Dear brethren in Sudan,
After the unprecedented fall of your long time despot, Omar Bashir, Sudan has added another feather to its cap. For, it becomes the first country on earth to have three presidents in three days of the same week. So, too, Sudan becomes the first country in Africa to have popular uprising that has stood firm to see to it that its revolution is not stolen.
April 2019 goes to the annals of history that there was once a country that had three different presidents within three days. On Wednesday 10th April, 2019 Sudan's president was Bashir before Ahmed Awad ibn Auf stepped in on Thursday 11th. On 12th, ibn Auf was removed from power after demonstrators accused him of being a Bashir person. Abdel Fattah Abdelrahman Burhan was sworn in as the third president. Sudanese are entering the books of history as the people who were able to overthrow two military despots in 24 hours. This has never been done anywhere on earth.
Another exceptionality that Sudan enjoys currently is that it has become the first Arab-speaking and self-perceiving country to execute an African spring successfully. Burkina Faso was the first to launch its African Spring that saw its long time despot Blaise Compaore unceremoniously being pulled down. Soon after, Zimbabwe replicated the same by showing Robert Mugabe the door. This means, other sister countries under stinking dictators such as Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Gabon, Togo, Uganda and others need to take a leaf from Sudan. This said, who will follow after Bashir? Time will tell.
Now that the altar of corruption and dictatorship has been brought down, it is time for the nation to embark on its journey to its bright future gallantly. However, the journey is still long and bumpy due to the fact that the army is trying to steal your gains. The army must abandon its ambitions and ploy as well as stop its pieces-and-bits-approach in forming a transitional government made of civilians.
Sudan deserves and needs a civilian and secular government as a representative of the people. Who does the military represent? What has it to offer seeing that it protected and served the status quo? Apart from fulfilling its constitutional duty of protecting the country and its people, what has the army done to deserve to form and preside over the transitional government? What experience does the army have to do so and why? Avoid replicating what transpired in the neighbouring Egypt or what is currently ongoing in Algeria not to mention what has been destroying Libya. Soldiers are constitutionally mandated to protect the country and receive orders from the elected civilian government.
You need to be right on the money. Bashir presided over the split of Sudan and used Islamic hoo-has to lord it over Sudan for 30 years of corrupt, dictatorial and failed government, thereby eroding national unity and damaging the economy.
Bashir along with his consigliere and inner sanctum must face justice. You need to know where Bashir is so that you can secure him before he flees the country. You need to prepare the system of dealing with him to see to it that justice is done so that this can send the signals to those daydreaming that they can take Sudan for a ride.
Address injustices in Darfur, Nuba Mountain and Kordofan as you think about entering negotiations with South Sudan. Utilize your resources that the Bashir regime misused such as oil pipes that South Sudan needs badly to pump its oil to the port. South Sudan has oil and you have oil pipes. You need each other.
Write a New Constitution that will guide the country to true and sustainable democracy. In so doing, make sure you create a democratic and secular state in order to avoid replicating the mess of the fallen regime that, essentially is the result of a theomilitary regime.
Never turn back. Make sure that Sudan returns back on track to democratic rule that is in power to serve the people but not the pack of hyenas either in military or in the upper echelons of power.
Dear Brethren, you are in our prayers and we fully support you knowing that your success is not only a lesson for Africa but also the success for Africa.
God Bless Sudan. God bless the glorious revolution. Long live Sudan. Long live revolution. ALuta continua.
Nkwazi Mhango
Manitoba, Canada
nkwazigatsha@yahoo.com