Liberate sudan now

Victor Ariole

When you create vacuum and people work endlessly…crazy from morning to evening and nothing comes out of it, you have anger and resentment in abundance. – Carmen Angelique Kidjo in ThisDay

  The “Queen Bee” Angelique, living in New York where the world’s most languages are spoken – check UN workers – had seen what humanity in its assemblage of feathers look like and knows that any government that is not getting its people feel the future with joyful expectations like the Chinese government is doing to its people currently, has no place in Africa and must be uprooted with anger and resentment like the Sudanese people are doing to Al-Bashir after patiently tolerating him for decades.

Al-Bashir survived so far because most of his policies were Arabophile and made more slavery of the Nubians among the Sudanese and created multiple fronts for destabilising other African countries; remotely, Nigeria inclusive. Chad, South Sudan, Central African Republic, Congo Democratic, etc, remain in great danger of being overrun by dissidents if African leaders do not intervene to get Sudan to respond more to peaceful Africa than to Arabic expansion favoured policies; so as to completely obliterate history of Black Pharaohs quite nocif to current Egypt. Those targeted just exclaim: “We just want to live well, find jobs without having to make compromises on our beliefs”.

Making a particular belief matter to you seems to be the threshold to any type of survival game in Sudan. Even after getting South Sudan to go for being recalcitrant on such compromise, Sudan still remains a serfdom in where “bread” can only reach you if you confess total submission to the Vassal – Al-Bashir – and those who kept him to make returns to them – those in the middle east and their powerful allies beyond the Middle  East. That seems to be the fate of most African youths as Angelique states it. Leadership in Africa is turning like that of Al-Bashir; Vassals as leaders and tasking to the brim the patience of their people as more hardship is visited on them while the resources of the continent go to the vassals’ King  or Kings or Lords  like in 17th Century Europe.

Like Angelique mentioned, who tells the African story to avoid another worse killing process as Sudan could ignite another slavery resistance where people will die for resistance against slavery. “Many African people were killed because they resisted to be taken away in slavery… The brilliance of the British, French, Americans (Whites) (and one must add the Arabs) that profited from slavery is that they turn the story around, and the victims become responsible for what happened to them”. To the slave masters, it was a profitable business then, hence why blame the victims, now, as the masters had started feeling the guilt of dehumanizing fellow humans.

For the Western world, it is over and they must be commended for working hard on inclusiveness; but for the Al-Bashir’s allies, it is still on and more is expected of him as returns; otherwise new vassal will be installed; and African leaders must not go on slumbering before Al-Bashir’s patrons install their own as the next after him. Hence more dialogue to create Afrocentric policy than Arabophile one should be fronted. Arabs as Africans are never facing any oppression unlike Africans, black, as Arabs or Pseudo Arabs.

Interacting with some black skin Sudanese, you learn that the complexion gives them out as sinners, ab initio. This is where mediating on the triple heritage of Ali Mazrui comes in to save the region of the Great Lakes where Al-Shabbah is threatening as they find Ethiopia, for now, impenetrable with its acknowledgement of diversity and the need for unity. If Sudan is allowed to go the way of Al-Bashir’s allies desire, peace could be elusive in the horn of Africa down to other regions.

Historically, it reminds one of the story that Uthman Dan Fodio never went beyond Sudan as journey to the holy land and why more Nigerians and other west African people ended up settling in Sudan. That makes Sudan a great land that the connecting vassals needed to recover for their uplift to a higher grade attributed by the Kings and Princes that mattered. It is still the attitude of some Nigerian elite who still feel that they must belong to the elite groups in the Middle East. France saved Mali from disaster when one of such Princes started the tacit support of the insurgents there even when it is not completely over; as some African leaders waivered in intervening before France took control (Remember MUJAD).

So, condoning Al-Bashir had created more trouble to the peaceful minded Africans who want Africa first or greater Africa than greater Arab; and it is high time Al-Bashir was allowed to go on exile to the Middle East; like Idi Amin when he turned the enemies of the Ugandans he was meant to protect.

Egypt of Al-Sisi  should decide whether to start politics of inclusiveness in Sudan and do away with Al-Bashir or keep him in power and attract more opprobrium from a larger African populace. It is clear that Al-Bashir’s support base is Egypt and it has to do with the Nile that takes its source, through Sudan, from the region of Great Lakes that seems threatened by insurgents, guerrillas and DRC’s unending wars of warloads; and external forces interested in its immense mineral resources. Thank God DRC rejected Shadary that could have perpetuated the Sudanese link. However, it behoves Tsisekedi and his Parliament of Kabila flavour to extricate Sudanese link in the Great Lakes and make it irrelevant until the Afrocentric policy is made evident in Sudan.

Slavery must be seen as great sacrifice made by Africans to lift the entire humanity so as to wipe its criminal nature; and Arabs and Al-Bashir must note that; for a better world and a better life for the entire humanity. Africa must also present leaders who must stop begging for aids or giving themselves up as vassals for worse slavery of Africa as more of its youths die in the Mediterranean Sea trying to run away from hopelessness and helplessness as their youthfulness energies find no work to express their worth. That is also the case of Sudan as their youths give themselves up for insurgent activities menacing all Africa. Finally, most people are not willing to link this belief system to the restiveness at the other side of the Mediterranean – migrant descendants and immigration – also; but it is so.  Whether Italy or France counter-blaming each other, the interest of a larger humanity should supersede belief system and extreme right ideologies.

ARIOLE is a Professor of French and Francophone Studies,  University of Lagos