Somalilandsun- Something went wrong with the people at the leadership helm of Somaliland: they are damn idiotic or outright dumb. This is in regards to their response to the new overtures of Ali Khalif and company. Ali is an honorable man whose mission is unambiguous and outright honest: working hard for the betterment of his people and attempting to obtain as much as possible from Somaliland, while at the same time succeeding in keeping his options unfettered, albeit if they come short, for other alternatives. He is bent on satisfying his constituency in the best way he can. Nobody can blame him for doing this. Ali has gathered support from the Borama who sympathize with him and whose tacit approval, he had sought, having also availed to them new avenues from which to make equal and similar demands. The Hargeisa and Borama folks alliance as comrades in arms, upon whose unified effort the lantern of Somaliland’s existence had remained hoisted, has now been joined by the present relentless challenges of Ali and his Las anod entourage. He has shattered the stonewalling tactic of the ideologically inept and fundamentalist ignorance by appealing to clear wisdom and superior intellect. Together the two clans should accommodate the new Ali Khalif drive.
Read: Somaliland: Khatumo Reconciliation Accord signed in Hargeisa
The Dhulbahante have been characteristically different from other clans in the region. The legacy that they were Siad Barre’shenchmen is not lost with Somalilanders particularly with the older generation who remember that the old regime is lurking behind to render the effort a failure. Bygones are the restitution and the reliving of Siad Barre era heydays and the reality of today calls for ‘brave and visionary outlooks’ as Ali calls it. The old regime remnants, in their bungalows of Virgina and lush yards of Nairobi, dream of yesteryears and days gone by attempting to subvert Ali’s noble ways.
But what is wrong with our leadership is baffling. On the one hand, a government being led by an opposition looney tune, whose character and veracity, is not only a joke, but has a lot to be desired. Ina Ali Warabe has now become Mohamoud Hashi’scircus puppet, paid for by him and manipulated by him, to thwart the effort and make it meaningless. The inclusion of such personality in the negotiation dialogue only demonstrates the lack of seriousness in the matter. Does the guy lead a party? I don’t believe he does. Is he a leader of reputable character? He is more of a con man than anything else. A government being led by a simpleton in the person of Saád A. Shire who does not have the wits, courage and experience to go toe to toe with a seasoned and mature personality like Ali Khalif, is bound to experience abysmal failure. It is a non-starter from the beginning.
So much for the characters, and now the crux of the matter: the issues agreed upon are good except for a major blunder. This revolves around the constitutional review and revision. Ali Khalif Galaydh has rightly pushed for equitable, just and sincere partnership, all of which had been legitimate demands. Ali has also pushed for recognition as equals in the dialogue forum, which was only reasonable as long as the issue of sovereignty have not been jeopardized. The proposition is a legal stance and posturing. After having adopted it, one should allow oneself enough leeway to maneuver in order to be able to wiggle out in case of failure. If the talks fail, God forbid, then one (in this case Somaliland) would be left to hold the bag – a recognized, independent and sovereign Khatumo forever lost. This would carve in stone the loss dream of ever bringing in Sool Region as an integral united part of the cherished goal of an independent Somaliland state. Thus would be the result of the machinations of the Loonies and the simpletons- complete disaster tantamount to those incurred in the 60s at the union table with Somalia.
Furthermore, it is my sincere belief that Khatumo entourage would have been quite accommodated in every way possible without the dismantling of the Somaliland Constitution. This would open up Pandora’s box of demands and internecine clamor for power. Now that Saád and the Ina Hashi troupe, dictating to him from behind the scenes, have put Somaliland in a ditch from which it will never emerge, they can gleefully smile. At the wee hours of this corrupt regime, a time when they do not have the mandate to negotiate anything let alone sign, good old Ali Khalif Glaydh should better only procrastinate. Early next year, there would be no Ina Hashi and no puppet like ina Ali Waraabe and no meekly character like Saád.
The decentralization point is equally absurd. You only decentralize when there is centralization hampering progress in the first place. Khatumo or Erigavo for that matter have not been in the central government fold and therefore need to be brought in first for incorporation. By promising to decentralize and do away with the state authorities and overall institutional framework, the result would lead to fragmentation of an already non-existent central authority or governance body. Limited centralization on specific issues like the exploitation of resources, with strong central oversight, is achievable without destroying the state and its foundations.
Sometime in 1960, elders from Somaliland left for Mogadishu’s Italian Somalia anxious to join their southern brothers filled with hope and nationalistic ambition and euphoria only to be humiliated and ignominiously ridiculed. The effects of the disastrous terms they had been unwittingly signatories of had haunted the peoples of the Somaliland territories for many years past. The present agreement has parallels of similar magnitude and proportions.
By: Ali Ege: Toronto, June 23,2017
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