1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

Eight years ago, an important figure told me very lightly, as he would have been discussing the evening menu at the restaurant or the weather: “Sudan will not be just North and South. There could be 5 or even 6 Sudans”.

I cannot begin to tell you how much I dislike this statement. I don’t like seeing it in writing, I don’t like thinking about it and I most certainly don’t enjoy talking about it. I don’t like it because I know what the consequences would be if the statement came true.

It seems people have forgotten how to listen. Very few people listen to reason; gunshot noises become the answer to problems. The language of guns is deadly. The language of reason is life saving.

I am asking you: Do we need to pull the trigger or do we need to pull our hands together? Do we need to bomb the ground or do we need to harvest the bounty of the ground? Do we need to keep “them” out or do we need to keep our doors open for “them”? Do we need to sit and look at what’s happening or do we need to make it happen ourselves?

The most important thing is our intentions. Do we need one Sudan/two Sudans or do we need fragmented, conflicting Sudans?  Is this our wish as Sudanese? Good intentions lead to many solutions on the table.

May God save Sudan and its people!