Acoli and the Globe 25 November 2013 By David Okun With a population of just over 1.7 million and occupying an area covering some 11,000 square miles in northern Uganda, Acoliland sits bordering South Sudan, proximate to the nearly 45, 000 Acoli people living inside the South Sudanese border. Before colonialism, approximately sixty different ‘chiefdoms’, otherwise Kingdoms, existed in Acoliland. Today, Acoliland struggles to survive under years of brutal state rules in Uganda, well from colonial times to post independent Uganda. Since independence, Acoli ethnicity occupied high positions in the Ugandan military as well as in the civil services and politics. That proved both a blessing and a curse. Today, debates still carry on as to where Acoliland stands with respect to local and global rules. In his various works on Acoli rule and politics, Dr Onek Adyanga, like most scholars and policy makers working on Acoli topics, stands celebrated for his hard and great work on the history of Acoli. In his Transition in Contemporary Acholi Chiefship Politics, Dr Adyanga said, “The contention against a paramount chief over the whole Acholiland enjoys force of prominence from the fact that no such tradition, though attempted, ever existed.” As to whether or not Acoliland needs a new form of traditional governance remains a challenge for leaders and scholars, along with government and legislators, as well as the people of Acoli, among others. Yet history and current experiences stand to offer many lessons. Ordinary people and interested parties can now examine available evidence, in choosing a government, to determine possible past and present failures or successes. Equally, participants and stake holders can determine as to whether or not this is a correct historical moment to introduce such a form of governance. Many questions abound, including one determining the context and status of the current idea of a paramount ‘Chiefship’ in Acoliland. “It is within this new innovation in Acholi governance that I wish to make a contribution.” stated Dr. Adyanga. Clearly, there is so much more to do and he has shown how hard work with dedication can achieve so much. There may be dissenting voices, even critics involving a task of this magnitude and contention; but Dr Adyanga is doing a great job and those who can do research and write should join him. Still, the Acoli people with the help of their friends need to carry on defining their true identify and the kind of heritage it envisages for the present and future. This undertaking will involve hard work and major sacrifices. A mistake the colonial authorities made, often deliberately, has been one Dr Adyanga again committed - may be because that was the only choice he had – which was renaming the Acoli Kingship and its Kingdom. Rwot does not translate into Chief; it means King or (Queen if women start ruling Acoli). Some have defended this error, often mistakenly, on ground, among others, of size or structure; in what Dr Adyanga alternatively called decentralisation. Even in the face of a nation’s constitution setting institutions of traditional and cultural rules throughout the country, so many gaps in the history and identity of Acoli polity and governance still dwarfs progress and haunts hopes for change and peaceful settlement. Acoli and Uganda, along with Africa and the globe, continue to face tough democratic and economic choices. Today, a key object of small government agenda hinges on decentralisation, such as we have seen, among the US and similar countries, in the United Kingdom; with Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland separating from Westminster and England. In Britain, for example, a debate now rages, and perhaps a pending referendum, in Scotland and the regions, as to whether or not Scotland - and perhaps others - should break away from the United Kingdom. In the globalist Europe, on the other hand, centralising forces of power seems endlessly at work as to formulating a Super European State. Today, even in Africa, along with East Africa, talks and policies of federations ring louder, while sovereign rules recede in the dustbin of history. Equally, the issue of Acoli self-rule currently occupies centre stage under the aegis of Musevenis rule of terror and despotic oppression. Will there be an Acoli state outside Uganda, or one within a federation? These are some of the questions needing answering. If historical evidence is a guide, Acoli Kingdoms well before colonialism represented a model of semi-autonomous states and social structures reminiscent of what others may see as a federated system. Far from making issues of rule and politics easier, that potentially could make it even more complex. In his ground breaking academic paper entitled the Luo Origins of Civilisation; Dr. Terrance Paito Okello has robustly argued in favour of Luo and African historical heritage. He asserts: “Attempts by some western historians, Egyptologists and some missionary scholars, to conceal the Luo cradle-land, distort the identities of some Luo groups of people and their migration patterns, were part of a strategy calculated to rob, not only the Luos, but Africans of their historical heritage.” At the heart of Luo history and civilisation lies the people of Acoli. The colonising Europeans and their fellow conspirators sought to reduce Acoli to merely primitive and lazy occupants of some vastly vacant and nearly unidentifiable chunks of lands and wealth. Intent on total disposing of assets and lands in Acoli, these imperialists sought every means of reducing Acoli and the Luo to some unstructured groups of ‘nomads’ bereft of any state or even history or identity. All these, in the face of countless evidence that Acoli had settled with sophisticated Kingdoms and civilisations. Here is Dr Okello again in his eye opening paper: “Using linguistic, oral and written sources, we have presented an argument to support the contention that the ‘Itiyopianu’ Kingdom of Koch (Cush), which expanded into Lower-Egypt, was indeed founded by the Luos.” In contemporary Acoliland, the clan or State of Koch remains a prominent component of modern day Acoli country. Throughout Uganda and also Africa South of Sahara traces of Acoli influence of settlements and state buildings abound. The once greatest Kingdom of pre-colonial Bunyoro Kitara bears testimonies as to Acoli creating and building empires in the Great Lakes region. Leading scholars and researchers such as Onyango Ku Odongo and Webster, in 1979, have written: “Banyoro sources suggest that the man who founded the Lwo Bito dynasty of Bunyoro Kitara was called Isingoma Mpuga Rukidi.” Clearly, Isingoma and Mpuga are less likely to be Acoli names, but Rukidi or Lukidi or Lakidi is a familiar name in Acoli to date. Lakidi means ‘of rock’ or ‘belonging to a rock’. Bito is also an Acoli word meaning ‘persuasion’ or ‘seducing’. Equally, Kitara is also a common Acoli name to date. Following the expansion of the Bito Empire, Prince Kimera broke off and went to annex what was a Buganda Kingdom to form what later became the greatest Kingdom in the Great Lakes region. ‘Kimera’ is also an Acoli word meaning ‘me and mine’ or ‘for myself’. So, the Acoli people had always had a stately and settlement history; as opposed to all the distortions colonialists and their co-conspirators promoted. This is what Dr. Terrance Okello, et al, wrote: “The Kingdom of Koch (Cush), in the upper Nile region of northern Sudan developed largely out of sedentary agricultural activities, rather than pastoral nomadism as enjoyed by the Bahimas and the Tutsis.” This account contrasts sharply with the distortions we hear from those who seek to discount Acoli as backward and not deserving of recognition in Uganda or in Africa. Yet Acoli, associated with the Egyptian, and later the Mesopotamia’s Babylonian, dynasty stands centre-stage in rooting the modern world and its civilisations – well from modern languages and sciences, along with state rules and governance, as well as wealth creation and environmental excellence. Here is Dr. Okello, as he lamentably writes: “The ancient Egyptians invented writing through which they invented their history, the very loss by Africans, of Cush, Egypt, Akum (Axum), and Meroe, culminated in migration and the gradual loss of their ancient art of writing.” Modern civilisation started in Africa in Egypt, by not just Africans, but Luo and even Acoli of northern Uganda. Today in present day Uganda Acoli faces further loss of its history and possibly identity. It also faces a choice as to which way to go culturally and politically. Whether or not Acoli goes separate or just stays part of Uganda remains to be seen; but one thing is clear: politics and rule have gone global. That phenomenon points to a centralised power, within or without Acoli. Hitherto, Europe remains a prime suspect of becoming the capital of a global state; yet time still tells it to be too early to say: China is now emerging as a leading world economic and military power; only second to the United States of America. Britain now realigns as a world leader in global financing; and as militarism gives way to economic and technological powers, Europe under the IMF and the World Bank hegemony, leads in recruiting new empires into the political fold of globalisation. Now, where does Acoli factor in the picture? To date, land issues, along with others of family and community building remains central in pitching Acoli along the path of revival - or into the dire pit of a terminal oblivion - depending how the country handles the matter. State power beckons as society resumes normalcy after decades of wasteful living in camps under the wrath of negligent rule of violence and savagery. The constant forces of geopolitics still rumble noisily over the heads of the people. There is a new scramble for Acoli, like in many parts of African, especially over its lands and wealth. Yet the people must learn to survive. The seed of Acoli planted since Adam, when Labongo first settled in present day region of northern Uganda, now pants to drink from the cool juices of Acoli land. Still waiting for power to change hands, and we now see history rearing its obscure head while revisiting the past horrors - such as seen in Dr Adyangas exposing of civil wars as it wrought between the clans of Payira and Labongo. Infighting along party political and religious, as well as other factors of social and cultural cleavages, still threatens to tear the land of Acoli to pieces. Add to that is the menacing dangers of about the most corrupt country in the region, coupled with a sick and tired regime. Acoli must stand and take the fight to its enemies – starting from those on its own doorsteps. She must stand for the truth: It is honest unity and hard work which will eventually root out the many ills and set the country into its permanent orbit. In the thick of this modern Acoli ruler-ship stands the present day crown and headship of Rwot David Acana in what is a paramount Chiefdom. There, out jutes the ugly head of despotic rule born of what remains of the once force-integrated instruments of colonialism. There the nasty rulers brutally raped the land of their regencies and replaced them with their serving henchmen, otherwise, in Adyangas postulations, ‘Warrant or Certificated Chiefs’. These colonial monsters colluded with Acoli enemies to inflict vile and terror on the land. Today in Rwot Acana, history threatens to repeat itself, while Acoli and the world look on - without saying much. The forceful imposing of Chief Paramountcy over Acoli under the bad rule of Mr Museveni has again divided Acoli down the middle. Now ugly silence rivets the land amidst horrors of land wrangles and threatening grabs. Once more, a dividing force brutally transfixes society into innocuous paralysis. Surely, the beast must die and release the people of Acoli from yet another war and threats of desolation. The change must come - from within the people well throughout the land. This is the time and a chance for Acoli to lead from the front and by example. Betrayal of trust and abuse of clan risks terminating the people. If Acoli wants royalty, let them start by changing the title: it is not Chief; it is King or in modern times, Queen. The regency is Kingdom and the royalties are likewise Princes and Princesses, along with others of royal titles. Chief is a title of a royal servant. That is why the white man gave it to the Acoli workers who served their English Monarchs. Kingdoms or commons, Acoli must unite from the heart into the heads and do so while working and living in harmony, and speaking with one accord within and without the Kingdom of Acoliland. Yet there remains a need to reclaim and link Luo and Acoli, along with African history to that of ancient ‘Itiyopianu’ and Egypt. Not just Luo and Acoli, but also the entire continent of African, needs to claim their vital historical inheritance.
Posted on: Mon, 25 Nov 2013 01:23:27 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015