Pagan Amum: A True South Sudanese, A True Patriot!

“ A hero is born among a hundred, a wise man is found among a thousand, but an accomplished one might not be found even among a hundred thousand.” –Plato.

By Luk Kuth Dak.

Have you ever asked yourself the question, why there’re some great leaders and some who aren’t?  The answer is, great leaders are those individual politicians who have an informed passion for politics and serving others. And passion is essential because it plays a major role in making tough decisions that might never be popular, but that must be made for the greater good.

Meanwhile, those leaders who aren’t great, are virtually the ones who have an uninformed passion for politics or serving others. They become politicians purely for individualistic purposes- mostly- in search of fame and wealth. Thus, an uninformed passion is as dangerous as any other form of ignorance.

Certainly, those kinds of selfish individualistic politicians not only are they toxic to their own societies, but they are dangerous to their nations, in that they wouldn’t hesitate or have a second thought, to destroy their people and nation, if it fulfills their personal wants and needs. Therefore culling them should be the duty of everyone in South Sudan.

To prove my point, you shouldn’t look further than the “ Jallaba golden boys”  Dr. Lam Akol, and  most certainly, the purported Professor, David De Chand.

However, the sad  truth is, we are all being presumed guilty by association with those  individuals. And in David’s case, I’m twice as guilty. Firstly, by both of us being South Sudanese. And secondly, by both being Nuer, even though he doesn’t speak a word of the Nuer language, nor he behaves as a Nuer should behave. Not to mention, of course, that his name “ David De Chand” sounds more French than the French President, Nicolas Sarkozy.

Besides, in a recent interview with Al Rayaam, a pro government Arabic daily newspaper, the congenital liar, David De Chand was quoted as saying, “ The time is not right for the South Sudan to secede; We shall not accept to be cut off from Sudan.” Then he was asked about the imposition of the Islamic faith on none Muslims, especially in the so-called Sudan’s national capital, Khartoum. De Chand wasted no time. “ There’s no such a thing as Islam’s imposition taking place; And by the way, the majority of South Sudanese are now Muslims; Mosques exist along Churches because there is freedom of worship; Our problem in the Sudan is political. It’s neither racial nor religious,” he disgorged.

Now, that’s as treacherous as it gets. And it had to hurt, especially for some of us, who identify themselves as Nuer. I can go on and on again, but, I think you got the message.

In essence, as an anchorman and a reporter, I was privileged enough to get the sense of what great leaders are all about, and what they all have in common. Based on that exposure, there no is shadow of a doubt in my humble opinion, and that of many other South Sudanese people that, Honorable, Ustaz  Pagam Amum, the distinguished Secretary General of the  Sudan Peoples Liberation Movement (SPLM) is indeed one of the greatest leaders in South Sudan and a true patriot, who always has the best interest of the people of South Sudan at heart, and stands up for what is the right thing to do.

Indeed, I’m livid. Instead of thanking the man and extolling him for all he has done, and for waking up every morning, and going to bed every night, thinking about the welfare of South Sudan, he has now become the target of cheap shots bashing, name-calling and character assassination, by the sellout flunkies and NCP Southern accomplices in the so-called SPLM-DC;  who are engaging in the king-making of Dr. Lam Akol.

Like most Southerners, I can fully understand the reasons behind the relentless assault and the savage  campaign waged by the NCP/NIF bigots, against Ustaz Pagan Amum. That’s their progative. But, when the assault comes from some wicket South Sudanese, it can’t be anything less than a treason. And those who commit treason belong behind bars.

Pagan Amum is a hero, indeed.

The author is a Sudanese journalist and a former news anchor at Juba Radio. He can be reached at: [email protected].