Page 83 - EVOLUTION OF THE SUDAN PEOPLE’S LIBERATION MOVEMENT(SPLM),

party that pursues that agenda and the nature of the political leadership is considered crucial in
determining the political outcome. Most importantly, nationalist project and liberation involves
regaining of the historical personality of the colonized and oppressed people. According to Cabral,

people expect material benefits and better lives for their children but not abstract ideas alone.
Cabral believed into looking into the future beyond struggle for national liberation to economic,
political, social and cultural evolution of people on their road to progress. Cabral emphasized the
post-revolutionary thought that answers the social and national question in public interest. In his

political thought, he emphasized pragmatism, nationalism, humanism and socialism.

In the political thought of Cabral, a liberation movement must satisfy desires, aspirations and
dreams of the people to live a worthy and decent life. Peace and security is his view is a
prerequisite for development. Development is assumed to be people centered and realizable

through the elimination of illiteracy embracing of science and technology. Cabral considered
building of a viable agricultural sector for food production an important aspect of liberation.
True liberation demanded food self-sufficiency and security.

The formation of SPLM in 1983 as a modern national liberation movement had a nationalist

agenda from the outset. According to SPLM manifesto, the movement sought to create the new
Sudan as opposed to secession from Khartoum. SPLM had a nationalist agenda of fundamentally
transforming Sudan and removing the Islamic oppressive regimes from power. As we noted in

chapter three, factionalism and lack of clear coherent political agenda other than conducting
military armed struggle raised questions about the viability and sustainability of the nationalist
project. Divisions and factionalism within the SPLM regarding path and direction of the movement
led to major splits from within such as the Nasir faction that sought reforms and independence
of South Sudan as opposed to new Sudan that John Garang had advocated for until his death in

2005.

We have earlier noted the five core tasks of a nationalist project in Africa and why the nationalist
projects collapsed in the 1980s. The nationalist project in South Sudan collapsed and disintegrated
just at the same time as the country ushered into political independence in 2011. The transitional

period and post independent South Sudan did not usher into a new political dispensation but
instead things fell apart the morrow after. The state collapsed as the civil war took a heavy toll on
both state and nation formation fulfilling the hypothesis of liberation movements in Africa being

part of the problem than the solution. In the political thought of Amilcar Cabral, the liberation
movements faced multiple and conflicting challenges of state and nation building. Failure to
minimize conflicts and contradictions within the movement and among various ethnic groups
fighting in the struggle highlights its inability to achieve and realize the national project as
conceived by the first generation liberation movements across Africa.

Persistent and sustained civil wars soon after independence suggests that the nationalists’ project
has failed and south Sudan is left at the mercy of international western donors who have dictated
the path and pace of both war and peace in South Sudan. Furthermore, the fact that western

donors and external agencies have dictated through financing of the peace process suggests that
South Sudan SPLM government has failed to answer the social and national question with its

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