Lessons from Biafra and South Sudan

Of the estimated 1.8 millionpeople who remain displaced from their homes today, 1.35 million are within South Sudan and 453,600 have fled to neighboring countries. Nearly 100,000civilians are currently sheltering on U.N. bases around the South Sudan. Efforts to combat famine have been successful through the end of the year, but humanitarians warn that this requires a Herculean effort. Continuing to sustain that level of response may not be possible if the violence continues.

As a result of corruption, the Government of South Sudan failed to invest in public infrastructure, education, or health care. This has meant that young South Sudanese have few opportunities, especially in the oilfields of the Greater Upper Nile region where massive wealth from under the soil is exported out of the area with no discernible benefits to the local communities.

Consequently, a huge reservoir of uneducated teenage boys is vulnerable to recruitment by rebel commanders and opportunistic politicians who use them to further their own ambitions. The long simmering challenges associated with the amnesty and integration of splinter rebel factions as well as the failure to reform the national army (the SPLA Army) provided the backdrop to the current conflict.

Mass killings, sexual violence, and other war crimes have been widely documented by journalists and human rights groups in South Sudan. Children have been pulled out of school and the UN estimates there are at least 9,000 child soldiers that have been recruited into the current conflict on both sides.

Peace doesn't come because you have isolated yourself from others; it is something that you choose to live with. It's not by secession that African countries will find peace; there should be a way of reconciliation. There is a lot of debate in many countries in Africa which have some citizens that prefer secession from the countries they are living. This preference is under the belief that with independence things will be better for them- but who knows what type of characters you are going to incubate.

Africans should learn to find better ways of finding solutions to their problems. This is the time to find solutions together not to get divided and risk creating a 'conflict zone'.