The Rome Declaration – Where is NADAFA?

A PDM Blog paper, by Dr. Laura Nunu, 19^th January 2020, United Kingdom

When SOMMA signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the government of South Sudan in Rome on (12^th of January 2020), people were wondering, where is NADAFA? The rumour that went around was that NADAFA was left out because it refused to join SSOMA. That was a false accusation because we just heard of the declaration like any body else in the media outlets. As a sister alliance, we are not informed of the initiative that was taking place in Rome. PDM, a NADAFA member, who was part of the non-signatories to the Khartoum peace agreement was not even informed. If there is anything lacking between NADAFA and SSOMA, it is collaboration and coordination. Accusing NADAFA for something we had no clue about is unfair.

This insight is to highlight the above question and put to rest all the accusations directed towards NADAFA since the formation of SSOMA.

1. NADAFA was a name proposed by PDM when the left out non-signatory SSOA group was changing their name to acquire a new identity. But the name was not adopted, instead the group chose to call themselves SSNDA. So, PDM left the group because they want a name that is reflective of who they are and what  they stand for. And also, a name that will act as a brand to send a clear message which is understandable to the average South Sudanese person. NADAFA, in simple Juba arabic means clean up. It is a name which is inviting every South Sudanese, wherever they are, to roll up their sleeves and clean up South Sudan from all the mess it is in right now. Because, NADAFA believes in people centric government where power is shared between the people and their government, but not between elites. As such, they must rise up to the decision making process of their government from their long existing regions of Bahar El Ghazal, Equatoria and Upper Nile. This is what PDM stands for and want to be identified with. So when NADAFA failed to be chosen as a new name for the group, PDM left. However, PDM was later joined by Workers Party of Upper Nile (WPU) and Federal Democratic Party (FDP) to form NADAFA alliance. As a result, SSNDA and NADAFA became two separate sisterly alliance groups.
2. When SSNDA joined Real SPLM and SSNF to form SSOMA, again, we heard it like anybody in the social media. And the same above question was asked: where was NADAFA? The narrative given by the representative of the newly formed group, Emmanuel Ajawin, was that PDM left SSNDA because NADAFA was not chosen as a name. As such, NADAFA could not be part of SSOMA. This was a false statement because:

First, when SSOMA was formed, NADAFA was existing as a sister alliance. PDM went with NADAFA when SSNDA was formed. So, to use the reasons why PDM was not part of SSNDA, for why NADAFA was not part of SSOMA was irrelevant and out of context. The only valid thing was though, for some reasons, best known to the group, the information for forming SSOMA was kept away from NADAFA. And NADAFA was not asked if they wanted to be part of the new group or not. As such, it was unfair to accuse NADAFA for something it had no clue about.  

• And now, another initiative was forming with knowledge and participation of SSOMA, without the knowledge of NADAFA or its participation, to sign a declaration of understanding with the government in Rome. When asked, where was NADAFA, the rumour that was spreading around was that, NADAFA refused to join SOMMA because NADAFA was not adapted as a name for the new group. This was what Emmanuel Ajawin said in Our Diversity show. The same statement of one time event can not be recycled over and over in making false accusations about NADAFA when the fundamental issue is: lack of coordination and collaboration between these two sisterly alliances.  As a result, we want to make clear to SSOMA and the public that:

We in NADAFA are open to any coordination and collaboration with each other and with any other group out there. And we welcome legitimate questions to our positions with any development in regards to the politics of South Sudan. However, the only thing we cannot tolerate is false accusations to tarnish the image of NADAFA. As sisterly organizations, we have a lot in common as well as peculiar things that are unique to each one of us. Let us celebrate our commonalities and embrace our diversity in our uniqueness. If there is any relationship NADAFA is looking forward to with SOMMA, it is a complimentary relationship in which we complement each other in our strengths as well as our weakness to face the regime in Juba. To give you some glimpse into these commonalities and differences:

1. All of us are in this struggle because our beloved country which we voted for overwhelmingly had been hijacked by few elites who turned it into their personal business. They destroyed the livelihood of our people and chased them away from a country they voted for to call a home of their own where they can live with dignity and pride. We had been reduced to a laughing stock in the regional, as well as global political arena because of few greedy elites who are willing to do anything to cling to power. And we in oppositions are working day and night in our different positions, capacities and abilities to change this. We are all aiming to this same cause although our approaches are different.
2. We are all in agreement to the fact that for genuine peace and harmony to be restored in our country, the root cause of the conflict must be addressed head on. And any injustices and human rights abuses inflicted on our people must be brought to the court of justice and every single perpetrator must be held accountable. However, we in NADAFA came to the conclusion that the problem of our country is beyond the scope of politics, even if, politics has a central role to it. It can be fully understood by addressing the identity crisis of the South Sudanese people in answering the questions: who are we? what kind of country do we want and how can we build a country we can finally call a home? What happened to the country we voted for? How did splm/a who we trusted with our vote allowed our country to be hijacked? And why are we still in this mess? We believe, in answering these questions, we shall arrive to a model which will holistically addressed the root cause of our problem.
3. We all agree to the fact that federalism is a form of government that suits the diverse nature of our society. However, we in NADAFA believe that the federalism that will work in South Sudan is one based on three regions of Upper Nile, Equatoria and Bhar al Ghazal, and one which shares power equally between the peoples in these founding regions of today’s South Sudan.