Sudan is a warning to all of Africa

Mo Ibrahim writes:

Sudan has been an experiment that resonated across Africa: if we, the largest country on the continent, reaching from the Sahara to the Congo, bridging religions, cultures and a multitude of ethnicities, were able to construct a prosperous and peaceful state from our diverse citizenry, so too could the rest of Africa.That we have failed should sound a warning to all Africans. Sudan, at one million square miles, is the continent’s largest country, sharing borders with nine other states. The fault lines that have divided us as a people extend from Eritrea to Nigeria. If Sudan starts to crumble, the shock waves will spread.Khartoum today projects a sense of normality, modernity and relative affluence. This is in sharp contrast to the rest of the country. Lack of investment, underdevelopment and the exclusion of populations on the periphery from the political process has resulted in alienation. It has strengthened local identities.We have not nurtured that sense of brotherhood and unity. Rather, since independence the way Sudan has been governed has undermined any potential for a common Sudanese purpose.