Why it is a Wise Decision to Close Down Oil Production for a While?

When I asked Dr. Hassan El-Turabi in 2008 in a questionnaire as part of my Masters Degree’s requirement to interview one of the religious leaders from the North on the causes of the persistence of the conflict between the North and the South, whether oil in the Sudan is a curse or a blessing especially to the people of South Sudan? Sheikh Hassan El- Turabi quickly in his known cleverness said, it depends on human being to turn it to a curse or blessing. God actually gave it as a blessing and you can decide what to do with it El-Turabi continues, see who is benefiting from the oil money now in the Sudan? …. this is not the topic or this article and we can come back to this research anytime for further discussion.

To connect this to the title one must appreciate full heartedly the decision of the Government of the Republic of South Sudan to shut down oil production not only because South Sudan is being cheated or looted by the regime in Khartoum or the North the Republic of Sudan as we agreed for the name, but as some of us really feel bad about the way oil production actually started to be exploited by a clique of local and international conglomerate without minimum respect to the best international oil practices and not adherence to humanitarian principles or corporate responsibilities. A simple example of this gross violation is that ‘when some of the Chinese Oil Companies signed contracts with Khartoum on a Adar- Yal Oil Production in 1990s, the regime representatives told the Chinese that Adar area is a no man’s area ‘which is not inhabited by human!’ Therefore, no consideration for possible displacement of people or contamination of drinking water was put as a project accompanying Oil extraction in this area, now the tragedy can be told by the people of the area.

As we all know no community in all the oil producing areas was consulted when the oil stations, pipeline or wells were constructed and therefore no dialogue on the possible environmental impact on soil, air or water or animals or aquatic lives and this has gone down as part of war imposition on the communities of South Sudan in the whole Upper Nile. And for the above mentioned the close down of oil production has been a God given wisdom to the government of South Sudan for the Government to reflect on how this huge industry came to top our economic activities and to critically think on how to redress the grave mistakes of the Khartoum regime whose interest was solely the quick extraction of the oil for its own use ignoring the poor communities whose ancestors have been peacefully and healthily living on the surface of this oil for centuries.

My only one suggestion in this dilemma and quagmire is this: Alongside well developed oil good practices and operation standards for South Sudan, we must quickly assess the current oil operations impact or use the already existing researches available to take preventative actions now to avoid talking in the future about restoration of the ecosystem which will be too difficult and expensive to do if not impossible or fall into the abyss of the Ogoniland’s people.

This decision has come at a right time, and for some of us who demonstrated three times in our school life in 1970s and 1980s against three imperial projects: Jonglei Canal, Oil and the re- drawing or North – South borders, these were the triggers of the war against the structural injustice which culminated into the independence of South Sudan.

The writer can be contacted on 0955318474