| Copyrights © 2007 All Rights Reserved African Examiner Online is owned by RD Frontline LLC, a state of Maryland registered company P. O. Box 11582 Baltimore, MD, 21229, USA Tel: 443-904-1239. Editor-In-Chief: Oludare Sunday Fase |
News, Politics, Sports
about Nigeria and all Africa
about Nigeria and all Africa
Custom Search
| Get our News Update fast, download AE Toolbar! Click here to download Now! |
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
| Online media |
+THE GUARDIAN
+THE STAR
+THE PUNCH
+NIGERIAN TRIBUNE
+TIMES OF ZAMBIA
+THE SUN
+DAILY GRAPHICS
+THISDAY
+MAIL & GUARDIAN
+VANGUARD
+D/INDEPENDENT
+234next
+The nation
+Daily trust
+Ghana Times
+7amnewsextra
+THE STAR
+THE PUNCH
+NIGERIAN TRIBUNE
+TIMES OF ZAMBIA
+THE SUN
+DAILY GRAPHICS
+THISDAY
+MAIL & GUARDIAN
+VANGUARD
+D/INDEPENDENT
+234next
+The nation
+Daily trust
+Ghana Times
+7amnewsextra
| Newspapers |
____________________________________
''The Sudan Effect has broken the jinx of what many African leaders and possibly
some African citizens are afraid of; the fear to institute a binding referendum that
allows the people to cast a direct vote to decide if the people of a country should
remain united (in hopelessness?) or separate amicably - Nester Komolafe, August
13, 2011.''
In part 1 of this article, I described the Sudan Effect as an effect that outlays a
split of diametrically opposed people of a nation along the lines of ethnicity,
religion and natural resources, in order to harness the complexity for the greater
good, by consensus for its entire people. I also stated that it is a paradigm of
how a country leverages its complex differences, the various ways its people
see problems and the adaptive tools the people could use to solve the problems.
Furthermore, I showed that many countries in Africa today share many affinities
with the socio-economic, geo-political and ethno-religious composition of the
old Sudan. This concluding part will present a simple proposition that can be
used to determine if your country is at risk of the Sudan Effect.
By using the old Sudan as a thematic focus of this article, here is the question
for you: Is your country at risk of the Sudan Effect?
Here are 10 basic indicators (arranged in alphabetic order) which I think can
help you make a snap judgment.
Civil War: There was once at least one secession attempt by a particular
region in your country resulting into to a civil war and up till this present day,
there are still tacit or open calls for a revival of the old secessionist attempt.
Colonialism: Foreign colonial masters shaped the geography of your
country where strange people of different tribes and tongues are merged
together as “people amalgam”. A set of tribes or people merely found
themselves in an unfair unity government about which they were never
consulted.
Corruption: If in your country, the most powerful ministry in the
government without physical buildings is the “Ministry of Corruption” where
massive level of fraud, waste, abuse and embezzlement of government funds is
the standard mode of operation. The country’s treasury and wealth are
controlled mostly by some government officials (past and present), their cronies
and families.
Economic Policy: Your country has undergone many austerity
measures or structural adjustment programs in the past and yet the economy
still defies all reasonable economic logic. Rather, there is general resentment
due to anemic economy, high poverty level, high inflation, high unemployment
rate, poor education and healthcare system, scarcity of gasoline, erratic
electricity supply, lack of functional public infrastructures and many social
amenities.
Military Intervention: The government of your country was once
dominated by military regimes or absolute rulers more than democratically
elected civilians or your country is still under the grips of military with threats of
military coups. Or maybe the Military are politicians in uniform.
National Policy: If the formulations of national policies in your country
are based on Muslims vs. Christians, and every national appointment or
election is based on regional dichotomy like North vs. South, or East vs. West,
and the central government exercises almighty control on states, regions or
provinces in the country especially on allocation of funds and resources.
Natural Resources: Natural resources (e.g. crude oil and natural gas) are
concentrated in a particular region in your country while other regions are either
desirous to sabotage them or to exert overt control thereupon. Areas that lay
the “golden eggs” for the country is environmentally impoverished and local
people are fighting back either as organized militias or separatists.
Pluralistic Society: Your country has over 100 ethnic groups with
different languages and cultures. National unity is promoted in the name of
“federal character” among 2 or 4 major ethnic groups but an ethnic group
wishes to dominate the national government (born-to-rule nepotism). Ironically,
you are a treated like an unwanted “foreigner” in your own country if you reside
or work in a different ethnic location other than yours in the country.
Religious Intolerance: Incidents of insurrectionary religious mayhem have
metamorphosed into bomb attacks or suicide bombings, and some religious
fundamentalist sects in your country are openly calling for the imposition of
strict religious law e.g. Shari’ah law as the supreme law of the country. These
fundamentalists are not afraid to openly claim responsibility for their murderous
acts. Worst still, your government may be paying lip service to the threats of
Jihadists in the country and even may be willing to offer the Jihadists an
amnesty.
Separatist Movement: Long-suppressed nationalist and anti-government
feelings currently exist in your country and there are agitations for separate
homeland by a region or set of tribes. There are open calls for sovereign nation
conference to determine the future of your country or possibility of a referendum
for secession.
Here is the key, please count your total checks and find your grade below:
A. 9-10: Your country is at high risk of the Sudan Effect. It may take some
time before it happens but it will surely happen unless major problems are
resolved very swiftly.
B. 6-8: Your country is susceptible to the Sudan Effect
C. 3-5: Your country may likely avoid the Sudan Effect
D. 0-2: Your country is safe.
If you can, please mention your country and email your grade (A, B, C or D) to
knesterio@yahoo.com.
Among the indicators stated above, one indicator that is very difficult to control
is religious intolerance. A closer look at the split of old Sudan shows that it has
technically resulted into the creation of a Republic of “Christian” South Sudan
and an emergence of a Republic of “Islamic” North Sudan. However, the new
country of Republic of South Sudan still has some elements of the old Sudan
and thus may not be immune to the indicators stated above.
Secession fever may grip many nations that are currently going through what
Sudan has just overcome. Again, please do not get me wrong, I am not calling
for secession in any country. My theory is that for a given geographical nation,
there are integral nations within that country. People must promote candor and
must not be afraid of opposition. They must stimulate the clash of ideas to
reach the truth and keep conflict constructive to promote collective problem-
solving exploration, by consensus and not by compromise.
Compromise, in my opinion, means how negotiating regions or tribes in a
nation will lose something as little or as much as possible, usually with
resentments. Whereas, through consensus, a nation could reach a popular
decision by objectively combining the capabilities and ideas of all tribes or
regions in a new way to achieve a widely acceptable result neither any region
nor tribe could accomplish alone.
Let no one be scared of secession, it has been part of human history since
early Bible times. For example, it happened to Ancient Israelites in 922 BCE (1
Kings 12, KJV). At the death of King Solomon, the ancient United Kingdom of
Israel split into two competing kingdoms; 10 tribes in the north retained the
name “Kingdom of Israel” and 2 tribes including scattered Levites in the south
became “Kingdom of Judah”. In modern times, defunct countries like
Czechoslovakia, Soviet Union, and Yugoslavia had all split, yet the sky did not
fall, the world still continues!
Whenever a block or group of blocks in a country believes they can dominate
the national government, this “born-to-rule” block(s) must realize that this world
is a small village, and that the quest for self-rule by aggrieved sections in the
polity is now made easy by internet, facebook, tweeter, YouTube and other
social network technologies. Aggrieved persons usually have a plan B, national
government does not. Aggrieved persons interact among themselves faster than
the comfortable leaders of a national government. If a country does not want
secession, the leadership must connect with the “followership” and the
government must connect with the governed. Each block must co-exist with
other blocks in peace, prosperity and harmony - just as alphabet letters bond
together to form readable words or atoms bonding together to form molecules.
Will the Sudan Effect motivate citizens of each country in Africa, even in the
Middle East peel off the layers of onions of their government until the citizens
reach the seedling that can be planted and watered for quick harvest - an
harvest of a new, separate homeland?
The only way to prevent the Sudan Effect in Africa is to simply reverse the
Sudan Effect - a reversal means that an African country elects to maintain its
political status quo despite all the troubles facing the country. If it is not
reversed, it will make people of a country come together so that they will think
how to think, decide how to decide, and act how to act. A country can do this
by embracing a call for National Consensus Conference where the citizens
must invest time and forethought into creating a high quality decision for their
future, by consensus.
Nester Komolafe is a Chicago-based freelance commentator and analyst on
global affairs.
Email: knesterio@yahoo.com
September 3, 2011
some African citizens are afraid of; the fear to institute a binding referendum that
allows the people to cast a direct vote to decide if the people of a country should
remain united (in hopelessness?) or separate amicably - Nester Komolafe, August
13, 2011.''
In part 1 of this article, I described the Sudan Effect as an effect that outlays a
split of diametrically opposed people of a nation along the lines of ethnicity,
religion and natural resources, in order to harness the complexity for the greater
good, by consensus for its entire people. I also stated that it is a paradigm of
how a country leverages its complex differences, the various ways its people
see problems and the adaptive tools the people could use to solve the problems.
Furthermore, I showed that many countries in Africa today share many affinities
with the socio-economic, geo-political and ethno-religious composition of the
old Sudan. This concluding part will present a simple proposition that can be
used to determine if your country is at risk of the Sudan Effect.
By using the old Sudan as a thematic focus of this article, here is the question
for you: Is your country at risk of the Sudan Effect?
Here are 10 basic indicators (arranged in alphabetic order) which I think can
help you make a snap judgment.
Civil War: There was once at least one secession attempt by a particular
region in your country resulting into to a civil war and up till this present day,
there are still tacit or open calls for a revival of the old secessionist attempt.
Colonialism: Foreign colonial masters shaped the geography of your
country where strange people of different tribes and tongues are merged
together as “people amalgam”. A set of tribes or people merely found
themselves in an unfair unity government about which they were never
consulted.
Corruption: If in your country, the most powerful ministry in the
government without physical buildings is the “Ministry of Corruption” where
massive level of fraud, waste, abuse and embezzlement of government funds is
the standard mode of operation. The country’s treasury and wealth are
controlled mostly by some government officials (past and present), their cronies
and families.
Economic Policy: Your country has undergone many austerity
measures or structural adjustment programs in the past and yet the economy
still defies all reasonable economic logic. Rather, there is general resentment
due to anemic economy, high poverty level, high inflation, high unemployment
rate, poor education and healthcare system, scarcity of gasoline, erratic
electricity supply, lack of functional public infrastructures and many social
amenities.
Military Intervention: The government of your country was once
dominated by military regimes or absolute rulers more than democratically
elected civilians or your country is still under the grips of military with threats of
military coups. Or maybe the Military are politicians in uniform.
National Policy: If the formulations of national policies in your country
are based on Muslims vs. Christians, and every national appointment or
election is based on regional dichotomy like North vs. South, or East vs. West,
and the central government exercises almighty control on states, regions or
provinces in the country especially on allocation of funds and resources.
Natural Resources: Natural resources (e.g. crude oil and natural gas) are
concentrated in a particular region in your country while other regions are either
desirous to sabotage them or to exert overt control thereupon. Areas that lay
the “golden eggs” for the country is environmentally impoverished and local
people are fighting back either as organized militias or separatists.
Pluralistic Society: Your country has over 100 ethnic groups with
different languages and cultures. National unity is promoted in the name of
“federal character” among 2 or 4 major ethnic groups but an ethnic group
wishes to dominate the national government (born-to-rule nepotism). Ironically,
you are a treated like an unwanted “foreigner” in your own country if you reside
or work in a different ethnic location other than yours in the country.
Religious Intolerance: Incidents of insurrectionary religious mayhem have
metamorphosed into bomb attacks or suicide bombings, and some religious
fundamentalist sects in your country are openly calling for the imposition of
strict religious law e.g. Shari’ah law as the supreme law of the country. These
fundamentalists are not afraid to openly claim responsibility for their murderous
acts. Worst still, your government may be paying lip service to the threats of
Jihadists in the country and even may be willing to offer the Jihadists an
amnesty.
Separatist Movement: Long-suppressed nationalist and anti-government
feelings currently exist in your country and there are agitations for separate
homeland by a region or set of tribes. There are open calls for sovereign nation
conference to determine the future of your country or possibility of a referendum
for secession.
Here is the key, please count your total checks and find your grade below:
A. 9-10: Your country is at high risk of the Sudan Effect. It may take some
time before it happens but it will surely happen unless major problems are
resolved very swiftly.
B. 6-8: Your country is susceptible to the Sudan Effect
C. 3-5: Your country may likely avoid the Sudan Effect
D. 0-2: Your country is safe.
If you can, please mention your country and email your grade (A, B, C or D) to
knesterio@yahoo.com.
Among the indicators stated above, one indicator that is very difficult to control
is religious intolerance. A closer look at the split of old Sudan shows that it has
technically resulted into the creation of a Republic of “Christian” South Sudan
and an emergence of a Republic of “Islamic” North Sudan. However, the new
country of Republic of South Sudan still has some elements of the old Sudan
and thus may not be immune to the indicators stated above.
Secession fever may grip many nations that are currently going through what
Sudan has just overcome. Again, please do not get me wrong, I am not calling
for secession in any country. My theory is that for a given geographical nation,
there are integral nations within that country. People must promote candor and
must not be afraid of opposition. They must stimulate the clash of ideas to
reach the truth and keep conflict constructive to promote collective problem-
solving exploration, by consensus and not by compromise.
Compromise, in my opinion, means how negotiating regions or tribes in a
nation will lose something as little or as much as possible, usually with
resentments. Whereas, through consensus, a nation could reach a popular
decision by objectively combining the capabilities and ideas of all tribes or
regions in a new way to achieve a widely acceptable result neither any region
nor tribe could accomplish alone.
Let no one be scared of secession, it has been part of human history since
early Bible times. For example, it happened to Ancient Israelites in 922 BCE (1
Kings 12, KJV). At the death of King Solomon, the ancient United Kingdom of
Israel split into two competing kingdoms; 10 tribes in the north retained the
name “Kingdom of Israel” and 2 tribes including scattered Levites in the south
became “Kingdom of Judah”. In modern times, defunct countries like
Czechoslovakia, Soviet Union, and Yugoslavia had all split, yet the sky did not
fall, the world still continues!
Whenever a block or group of blocks in a country believes they can dominate
the national government, this “born-to-rule” block(s) must realize that this world
is a small village, and that the quest for self-rule by aggrieved sections in the
polity is now made easy by internet, facebook, tweeter, YouTube and other
social network technologies. Aggrieved persons usually have a plan B, national
government does not. Aggrieved persons interact among themselves faster than
the comfortable leaders of a national government. If a country does not want
secession, the leadership must connect with the “followership” and the
government must connect with the governed. Each block must co-exist with
other blocks in peace, prosperity and harmony - just as alphabet letters bond
together to form readable words or atoms bonding together to form molecules.
Will the Sudan Effect motivate citizens of each country in Africa, even in the
Middle East peel off the layers of onions of their government until the citizens
reach the seedling that can be planted and watered for quick harvest - an
harvest of a new, separate homeland?
The only way to prevent the Sudan Effect in Africa is to simply reverse the
Sudan Effect - a reversal means that an African country elects to maintain its
political status quo despite all the troubles facing the country. If it is not
reversed, it will make people of a country come together so that they will think
how to think, decide how to decide, and act how to act. A country can do this
by embracing a call for National Consensus Conference where the citizens
must invest time and forethought into creating a high quality decision for their
future, by consensus.
Nester Komolafe is a Chicago-based freelance commentator and analyst on
global affairs.
Email: knesterio@yahoo.com
September 3, 2011
By Nester Komolafe
African Examiner, Monday, September 05, 2011
African Examiner, Monday, September 05, 2011
The Sudan Effect: How To Know If Your Country
Is At risk - Part 2 of 2
Is At risk - Part 2 of 2
| Home | Sports | Interview | Articles | Business | Letters | Social | Photo | Archives | Adverts | Entertainment | Contact us | About us | Terms | Blog |
| Home | Sports | Interview | Articles | Business | Letters | Social | Photo | Archives | Polls | Adverts | Entertainment | Contact us | About us | Terms |
________________________________________________________________________
HTML Comment Box is loading comments...
Leave a Comment
Disclaimer: Comments posted on this site do not reflect the views of African
Examiner.com. Please avoid abusive, vulgar, racist or rude words. Our
editors regulate these comments. Any comment that violates this term
of use will be deleted and may be banned. Send report of any misuse to
editor@africanexaminer.com. Thanks
Disclaimer: Comments posted on this site do not reflect the views of African
Examiner.com. Please avoid abusive, vulgar, racist or rude words. Our
editors regulate these comments. Any comment that violates this term
of use will be deleted and may be banned. Send report of any misuse to
editor@africanexaminer.com. Thanks
____________________________________
ADVERTISEMENT
We Will Change Nigeria’s
Investment Environment
– Jonathan
By African Examiner, Baltimore
Friday, August 26, 2011
Investment Environment
– Jonathan
By African Examiner, Baltimore
Friday, August 26, 2011
Salami vs NJC: Jonathan
acted to prevent a
vacuum –Presidency
By African Examiner, Baltimore
Friday, August 26, 2011
acted to prevent a
vacuum –Presidency
By African Examiner, Baltimore
Friday, August 26, 2011
INEC Records 24 Convictions
of Electoral Offenders
By African Examiner, Baltimore
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
of Electoral Offenders
By African Examiner, Baltimore
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Eid-el-Fitri: Jonathan assures
Nigerians on security and
national transformation
By African Examiner, Baltimore
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Nigerians on security and
national transformation
By African Examiner, Baltimore
Tuesday, August 30, 2011