and few CDRs in the military planning strategy hence subjective and poor deployment of Aweil's sons into hostile situation and that is why we currently register more casualties in this war the rest of the Southern Sudanese communities.
We cann't simply argue the need for education when we are at the same time giving incentives to those who refuse education even with in their reach. I want people to understand me here, My argument doesn't extend to our freedom fighters simply because they sacrifice their time to be in school to liberate us but even now, still there are folks who spent enormous time in refuge but still deliberately avoid going to school.
"even PhDs' holders are now stranded without job"
Looking at such utterance, do we really see any need to continue condoning this culture that is sinking us farther than intended? Creating good educational system, leadership, economy, city, town planning, clean environment, suitable ground for investment, affordable healthcare, recreational facilities, roads, gender equalities, creating jobs, improving food productivity ........need an educated minds to initiate all these strategies for community to embrace them. So the issue is, if we don't have educated minds in authority, who will initiate these aspects of life?
The arguement for un educated leadership works well in its own time but at this critical point, we need a fresh start relevant with the rest of the world.
Good topic Garang Dhieu,
Dhor Aher.
-- Edited by Kijana Dhor at 21:05, 2005-02-28
__________________
"One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors" Plato.
