The Tyrant's Fantasy

[Suldaanka]

Editorial from the Somaliland Times

 

 

If there were a competition about the whereabouts of the most evil characters in the world today, Imbagathi, Kenya would win such a competition hands down, because that is where many Somali warlords, thugs and crooks are assembled to form a government for Somalia. But among these wretched lot, Col. Abdillahi Yusuf stands out. It is not that he is more brutal or crooked than many of the warlords and psuedo-politicians meeting in Imbagathi. Where he differs from many of the warlords in Imbagathi is that he had nursed the fantasy of lording it over Somalis longer than any of them. Therefore, his fantasy is more destructive and unachievable. One can call it a fantasy because there is very little likelihood that Somalis, other than some of his *****ten kinsmen, would allow the ageing colonel to rule them. Even among his fellow *****ten threre are more opposed to him than support him. Neither is his cynical attempt to use the ***** card working. The recent statements by Garad Abdiqani Garad Jama is proof enough. An ignorant dim-wit (jaahil raas marbud ah) the honorable Garad had called him in an interview, and the Garad was not revealing any secrets. It is something already known by many Somalis.

 

A list of Col. Abdillahi Yusuf's crimes and depravities would be too long to list here, so we will only name a few: the murder of Abdirahman Aidid, the murder of Suldan Hurre and the trafficking in humans from the port of Bosaso. And that is not the only list. There is also the long list of the colonel's botched endeavors and dismal failures. He failed in the 1978 coup against Siyad Barre. He failed in leading the SSDF which prompted many of its members to surrender to Siyad Barre rather than submit to the colonel's tyranny. He failed in administering *****tenya which led to his ouster.

 

With such a pitiful record, Col. Abdillahi Yusuf has been on-and-off in Kenya for the last two years, trying to use the gathering of Somali warlords and criminals to secure a high position that would give him international legitimacy. Since anything is possible in the murky world of warlord-infested Italian Somalia, Somalilanders should be vigilant about protecting their interests.