Column:

Change can come from us

Change doesn't have to stem from political insiders.

By Lindsay Eanet

Published April 23, 2009

Confession: I've been away for a while on a two-day train voyage with little to no access to American news. So I'm a little behind on what's been going on in Columbia. Imagine my surprise when I got back to my apartment to check in with things across the Atlantic and found an article in the Columbia Missourian about Abdullahi Ali Ibrahim, an MU history professor who is running for president of Sudan.

There are many layers to this story that could yield a positive outcome. Having a member of the community so closely involved in Sudan and Sudanese politics can help inform other people of the situation there, still dire as ever even as the "Save Darfur" T-shirts fall out of vogue.

As current president Omar al-Bashir is finally issued an arrest warrant and comes close to being tried for his crimes against humanity, as many eyes as possible, from Missouri to Mongolia, must remain transfixed on Sudan, and hopefully the presence of Dr. Ibrahim will draw more people in, get them to care about what is happening in this country, this part of the world.

What's especially fascinating about Dr. Ibrahim's story is that he is not the first member of the MU community to play a strong role in the political and cultural fabric of an African country. As a freshman, I had the privilege of studying under visiting professor Donato Ndongo-Bidyogo, as I'm sure a few of our readers also have. Ndongo, as written in another Missourian piece, worked as the director of Guinean-Hispano Cultural Center in his native Equatorial Guinea and as the correspondent to Equatorial Guinea for a Spanish news agency. After threats from the government, he was exiled to Spain and eventually came to teach Spanish in Columbia, Mo., of all places. And it's amazing how many connections MU has, right now, to a part of the world that is still underexposed to most Americans, and it's something of which we ought to take more advantage.

We can all learn something from Dr. Ibrahim, whether we are planning to run a large African nation or not. In the Missourian, Ibrahim says of his decision, "Enough is enough. We have seen it all, so we are tired. We have to have our eyes on the ball -- the election. This is a way out."

And I think that's it. We need more people who are dissatisfied and seek to change the status quo (and have feasible ideas of how to do so) in power. And they don't have to be political insiders. And they absolutely can be us.

Are you still bitter about the nuisance party law passed two years ago? Run for City Council. Have a strong opinion about concealed carry on campus? Run for Missouri Students Association Senate and get your voice heard. Run for mayor if you want to, but good luck unseating Darwin Hindman.

And if Ibrahim is looking for a press secretary (you know, if and when this election is over), I'd be happy to sign up.