Sudan is a republic in the North-East of Africa. lts capital is Khartoum. The country has a population of about 28 million. Its resources include livestock such as cattle, sheep, goats, camels and donkeys.

Others are cotton, peanuts, hides and skins, and petroleum. Its current leader is Omar Hassan Ahmed al-Bashir. He came to power through a military coup in the 1980s. Northern Sudan is mainly populated by Arabs while the South is inhabited by blacks, and mostly Christians.

However, Sudan came to the limelight in 1983 when the then president of the country, Jafaar Nimeri imposed Islamic Sharia law on the whole of Sudan without regard for other religious such as Christianity and animism of Southern Sudan. The imposition of Sharia law could not be tolerated by the southerners who are mainly Christians and animists.

Consequently, there was a mutiny by about 500 southern soldiers in the South. Following this development, Colonel John Garang, who was a southerner from the Dinka ethnic group was placed at the head of a unit to quell the mutiny in the South.

But instead of quelling the mutiny, Colonel Garang joined the mutineers and became their leader in the fight against the Northern Sudan Islamic Government which had been suppressing the Southern black Sudanese. This set in motion the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA). The main aim of the latter is to resist the suppression of the Northern Arabs. This was the beginning of the Sudanese liberation war which lasted more than 20 years.

Colonel Garang, instead of taking orders from his superior officers in Khartoum, went on to stoke the embers of mutiny in all the segments of Southern Sudan. He succeeded in mobilising the southern Christians and animist, and pitched them against the Muslim Arabs of the North. In the war that ensued, millions of people were killed. In fact, between 1983 and 2005 when a peace agreement was signed, more than two million peopled as a result of the Sudanese People Liberation’s War.

The lesson for rulers in the foregoing account is that no head of government or head of state should impose his culture and religion on people who have their own way of life. They should be allowed to develop their culture, tradition and religion. To impose a foreign way of life on a people will generate resistance that will lead to far-reaching consequences as we witnessed in Sudan.

As already stated, the civil war in Sudan lasted more than 20 years, and it consumed millions of innocent lives and properties. Governmental power should always be exercised with caution.

In any case, after the peace agreement brokered mainly by the African Union and the United Nations, Colonel John Garang was sworn in as the Vice President of Sudan in a Government of National Unity on July 9, 2005.

But after three weeks of his swearing in, John Garang died in an alleged helicopter crash in the Southern Sudan while returning from Uganda. He had gone to Uganda to visit the President of that country, Mr Yuweri Musoveni. However, some people suspected that he was killed by the powers that be in Sudan. Nonetheless, an investigative panel was set up to find out the cause of his death.

Indeed, since his death there had been a lot of developments in Sudan. One of these developments, was the decision by the South, through a referendum, to secede from the North. Because of this, the South will be fully independent on July 9, 2011. But there is currently a troubling incident in Southern Sudan.

According to reports, the Southern Sudanese town of Abyei was invaded and captured by Northern Sudanese troops on the orders of President al-Bashir. Following this, the town was set on fire. Apart from this, properties worth millions of naira were looted by the invading troops.

It would be recalled that Northern Sudan is also claiming Abyei. The latter, it should be underscored, is rich in petroleum resources.

In a statement, the United Nations Mission in Sudan said it strongly condemned the burning and looting currently going on in Abyei. It urged the Sudanese government to withdraw its forces from Abyei. The United Nations further urged the government in Khartoum to intervene and stop the criminal acts being perpetrated by its forces.

Meanwhile, more than 20,000 citizens of Abyei have fled their town, thereby creating humanitarian problem. In its response, the Sudanese government said it acted after 22 of its men were killed in a southern ambush on May 20, 2011.

From all indications, the bone of contention is the oil-rich town of Abyei. Both South and North Sudan claim the town. However, it would be stressed that the only available option for settlement of this dispute over Abyei is a referendum in the disputed town.

The indigenes of the place should be asked where they want to belong. When this is decided through a referendum, then the decision should be enforced by either the African Union or the Untied Nations Organisation. There should be no more bloodbath in the Sudan.

Dr Tolofari, a Distinguished Fellow, Institute of Corporate Administration of Nigeria, resides in Port Harcourt.

Mann Tolofari