By Sebit Edward<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
South Sudan, the world\u2019s youngest nation, stands on a fragile edge.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n And while much has been said about the failures of political elites, far too little has been said about another silent, growing danger: the deepening division among young people along ethnic and tribal lines. This trend, if not reversed, will prolong our suffering, destroy national unity, and kill the very hope the youth once symbolized.<\/p>\n It is heartbreaking to see how \u2013 despite sharing common struggles \u2013 poverty, unemployment, displacement, and insecurity, South Sudanese youth are retreating into tribal corners, turning political allegiance into ethnic loyalty, and defending leaders not based on merit or performance, but on bloodlines.<\/p>\n Blind support to political figures simply because they \u201ccome from our tribe\u201d has become a poison that eats away at national consciousness. Instead of holding leaders accountable, many youth defend them, even when they loot public resources, sabotage peace, or prolong instability. Our tribal flags have become louder than our national anthem.<\/p>\n The Danger of Division<\/strong><\/p>\n This tribal division among youth is not just a social problem \u2013 it is political weapon. The very elites who have failed South Sudan for so many years thrive by dividing young people, using ethnic propaganda to distract from their failures. They fear a united youth voice \u2013 because such a voice would demand change, accountability, and justice. So, they keep us divided by reminding us of old wounds, feeding us hate speeches, and rewarding loyalty to ethnicity over loyalty to nation.<\/p>\n But the reality is clear: tribal loyalty will not bring jobs. It won\u2019t build hospitals, schools, or roads. It won\u2019t stop soldiers from killing or raping civilians. It won\u2019t reduce the price of food. Only national unity, issue-based politics, and people-powered movements can do that.<\/p>\n The Youth Still Hold the Key<\/strong><\/p>\n South Sudan\u2019s population is overwhelmingly young. This is not just statistics \u2013 it is a potential superpower. If we, the youth can organize beyond tribal lines, we can shape a future that does not repeat the mistakes of our leaders.<\/p>\n Here is what we must begin to do:<\/p>\n Imagine a network of youth from every region, Equatoria, Upper Nile, and Bahr el Ghazal coming together not to debate tribes, but to solve national problems. Let us form inclusive youth platforms that advocate for justice, education, peace, and development.<\/p>\n Youth must become watchdogs, not cheerleaders. We must call out bad leadership \u2013 even if it comes from our own ethnic group. True patriotism is standing for truth, not tribe.<\/p>\n My heart bleeds whenever I come across some hate speech against certain ethnic group(s) on social media \u2013 especially on Facebook and closed WhatsApp platforms. It will be good to re-educate such individuals in a cognizant and polished fashion. Reacting to their insults in like manner kind of emboldens them. It in fact exacerbate the problem. The best we can do is to challenge them by creating contents that celebrates unity. We will have to use creativity as a tool for consciousness. From rap lyrics to TikTok videos. From spoken word poetry to documentaries \u2013 let messages of unity and peace come out loud.<\/p>\n We cannot wait forever to be \u201cgiven\u201d power. We must demand it \u2013 peacefully, boldly, and wisely. Let\u2019s register, vote, run for office, start movements (not military), and influence, and influence policy. This should not just be in cities, but in counties and payams across the country.<\/p>\n Whether you are from Bor, Yei, Yambio, Aweil, Bentiu, Torit, Nassir or Wau \u2013 we have all lost something to this crisis. That shared pain is the foundation for our unity. Let\u2019s talk, heal, forgive, and dream again \u2013 not as tribes, but as one people.<\/p>\n A Call to Action<\/strong><\/p>\n South Sudanese youth: the future is not ii the hands of the elites who failed us. It is ours. But to seize it we must refuse to be divided. We must bury tribalism and embrace a national identity rooted in justice, equality, and shared humanity.<\/p>\n History will not judge us by our tribes, but by our courage to unite. Let us be the generation that ended ethnic hate and built a nation. The time is now. Not after another war. Now.<\/p>\n Sebit Edward is a South Sudanese writer, journalist, and civic advocate. This article reflects the author\u2019s views and encourages national youth dialogue.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Sebit Edward South Sudan, the world\u2019s youngest nation, stands on a fragile edge. And while much has been said about the failures of political elites, far too little has been said about another silent, growing danger: the deepening division among young people along ethnic and tribal lines. This[Read More…]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":37806,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[87,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-37805","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-oped","category-politics"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Sebit-Edward-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37805","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37805"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37805\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":37807,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37805\/revisions\/37807"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37806"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37805"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37805"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37805"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
\n
\n
\n
\n