The Triggers of Sudan’s Crisis and Lessons for Nigeria

Abstract

A bloody war broke out again in Sudan in 2023. Indeed, Sudan is once again in the spotlight, but for the wrong reasons. The 2023 conflict  was the result of the rivalry between two Sudanese Generals at the helm of affairs. The triggers to the conflict provide Nigeria, the giant  of Africa, with lessons. These lessons are apparent in both Sudan and Nigeria. These include overbearing divisions and agitations,  festering violence, deepening socioeconomic crisis and external meddlesomeness. This paper discusses Sudan’s and Nigeria’s unending  crises in their post-colonial history and the triggers causing recent upheavals in former and the attendant consequences for the latter.  Sudan, like Nigeria experienced challenges triggered by mounting imbalances in foreign trade, debt crisis, IMFinspired devaluation,  austerity measures, and elite struggle for power. The combination and intensity of these upheavals define the recurrent conditions and deepening crisis in Sudan which needs to serve as a lesson for Nigeria to avoid falling into catastrophe. The paper raises pointers of  crises in Africa and other developing states drawing on the experiences of Sudan and Nigeria. The study utilises the qualitative method  with emphasis on secondary sources of data. It recommends that Nigeria should adopt certain strategies to escape from the crises that  bedevilled Sudan during the period under investigation.