The resounding vote for secession by people of South Sudan has sent a message throughout Africa that people seek to control their own destinies. For years Christian people of South Sudan have been under the control of a brutal Muslim Sudan government which has assaulted those who are not of Arab origin and in the carnage that resulted left thousands dead and hundreds, if not thousands of women, the victims of rape. The new nation of South Sudan will become a reality in July of this year. Some like dictator Gadaffi of Libya warn that division of any African nation will become a “disease” that will spread across the continent leaving in its wake devastated nations and civil wars. There is scant evidence that is the result of dividing nations that had no sense of being a single entity.
The issue is not division, the issue is NOT the legacy of colonialism the issue remains can effective leaders gain power and lead what could be a divided people into a sense of nationhood. Nelson Mandela achieved this goal in South Africa and it can be attained in nations like Zimbabwe if only effective leaders gain power. The fault lies not in “colonialism,” but in Africa and with its leaders.