Somali Intellectuals should be Fair!

[Sophist]

Somali Intellectuals should be Fair!

 

Ubah Abdi

June 23, 2005

 

" Waxbase yaan harraadine Rabbaa haatuf noo diraye;

 

Isagaa hiddaayada baxsha aan hiil ka sugayaaye;

 

Haddii haatan waa wada harjade, la isla hiir-daayey;

 

Ciduun baa hoggaankeenna qaban waana hawl culuse;

 

In kastoy hannaan wax u waddiyo horumar loo aayo;

 

Waad heybsataan dawladdee hubinba maysaane;

 

Haadaa-qabiil bayna rogey aad ku hadafteene'

 

'Ninkani waa halyey yaase raba waana reer-hebele?'

 

Wallee taa haddaynaan ka hadhin haakah odhan maayno! "

 

By the great Poet Aadan Carab, 1917-2001

 

Somali intellectuals pontificate from behind computers, sitting in air-conditioned rooms and zipping cold drinks, they order the President and the prime minister of TFG of Somalia to move to Mogadishu , which is tantamount to asking the President and the Prime Minister to commit suicide. After these intellectuals finish their judgment, they sleep on feathery beds, and leave the difficult task for others to deal with. They do not contribute anything else but plain talk.

 

 

Mogadishu Now

The pontification that is coming from these so-called elites says, " Mogadishu 's status as the capital of Somalia is deeply engraved in the soul of all Somalis, a fact that is reiterated in the new Transitional Federal Charter. Moreover, any attempt to change this status, even temporarily, threatens to unravel the already fragile reconciliation process… [Therefore the government should move to Mogadishu ]"

 

Whom are they kidding? Muqdisho waa tee?

What is engrave in our psyche is the last image we have seen of Mogadishu, as we were fleeing from our homes, the sight of bloated corpses strewn over every streets like they were not human but a road kill, and gutted out buildings. Mogadishu that is engraved in our psyches is a place that even the dead are not exempt from looting, a place were the corpses and the human remains are deprived of their final resting place, a place that is not fit for habitation of sentient beings of flesh and blood with dignity. That my dear, is the Mogadishu that is engraved in our psyches.

 

Nevertheless, no one is denying Mogadishu as Somalia 's capital city. It seems those who called themselves "Somali intellectuals" reached their decision emotionally rather than judiciously, they are also confusing the issue at hand. The government does not dispute Mogadishu as the capital city of Somalia and the public agrees, with the exception of the Secessionist group that wants to make Hargeysa a capital city of their own. Apart from the separatist minority group, overwhelmingly Somalis agree Mogadishu should remain the capital city of Somalia . The dispute stems from when the warlords who kept Mogadishu in the condition it is today and the "intellectuals" tell the rest of us the government should move to Mogadishu , without proving or backing their claim.

 

What the uninformed Somalis do not understand is that facing enemies in Mogadishu is not the aim of this government, its aim is to heal the social wounds, to stabilize the country, to spread rule and order to the rest of the regions and to pave way for the future elected government of Somalia . The warlords oppose this and they want to keep the country in anarchic state where they are the kings, and continue to profit from the chaos. Therefore, they find faults for every issue and every suggestion the president brings forth.

 

Since the Intellectuals open kangaroo courts for the government behind their computer, I decided to open my own court as well. In order to reach a judicious ruling, one needs to determine the arguments of the two sides of the government before blindly siding with one . These men in the government were caviling over two years how to set up a government, who is to be the President, the Somali constitution etc. At that time, the arbitrators were foreigners, however, now the Somali public should judge which group is right and which one is wrong, since I am a Somali I reach a judgment. After hearing the argument of both sides and weighted the merit of their cases, I gave a favorable ruling to the President and the Prime Minister of Somalia, because they had presented a better case than the Mogadishu warlords had. I reach this ruling by considering past and present performance:

 

1. The Prime Minster vs. opposing warlords et al, after considering that the warlords left Nairobi and moved to Mogadishu without the Prime Minster's consent which is a clear case of misconduct and blatant disregard of the standard behavior, the government expects from its members. It proves that the warlords committed blatant insubordination. I consider them stubborn, hotheads with tendency of disregarding the rules and regulations and they are in need of rehabilitation as their militias. As such, they are not fit to dictate where the government should move or should not move.

Therefore, I am ruling in favor of The Prime Minster Ali Ghedi. He has the right to decide where his government should move, temporarily until the warlords disband their militia that controls the capital city of Somalia.

 

2. The case of The President vs. Opposing warlord et al, on who is not listening to reason and who is at fault of the breakdown of negotiation. After considering the fact that The President has proven himself that he is better negotiator when he united several Somali regions. He also proved he has the Midas touch when he turned these regions the most peaceful and prosperous area in Somalia after the collapsed of the central government. Some might tempt to argue "but the inhabitants of these regions are from one clan," they will be reminded so are the inhabitants of Mogadishu. Yet Mogadishu city even though one clan rules, it is divided into street zones, and after 14 years these Mogadishu warlords could not negotiated to united one puny city, let alone a many regions. As such, the Mogadishu warlords I considered them headstrong and unwilling to listen to reason, and if anyone is at fault here, they are most likely at fault, and the reason the talks breakdown is because of the warlord, therefore I am ruling in the favor of the President.

 

3. About who is breaking the agreement: The opposing warlords are in violation of the reconciliation agreement when they started war inside Somalia ! If anyone is threatening to unravel the already fragile reconciliation process, it is the Mogadishu warlords. In this case, I am ruling against the warlords for breaking the agreement of reconciliation between Somali clans.

 

4.About the foreign troop deployment: The warlords want their militia to protect this government, and the President's contention is that the government is not going to become a guest to the clan-base militia in Mogadishu . In this case, the ruling is in favor of the President's camp. Mogadishu warlords and their militia have played host to Abdiqasim's Government and that government failed to take root in Mogadishu let alone the rest of the country. Thus, the warlords had proven that they are incompetent, and cannot protect a government. Therefore, the President's proposal and creative idea of introducing neutral third party into the mix is more practicable and more welcoming than the warlord's suggestion, which sounds blatant extortion and blackmail. Until the government sets up and trains Somali military and police force from the 18 regions of Somalia , which should not take more than a year, the NEUTRAL foreign troops should come inside Somalia , to protect the government from the terrorist groups that are trying to assassinate the members of the government.

 

The President and the Prime Minster are trying to prevent the collapse of yet another foreign formed government of Somalia . Why is it so hard for the elites who live in the developed world to understand that, moving yet another foreign formed government to Mogadishu is not a good idea. In the developed word, if there is a problem, what they do is try to find a workable solution. Let us take some small problem for example, let us say there were couple of accident at a certain four-way intersection, obviously stop signs are not enough, they install traffic light, the accident which accords at that intersection is reduced drastically . Let us go back to our predicament, three government were brought to Mogadishu, all three of them withered and died in Mogadishu; the warlords who made that possible are the same warlords who are arguing this government should also be brought to Mogadishu, that is not workable solution. There must be more creative and workable solution out there. First move the government to another location, until Mogadishu is safe, once that is done then move the government to Mogadishu , genius huh! That is exactly what the President and the Prime Minster proposed.

 

The warlords suggest they are trying to stabilize the city, the movement and the disarming of the militia has started, and we will see if that bears fruition, in the mean time, let the government move where they might be. Let us not forget, in Mogadishu there are twenty thousand armed militias, and the warlords move one thousand men to camps without disarming them that is hardly solving the Mogadishu problem.

 

The Diaspora Somali communities, instead of exhorting the government to move to Mogadishu, let us raise funds for the government coffers, let the government form nationally own police and military, and let us help this Police and or military. As I said, the military should come from all regions of Somalia . Instead of giving this government orders or empty support, let us support them monetarily; this will eliminate the long-term need for foreign troops. It will also signal to the rest of world that this time we are serious, when they sees us helping ourselves, the donor countries will follow and will help.

 

We must help build stable government first, in order to build later roads, housing, schools, hospitals, and other much-needed infrastructure. After all that building, If fight has left on us, we will fight each other with ballots and not bullets when we are going to elect a democratic and just government in four short years. Why can't the elites envision that world, a world without conflict and guns? Somalis living in a world of leisure and 80-degree climate, picnicking on the seashores of Mogadishu , Marka, Kismayo, Bossaso, etc. Camel's milk, everywhere one looks, one sees the sights of regally smiling, diric-clad beauties sashaying with dignity at the streets of Somalia , and confidently children playing outside with their own kind, without fear of pedophiles. Aren't we tired of living foreign lands? Hold that vision, and work towards that goal. Let us for once be an asset for our country, let us for once put our money where our mouth is and help build a lasting government.

 

On June 13, 2005, I helplessly read the case about Nuradin Abdi, which was on Columbus dispatch. According to his Attorney, Nuradiin was falsely accused of being a terrorist without evidence, and he was denied due process and United States violated his human rights. His case reminded me living in foreign lands, we are all easy prey including these so call Elites. We are one step away from being the next Nurardiin Abdi, because we are from a Muslim country, a country that has no government, and We have no one to come to our rescue or stand up for our rights, No where to run.

 

East, West home is the best, God Bless Somalia .

 

Ubah Abdi