I did travel to the region for the last three weeks and have witnessed personally some of the political changes taking place in Ethiopia and the Somali region. Although I did travel for personal reasons, I can also state that some of my destinations had political motives. Also, as a self appointed analyst of SOL, I thought it was imperative to gauge the pulse of the region first hand. It is not always useful or informative to write from my comfortable couch back home in Canada or in "cold Alberta" as our friend Oodweyne calls it disparagingly. I did traveled to Kampala , Uganda, Addis, Jigjiga and Dubai just to name a few. Unfortunately , I did not visit Mogadishu or Hargeisa. Despite the progress and developments in the horn of Africa, these nations are too slow both on business and political issues. In Kampala, the Entebe International Airport, on the shores of Lake Victoria, was built by the British some 60 years ago and nothing is added after half century. I will narrate about Uganda in my next segment, but let us discuss Ethiopia, Abiy Ahmed and Mustafe Cagjar in Jigjiga. As I stated before , Ethiopia has been always slow to change and these quick reforms from prime minister Abiy are changing the Ethiopian landscape like never before. While there is certain fears that things might got out of hand, especially in the ethnically administered regions, Addis Ababa was thriving and the public in general feel free to express and enjoy the newly found freedom. The city is really crowded with millions of people of every ethnic background. It seems the mixture of black race in the world is found in this city. Government figures say the city is home to 8 million people but others say it could easily reach double digits since millions of peasants left their country farms and flooded to the main city to find jobs. While no one is starving, the poverty level of the youth and others are huge in Ethiopia. Yet, despite the poverty, everyone is proud of their nation and want to preserve it. Addis Ababa is the foundation of Ethiopian business, culture, politics and connections to the other world. Their world class airline reaches many capitals around the world. Everyone, regardless of his destination must pass through this city. There is no flights coming from Nairobi or African cities passing through Bahir Dar, Makele or Gondar. They must come to the capital and them travel to the domestic route. Regional economies based on farms, livestock and other exports like the coffee are all managed through here. It is the pulse of the nation. We Somalis who are infatuated by regions or decentralization might not appreciate this but this huge nation is pooling its resources while connecting the capital to outer limits of the country. Life is cheap in the country side due too their agriculture and local food consumption, yet every thing is connected to the national capital. Imagine a Somali national capital with six or seven million people synchronizing trades and business connections with regions. While regional airports are important , you need a national hub for the world to enter and trade with your small population. . Looking the size of these economies, these Somali regions with less than a million people or scattered population are too small to compete. The farming communities surrounding Addis alone could be more than 10 million people. Somalia needs one or two main centers that have productive economies which could export their resources through these long coastlines. I do believe that these Somali regions are huge bureaucratic headache that will consume large budgets while hindering the productivity of the people. With peace, trade and modern transportation, these so called regions could disappear with open trade and join one another. You could travel from Hargeisa to Borama in one hour; two hours from Burco to Garoowe, and four hours from the Jubba to Mogadishu by car. Airline travel could be less than an hour from coast to coast. Yet, we are arguing about these villages with less than hundred thousand people. Back to Addis Ababa. Tens of thousands of unemployed youth crowd the streets and markets to find something to do or stand idly staring people . Because of these large underclass youth of every ethnic group , even the smallest trouble could shake the foundations of the system. Yet, because of the constant presence of the police and the cool and patient nature of the Ethiopian populace, Addis was safe and thriving. Also, if you are decent human being, your only wish must be that these millions of diverse humanity from every faith and ethnic group of Ethiopia is to prosper in peace , co-existence and tranquility, otherwise, any shaking of the foundation of these communities will effect the far corners of the horn. So, pray for peace. While disgruntled Tigray are every where, the overwhelming majority of Ethiopians support the reforms initiated by the prime minister. I did talk to cab drivers, hotel managers, barber shop clerks and even some Oromo businessmen who are based in Adiis. Almost everyone had enthusiastically welcomed these new changes. The Amhara ethnic group, which is the most educated and sophisticated group in Ethiopia, overwhelmingly supports the prime minister, so does the the Oromo, the largest ethnic group in Ethiopia. He has huge support among reform minded Somalis, Affars, Gurage and other ethnic minorities. The only people who had contempt for the changes were the Tigray who are bitter and disgruntled, and certain Somali group orphaned by the fall of Cabdi Illey. The TPLF are still mourning the death of Meles Zanawi , whom they considers to be best that came out from Tigray for centuries, and are contemplating to sabotage these reforms through many forms including arming covertly some ethnic groups. in early December , a 60 member paramilitary men, mostly ethnic Tigray were arrested while preparing to attack the residence of the prime minister. They were captured and swiftly brought to military court and each sentenced to 15 years in jail. They had amassed huge weapons and aircraft in their region just in case things got out of hand. last week Eritrea had closed the border crossing from the Tigray side for fear of sabotage inside Eritrea while Eritreans are allowed to come and go. On the Oromo side , there were some problems from certain members of the former rebels OLF (Oromo liberation Front) who are based in western Oromia around Wallega. I asked an Oromo businessman who was married to the sister of one of my neighbors here in Canada, and another one from Diredhaba about these clashes. They both told me that these were western Oromo members who are mostly Christian militants who hate both the Amhara and the old system. THese men told me that in order for the Oromo to succeed " we must support Abiy, Megrasa and Jowar Mohamed as one unit and stop any splintering among the political elite of the Oromo.. All of them agreed that they would not put any weight or trust on the former rebels of the OLF who never governed anything. As business people , they believe only a united Oromo leadership would make their community successful within Ethiopia. Also, other than few youth gangs, the clashes in Diredhaba among the Oromo and Somalis had diminished extensively. In my dealings with the Oromo business guys and others, I found them to be well informed and sophisticated in their outlook of the future . Some people might not realize but the Oromo revolution had changed a 150 years old system that took many shapes for over a century: monarchy, military dictatorship and 27 years TPLF tyranny. The OLF outsiders, just like OG controlled ONLF , must contest the election like anybody else, and the chances of these groups succeeding in democratic contest is almost nil. Somalia and Abiy policy. While Addis is a multicultural melting city, it is difficult to ignore the Orthodox influence of the city. The museums , the media, the culture and the larger civilizations of the capital is based on Orthodox eccentric civilization. The dominance of that culture is every where including government , private sector, entertainment and all life. Also recently, people are attracted to the emergence of huge American style Evangelical mega churches preaching within the city centers. You could hear the loud microphones preaching to the faithful daily. Since the emergence of prime minister Abiy, who as a the Pentecostal member shares faith with the most powerful community in America, the old system might give way to the new preachers.. Folks, the American Southern Red necks are coming to the horn to preach it's unique kind of ways which is foreign to the locals who are traditionally tolerant of different faiths. There are also a huge mix of colorful Muslims from every ethnic group whether it is Amharic, Oromo, Wallo, Somali or Guraage, all involved with their daily lives while intermingling with their fellow Ethiopians with confidence.. Due to these influences from Evangelicals, these new groups and the historical rivalry with Somalis, it will be difficult to predict the future policy of the current government. Yet, the Abiy government's approach to the Somali issue is diametrically opposed to that of the former TPLF government. While the TPLF balkanized and divided Somalia, as it did here in Ethiopia in order to rule the fragmented ethnic groups, the clearest picture emerging from the Tigray elite was all about their efforts to make money---a lot of money. They had a contract with American private companies and the Pentagon that paid them almost $ 600 million dollars a year to fight Al-shabaab and others in the region. 25% of that money went to the Somali region. While huge jails were established in main cities like Jigjiga, there were other bunkers, hotels, airport hungers and other black holes where people were detained on behalf of the war on terror and for the cash. . In order to justify this huge budget, they showed the Americans the detained people perceived to be Al-Shabaab. Hundreds of innocent people were taken to these black holes in order to make money. Millions of these dollars were sent through other channels and sent overseas in Dubai and other places. Locals told me that the Tigray community probably owns 70% of the buildings in Addis . Furthermore, the TPLF cronies had created security companies in all major towns and forced everyone to implement their fake security policies. These schemes are visible all in the Ethiopian regions. In Addis, every hotel, mall, small strip mall, building , shops , community banks and government buildings were equipped with airport style metal detectors and conveyor belt driven baggage carousel. Every business was mandated to buy these equipment from the TPLF run companies. Dahabshill money transfers in Jigjiga has security guards just as every other small bank. All these places are manned by two or three people which employs tens of thousands of men and women. Although no major bombing ever took place in Addis in recent years or before, In order to justify and loot these funds, they went an extraordinary measures to show the gullible American outsiders that this country is in a constant threat. I saw the same mind set in Kampala, Uganda. Even the grocery stores and five shop strip malls had private security checking people and cars. Yet, these 60 years old nations like Uganda couldn't even build a modern airport or even a four lane highway. It is probably the best way to earn millions from their deployments and business in Somalia. Prime minister Abiy believes that economic liberalization , investment and open trade can only lift Ethiopia out of the poverty. The TPLF had created Chinese style public companies controlled by their cronies while managing them like their own companies. These companies had monopolies in manufacturing, Dam building, Telecom and other infrastructure oriented companies. They fought every efforts to privatize these companies or open competition for the citizens. The only company that is allowed to enter every sector was a company controlled by an Ethiopian Saudi man called Al-Amoudi. In other words, they did run these publicly owned companies like their own while borrowing billions from the state banks. Open business opportunities, public sector privatization and trade liberalization policies might force Abiy to support the pacification of Somalia. He is targeting banking, telecom, airline, and construction sectors for private investors. The Ethiopian Telecom network is one of the slowest in the region. Even major five star hotels have bad WiFi reception. While Eritrea is the preferred trade and sea route among the Ethiopian elite, a democratic and open Eritrea is out of the question for the near future. Also, the Tigray politicians are determined in the future to oust Asaias Afwork and join them for Tigray dominated Eritrea. For these and other reasons , Abiy believes a peaceful Somalia could transform the whole region economically . When the business oriented Guraage community demanded their own ethnic zone, he told them , " When Mogadishu is stabilized, who is going to work and do the business things?, I want you guys to travel to Mogadishu and come back the weekend in Ethiopia." While there is huge opportunity for Somalia, Farmaajo must know that without lifting the heavy weight of pacifying the capital , no one will carry him to the finish line. He must win many tough battles that need resoluteness. The ousting of the UN envoy last week was on the first tough decisions nations must make to move forward and gain sovereignty. As i said before, there is no free lunch unless you do real work. Also, having your men in regional governments doesn't change the real issues of security in the two rivers and the capital. In conclusion Ethiopia is in transition. Their biggest advantage is that the public in general do not want and do not support any instability from any sector. if election is held for the next 12 or fourteen months, Abiy could win easily. The real picture of Ethiopia could only emerge after the elections. Yet, before the election takes place, certain hurdles must be overcome including crushing the armed groups mainly the OLF and others. The Ethiopian public are enthusiastic of the future and their prime minister to make good reforms. His pictures are adorned in cars, Taxi cabs and public transportation. For many Abiy Ahmed means freedom and future. Despite all the hopes I saw in Addis, there are two regions or groups that might face serious situations to pass tp the next stage. The Tigray region who could either accept the reform and swallow their pride or try something foolish and get crushed. The second fault line is the Somali region. Here is why? As I landed Garaad Wiil Waal Airport in Jigjiga , I did not see any soldiers or the dreaded LIyu police. I was greeted by friends and family members and rode to the main street to the city center. Despite my skepticism and the fear of unknown, I was pleasantly surprised after I reached my destination. I felt as someone who was among his people and the feeling of a Somali home and people. Folks, there was freedom in Jigjiga for the first time in long time. Stay tune for my stay in Jigjiga ...........

It is a good move. This useless post must be eliminated. With all the issues in the country this fool chose to aid a known murderer who killed and maimed hundreds of Somalis. This Robow guy should have been under house arrest until things improve.You can't go from the Al-shabaab spokesman to the governor chair of South West. It just crazy. Just like the UN monitoring group , they must justify their presence and pick nuisances that doesn't move the country to the right direction.

I think Somalis must prepare to transfer power to the legitimate movements like ONLF who have nationalist agenda. Recently, the leader of the ONLF said that he will never renounce self determination for the Somalis in the region. I think place holders like Mustafe Cagjar must hold fair elections and transfer the power to the people. He must understand that he is appointed not elected.

This man has been in power only for few months , yet he is already preparing to ride the false war on terror that never ends. Last week an American ambassador in Addis visited Jigjiga and was taken to tour Jeel Ogadeen, a huge jail where Cabdi Illey and his Tigray masters used to torture and imprison thousands of innocent people. While touring the jail, he told the American diplomat that those who jailed people here had escaped to Somaliland, Puntland and Jubbaland, and are organizing a campaign of bombing with the coordination of Al-Shabaab. A week after that statement, the Somali regional media showed off of captured bombs and weapons within Jigjiga city. Is that just a coincidence, a real threat from the Illey camp, or a calculated move to extort money from the Americans. The Americans can help his administration in development and other issues without invoking Al-Shabaab or others. Is the so called war on terror the only way to cash from the Americans?, or this guy is trying to militarize the zone again and oppress the poor people of the region?. Only time will tell. https://youtu.be/isBMFHM79d8?t=45

Finally, Mr. OO, you really showed your colors. Times and again , despite my political observation, I become gullible like the average person. I thought lately , you were somehow one of those from Jigjigs. My bad, as our kids say these days. Albania is a vibrant country that rising economically and Kosovo is doing fine. Yet, for the AXumite Tigray , their best hope for the Albanians are found only in Orthodox run Macedonia. The Balkan Muslims had always done well. Sarajevo, Tuzla, Tirana and many cities between them had always thrived and will do well. TIlamook was right .

France is burning almost every week end. French polls show that about 70% of the people support the Yellow vest apprising that is targeted to overthrow Macron using riots. A demonstration that started against rising fuel costs had transformed as leaderless movement that is demanding the resignation of the president and his government. Yet, I do not see CNN or other western media covering the riots or the burning of the cities, especially Paris. When a small protest against the development of Gesi park in stanbul took place circa 2013, CNN was covering live. Soon it was labeled as leaderless uprising that want to overthrow Erdogan and his party who were democratically elected. The diminutive Macron is hiding and shocked about the scale of the protest. Sultan Erdogan commented and condemned the riots and disproportionate use of the police force, He said, "Those who provoke hostility against refugees and Islamophobia have been caught in their own trap," and added, "The walls of security and welfare they cherish so much are being shaken by their own citizens, not by refugees or Muslims," He is correct. Many western leaders including TRump and others have used the threat of non existent Muslim terrorism to further their political agenda. The so called ISIS had come and gone to the dustbin of evil part of world history of that group, yet the peaceful and law abiding MUslim community are intact despite the backlash and the constant Islamophobia threat they are facing. As Erdogan said, there will not be anymore Refugee or Muslim escape goat to blame for these problems.

Albania and Kosovo are two Albanian states in the Balkans today. they also have significant minority in Macedonia.

They went too far with the Sharon thing, but i understand their logic of every thing American. With help of America, the Kosovo Albanians became independent state after that province was carved out from Serbia. 90% of the population was ethnic Albanians, and when they rose up against former war criminal Milosevic, he massacred them by hundreds. They were saved by the Clinton and NATO intervention of 1998. Also, it was Clinton and America who helped stop the Bosnian genocide while Europe watched. With the Russians allied with Serbia, the Albanians need an ally. In those years, Turkey didn't have the geopolitical power to protect them or even help them to fend off the Serbs and their former Yugoslav army. For those reasons , Albania joined NATO and became strong allies of America. They still have good relations with Turkey, but in order to survive in the Balkans they are allying with America. I perfectly understand that.

Regional governments and Somaliland were denied to visit Ethiopia , or Farmsajo was shown a red carpet will not distract us from the real problems he needs to fix in Mogadishu. Bragging how close Farmaajo is to Ethiopia is a useless propaganda to prop a failing presidency. Maxay kuugu taalaa inta aad dibedaha roog cas laguu dhigo marka aad soo noqotana askari Uganda ahi kugu soo dhaweeyo dalkaaga . Neither Ethiopia, nor America or any foreign army will help Farmaajo succeed. Can you imagine someone expecting others to pacify and fight for his own country and then act like he is doing something. The way to measure things are simple: did he pacify the capital, can he travel to Afgooye without the Ugandan army or does he have a national army? All these answers are negative. Slogans and false propaganda are an outdated communist era strategy that will not work in 2019. Fix your house before you start entering agreements with others. He doesn’t not even have a basic foreign policy to follow.

OOdweyne, It is true that Somaliland has started from the scratch. A friend told me that in 1992, he couldn't find a restaurant or a coffee shop to but a tea. In that contest, they achieved the impossible especially the combinations of the traditional order and modern constitution. Yet, on the government side, I see a lot of weakness and incompetence in terms of building public service institutions like, hospitals, water wells, public transportation projects and others. Just look at Hargeisa water project with over hundred million spent. These kind of projects could be done with less than $50 million dollars.

Suldaanka, You are partially correct that at the end Siyaad Barre watched the country disintegrate in a chaos while he had an opportunity to leave peacefully or transfer power before the implosion.On the other hand Mengistu was air lifted and Ethiopia was saved by the west and others. Yet, major Eritrean cities were never invaded or taken over by insurgents. Mengistu killed more than 60 generals and murdered thousands in cold blooded purging . He murdered two presidents, and burred King Haile Selassie in his office after he starved him to death. Siyaad Barre was small time tyrant compared the real dictator Mengistu. Imagine the second largest city of the country taken over by rebels. in that era Every leader would have used any means necessary to dislodge and bring authority. Even Cigaal bombed Burco to fight the 1994 rebels. Since the people of the North eventually rebelled and became a poplar uprising, no force or dictator could have controlled them. In history , the public in general are correct if they rise because of oppression, despite the consequences. On the issue at hand of building things, in Somaliland , it is the people who achieved impossible and built things. Even when they celebrate the national day, 18 May, no one forces them to wear the colors but themselves. This love of the land in Somaliland is definitely much different than the rest of Somalis.

The education system was okay until late eighties. What I am referring wasn’t about quality of the education which still produced good students, but the extend of the corruption of the elite to send their kids and others while knowing full well none of their people were up to the standards. Until the end , the quality of the Somali students and people in general were high caliber compared to today or later years. Imagine a BBC or Radio Mogadishu broadcaster reading an English text with Somali language on air before the Somali language was written. Today, most of the Somali journalists couldn’t even read Somali texts on the air properly. Thiose generations were proud and deep down they thought they could compete with anyone around the world. Still even today, the desire to learn and excel exists among Somali youth everywhere, but are hindered by corrupt officials who take bribes and keep out the bright ones from succeeding. Some people were thinking that the only dictatorship in the region was Siyad Barre. Military, communist and authoritarian regimes around the world take their time and disappear when things change either by events or history. Opposition is not allowed and talking the gun against them was impossible. Other than from inside, does anyone ever thought of changing the Soviet Union with an army or insurgency? No it was impossible. Mubaarak of Egypt came 1981 and left 30 years after the Arab spring, Daniel Moi of Kenya came1978 and left 25 years after elections and wind of change touched the country. The whole region was run by one man rule. No one have ever though of replacing Mubaarak , Qadaafi or Arab Moi with armed insurgency in the seventies or early eighties. Only a Somali “ Madax Faluuq” who never thinks about time and space would indulge those kind of thoughts. Replacing Siyad Barre or regime change in Somali in 1985 meant destroying all of Somalia from Zaylac to Kismaayo. Tthere were no other ways. The angry tribes put aside of everything and were hell bent of destroying the country for good and let the chips fall where they may. Reer miyigu warsabaha Marla at rabaan in ay qabtaan waxa ay dibeda ugu xidhaan Waxar yar gebtina ( trap) way ku xidhaan marku waxarta qaado yidhaahdana way ku soo dhacda. Mengistu, sida waxarta ayuu ku yidhi jabhadihii orda I Siyaadw soo qabta, Markay qabteena gurigii baa ku kor dumay. In those days, the system was designed as whole. In order to change the regime you must destroy all of Somalia, and despite the dire consequences, they went ahead. Sodon sano ayaa Kay soo wareegtay welina sidii diinkii dhaanka loo diray ee la sugayey in uu reerka soo waraabiyo, ee yidhi hadda ayaan albaaka ka sii baxaya.

Judgment means comparing those who followed. While those who came before him were founding fathers and democrats who paved the way for him, those who came after him were weak in terms of leadership. From Cali Mahdi to Farmaajo, what we got were not presidents but pretenders who are satisfied being supervisors in their own land.

The economic decline and inflation had started with IMF in 1982, and decimated the economy and brought huge corruption. I am not fan of those marches in the "Trabuunka" because , as one of those who marched there more than three or four times, it was always forced on the people. The Somalia of 1980 was proud and rising. A French anthropologist said in 1980 that Somalia would join the middle income developed nations in the year 2000, or it will disappear due to internal problems that could explode. Yet, with new technologies and know how, and after almost thirty years, the peaceful Somali administrations of today including Somaliland couldn't build one single major hospital, one major high school with hundreds of students or any significant life changing project. They couldn't build 25% of what the Kacaan did. Leaders are usually judged after time lapses of thirty or forty years. Both their misdeeds and national achievements take shape. The October revolution had touched Somalis socially, culturally and economically like no any other administration. We might never get back the prestige of the nation we destroyed. As a young teenage boy in the middle of eighties , I have never feared or ever thought of foreign military taking over Somalia. We were proud while others feared from us taking them over. I have never thought Somali clans taking the ownership of major centers like the national capital. Weligay kama fakirin Muqdishu cid baa kaa xigta, waxaan ahaa Muwaadin jooga caasimidiisi. The worst legacy of the late years of the Kacaan was the destruction of institutions, meritocracy and standards. I went for government scholarship in late eighties and only three of us among the twenty were able to sit in the class, the rest were unqualified students sent through nepotism, and today, that culture is alive and well throughout the Somali administered regions including Djibouti. More than half of the students sent for scholarship in Turkey had left for " Tahriib" to Europe because they couldn't get in to thre classes even though the Turkish state paid their four year tuitions.

It is one of the prices Trump and Mohamed Bin Salman has to pay for the Khasoggi killing. The Turkish have one more card: the audio tape. Trump and company must play ball. At the moment MBS might survive , but he has to do few things that is valuable for the Turkish alliance. As I said before, the Turkish could be among the major players of the world within five years. Without Turkey, nothing will be done in the middle east, former Soviet republics , the Red Sea region or even east Africa. Rising nations can't be stopped except wars or internal quarrel. The Chinese were a communist backwaters in 1990, yet within 25 years, they became the second largest economy in the world. Since 1990, the Americans were marauding in the middle east one major war after another , losing both blood and treasures, and the smart Chinese abstained and encouraged the misadventure of trhe Americans. According to Steve Bannon either America or China will be the next super hegemony of the world, and they want to stop the Chinese now. Well, it is too late. now. Erdogan visited Venezuela which is facing American sanctions and huge economic problems. Turkey is buying gold produced in Venezuela by hundreds of millions. Trump is wounded, he is contradicted by his own CIA, and couldn't help MBS in Argentina. Canada, Germany and Turkey and others are after MBS. As Trump goes down , so does UAE and even Farmaajo who is playing fools gold.

Somalia was destroyed by Ethiopia by bringing the war inside Somalia. This is a good explanation fromFarmaajo, yet these issues must be addressed in a serious and foreign policy speech. . Asking Ethiopia not deal with the regional governments is a simple demand that Ethiopia could implement in the short term until they fix their internal mess. The real problems will start when when theAmhara and Abiy consolidate power. Abiy had welcomed Mengistu Hailemarium and the former Derg government that had destroyed Somalia. In1991, when he left office, Mengistu said,” I have achieved something no one in Ethiopia ever dreamed, there will not any more Somalis that will threaten Ethiopia. These and many others will be soon the foreign policy leaders of Ethiopia. Ethiopia was a mess for the last three years since 2015, yet nothing had changed in terms of security. At the end it going to be what you have done, not what others has done for you.

MMA, that is the answers we were looking for a long time and please show us he paper work. The only problem is the corrupt deputy parliament speaker Mahad Cawad had fired the finance committee today. furthermore, we are not undermining the minister or the government, we are just looking after our money.

Samafal, correct me if I am wrong, but I heard the real Reer Bari from Qandalla are the largest community. in Puntland, and also the richest in terms of business in Boosaaso. unlike others they probably earned their money through hard work and business acumen and do not want to throw money to the lazy elders and others who didn’t earn them. When the NGO and foreign money dries up they will be the real winners.

I see the same cycle at the election level. Next time it might even take $100 million or more to win. It is out of the for most. By the way, I am getting messages people saying that I am becoming the bearer of bad news these days. I will take a break any see what Farmaajo does for the next few months. See you guys in the new year.

I totally agree with you that the time is with Somalis if we get good captains to lead us. Even here is the diaspora the bleeding of the young people might stop for the next few years. The Somali youth of future building blocks is taking shape. Last week I went to the local university for the graduation of my son as a chemical engineer. As I sit with my family in the gallery while people were cheering when the names of the students were called, I was on assignment as usual to observe and look any anomalies. In almost every category there was a young Somali boy or girl. The engineering class started with hundreds of students , and as years go by at the end only six had graduated this fall while the rest might finish in the spring or later. Among those six there were two Somalis. My son who was Somali student association president for a couple of years told me that he had the emails and contacts of about 400 Somali student from the freshmen to the seniors. Folks, that is huge. Among the nursing classes a quarter of the students are Somali girls. As I said, I was looking uncharacteristic anomalies and found them at this graduation ceremony. First, among the graduates , there were probably zero Eritreans and one or two Ethiopians. There is a large Ethiopian and Eritrean community in this town and the province , yet very small number , one or two are graduating. Folks, it is all about ambition and drive of the Somali parent to some extent and self confidence of our youth. Since we Somalis represent many labels such as Africans, east Africans, Arabs and Muslims, it seems that, other than few Nigerians , we dominated each of these categories. Second, there is this group who are overrated by the media and powers that be who are constantly telling people how smart and studious these people are yet, despite their large population which is ten times bigger than the Somalis in this area, very small number of them were graduating mostly from liberal art schools. Can anyone guess who these people are? They are the East Indians who are depicted as smart and educated. They are promoted in board rooms and other places, yet I do not see them excelling in these education halls in Alberta. Maybe they are educated back home in Indian and bring those degrees here and start from the top. Anyway, it was strange compared with the Chinese. The largest number of the graduates, by far, were Chinese or Chinese origin. In fact, I could say among the graduates of technologies and other sciences they could haven been four or five out of very ten students called to receive. Finally, the old stock Canadians of French and English Origin, were concentrating on sectors like environmental studies, forestry management, food and agriculture management, phycology, social studies and other liberal art studies that might give them government jobs and other service industry management positions. Less than 10% were in geology, chemical. electrical, and engineering sectors. The technical sectors were dominated by the Chinese , Hispanic, Arab and other ethnic groups. In fact these ceremonies show how this country is becoming a multicultural place with diverse population that is mostly immigrant and children of immigrant. Any way, to make the story short, the Somali youth are rising and people will notice their strength soon. We already lost a large number of adult young men from 28-38 age bracket who came this country as a small boys with large family that struggled to adapt and succeed in the new environment. In any big community like ours, there will be small loses and collateral damages, but the picture and the future id bright. The poet laurates of this town is a Somali man and others are following. We are not a nation of static and dormant people. We are nomads who want to make history for good or bad, yet we have been led by inward looking cowards who count pennies and afraid of making the big changes needed to reach the next level. We need someone to crush the entrenched business community of Mogadishu and Hargeisa who pay taxes to militants and get rich of the misery of the people. We should not accept mediocre leaders who want to be praised before they dug a well for the people. We want people who want to work for their people and make the tough decisions needed for our problems.

Cajiiib, The Dayniile boy is teaching people bad manners. This fool hasn't done anything so far, yet he he is acting like big shot. He should have given the money to the local police station and ask for security. He is probably from diaspora who are scared to death before they even reach the land. Mr. Jabiye, the self made millionaire had dispatched a $100,000 bullet proof car before he landed in Garoowe. If these are the characters challenging C/weli Gaas, me might as well win easily because he looks like an adult in the room.

Do we have to finish our days months, years and decades hiding in hotels making few dollars while others are manage our country? Worse of all , if you are a businessman with a lot money, yet you can't enjoy it in your own country . Some times, things should be broken in order to be fixed for good. I ask my self, Are we better than Farmajo, Hassan Sheikh and many other Somalis who are educated , with hundreds of counselors and advising them and helping them to succeed,? No. If you think you are better them these guys, you must be dreaming. The main issue is the system is designed to fail. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Boris Yelsin changed prime ministers almost every year, sometimes every few months with no avail. Finally, a man called Vladimir Putin showed up and changed the system. When a despot from Burundi decided to help Somalis and prolong his term in office, I knew we were doomed. Dadkii Afrikada uGu liitay ayaa amaankeeni gacanta loo geliyey.

They asked him , Why you did not print the nations currency? He answered that they could not find $41 million dollars for the cost of printing. Folks, this must show the incompetence of the Facebook boys. If the cost of having a national currency is just 40 million, I would have done what ever it took and print that money. 50 million from the Saudis should have covered. It is the typical African thinking of avoiding to spend money on infrastructure and public needs. Everyone is talking about public service salary. What kind of services these ministries are providing foe Somalis?, nothing. Did they ever build any sleeping quarters for the army ?I heard that they got 5200 public servants in Mogadishu alone. Tolow ayey u shaqeeyaan dadkaasi?

Soros does a lot of good things around the world supporting open societies and help immigrants .It is wrong to blame every thing on him. Yet, it is true that Gesi park incident begun as simple protest of people opposed to development to a revolution targeting Erdogan. Even the CNN carried live for hours to make it a public apprising. Unlike what the media says everyone in Turkey is free to express their freedom of speech . Those targeted by the state were the terrorist Fethullah Gullen people who operated as a criminal elements within the state undermining the Turkish state. Imagine if a group of American officers, judges and media people tried to overthrow the constitution from inside openly. No America journalist will publish the movements of America army or the intelligence officers under operation. Those who are imbedded with army must clear their dispatches with army and not produce any state secrets. Let the Caravan of of the great Suldaan Erdogan reach it's destination in 2023, the centenary of the Turkish Republic.

Overall it is a good article . This quote sums up the intensions of Ethiopia. A restored Somali will be a giant that will dominate the region in many ways. Nations are by nature rivals until many things change for decades. After the second world war France had maintained it's military presence in Germany until nineteen seventies. It took 50 years before the single currency and unbroken trade relationship. We can't even cross their border or sell any thing to them, yet people are talking about economic union. The Arab League is older than the EU, yet since 1945 up today, it remains a tribal counsel that disagrees on everything. There are no trade, cultural, or security arrangements among them. Restore your sovereignty then talk to others to trade first on basic cross border issues. "AMISOM has been the bedrock of Somali stability for over a decade, playing a crucial role in fighting militants, providing executive protection and training local forces. The Somali National Army, on the other hand, has not proven itself up to the task of defending, let alone capturing, territory from al Shabaab, which remains resilient. Consequently, AMISOM will remain crucial to maintaining stability as long as international powers such as the United States stand to gain, although the mission could evolve and other states could emerge to make a contribution in time". Since the Somali army is ineffective according to everyone involved, Amisom will remain for a long time. he mentions that the role of Amisom is "to fight Al-Shabaab, protecting the executive (the president and his cabinet) and train Somali army. At the moment, they are hiding in their barracks let alone fight militants, and are not training no one. So, their main job is controlling the green zone, protect the leaders and draw their salary.Who is protecting the Somali people. He also concludes that if America doesn't pay Amisom others could emerge and contribute. In the Somali issue no one is discussing what the nations leaders and its citizens are supposed to do to rebuild and restore their nation. It is all about others: Amisom, Ethiopia, donors and the world.