De-emphasize Mogadishu city, Emphasize Interior Regions

[Meiji]

The various groups in Mogadishu city should not repeat the mistakes of the past.

 

Overemphasizing Mogadishu and neglecting your interior regions will make you weaker and much vulnerable to external threats. This has become evident by the over-emphasizing of Mogadishu city by all previous governments in Somalia, which created an uneven development whereby the gross of money was spend on Mogadishu city and peripheral regions stayed underdeveloped.

 

Mogadishu city is the epicentre of Somalia, so investing and living in this city is logical. This however should not make one blind to his interior regions.

 

Sound development is when the group is engaged in the development of institutions in the interior regions while the group is engaged in Mogadishu economy. Your people in the interior regions deserve the kind of institutions which will keep them in their own regions instead of moving towards Mogadishu and ending up in over-crowded neighberhoods with constant conflict and misery.

 

Galmudug and Ceeldheer/Mareeg are prime examples of how the various groups in Mogadishu should think about their future, and focus on sustainable long-term development while still been engaged in the dynamic economy of Mogadishu.

[Meiji]

Galmudug Model

 

We are all familiar with the Galmudug administration and its recent history.

 

Now, this case of institutional building for the interior regions while still been active in Mogadishu economy illustrates the policy of: De-emphasize Mogadishu, Emphasize Interior regions

 

The people of Galmudug have played a keyrole in the ousting of Barre's regime and in the following civil wars and anarchy in Mogadishu city and Southern Somalia.

 

As a consequence, they became prominent in Mogadishu and Southern Somalia's affaires, and invested much resources and energy to safeguard their position and counter the moves of their opponents in the political/economic game. This constant focus on Mogadishu and Southern Somalia's affaires led to the neglect of the interior regions (Galgaduud & mudug) and as such their people left those regions mostly and went to Mogadishu in the hope of a better life. Mogadishu city dissapointed these people as they became victims in the never ending conflicts and left the peace of their interior regions for conflict of Mogadishu.

 

The advanced layers of Galmudug people (intellectuals, professionals, diaspora groups, civil society groups, young students, religious leaders, traditional elders etc) re-analyzed their position in Mogadishu and re-prioritized their affaires.

 

They concluded that the emphasiz on Mogadishu was undermining the development of their interior regions. The resources that were spent in conflict-ridden Mogadishu would have larger returns if they were spent in the interior regions, which would lead to the development of these regions and stop the migration towards Mogadishu. They also concluded that the warlords (Cusmaan Caato, Hussein Aideed, Qeybdiid etc) would have no interest in the development of the interior regions since that would mean that the people in Mogadishu would migrate back to the interior regions and those from the interior regions would have no reason to leave for Mogadishu. As such, the warlords would be deprived of the group's resources (money and manpower) which were re-directed from Mogadishu to the interior regions (Galgaduud and Mudug). In the interior regions, the security of the people was independent from the security the warlords offered to the group in Mogadishu. Also, since the group's interest was de-focused from Mogadishu and focused on the interior regions, the group's warlords in Mogadishu could not manipulate the group's emotions to support their warlord adventures in Mogadishu.

 

After these conclusions, they had to work out a strategy to initiate the slow but crucial process of regional institutional development of the interior regions.

 

For some time, Galmudug people (mostly their advanced layers) were pre-occupied with the mobilization of the whole group's energy and resources towards realizing the vision of Galmudug.

 

Through hard work, determination and patience, they turned the vision of Galmudug into practice. And today, their people are less focused towards Mogadishu and more focused towards their interior regions (Galmudug).

 

 

Their analyzes and strategy has been proven by time as the EThiopian occupation of Mogadishu made visible to all that spending all your resources on Mogadishu city while neglecting the interior regions would make you vulnerable and weak.

 

All the investment in buildings, markets, basic services (schools, clinics etc) were shattered by the BM-and other heavy artillery of the Ethiopians.

 

We are also all aware of the tragic displacement of more then 850.000 people from Mogadishu, and the internally displaced-refugee camps outside of Afgoye which hosted 350.000 of these people.

 

The remaining hunderds of thousands of people left for the interior regions and arrived in underdeveloped regions that could not support the influx of this large number of people. To accomodate the displaced people, hasty development of basic services was initiated which has re-directed much resources from Ethiopian-occupied Mogadishu.

 

Fortunately the Ethiopian occupation and the determined resistance struggle against it had lessons for Mogadishu society.

 

One of those lessons is: ''do not put your eggs into one basket''. Put emphasiz on institutional building of the interior regions while also been engaged in the dynamic economy of Mogadishu. This lesson is very important for the various groups in Mogadishu city.

 

De-emphasize Mogadishu and emphasize the interior regions.

[Meiji]

The realization of the Galmudug vision:

 

 

 

 

Security apparatus for the interior regions :

 

Regularly paid security forces

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Meiji]

 

 

 

Educational facilities for the interior regions:

 

Galinsoor: dugsiga H/Dhexe ee GENERAL CAYDIID:

 

 

 

 

 

Xingod:

 

[Som@li]

waw, thanks Meiji,

[Meiji]

Dugsiga Sare ee Mudug (MSS)

 

 

 

 

 

[Meiji]

Improving Hygiene of Interior regions: :

 

Cleaning the city

 

 

 

 

Health Facilities for the Interior Regions

 

 

Construction of a new hospital

 

 

[Meiji]

Dabshid,

 

No thanks brother. I am just spreading the message of grassroots peacefull internal development.

 

 

Sport for Interior Regions: Football

 

 

 

 

 

------

 

The people of Galgaduud/Mudug have shown us that it is in the best interest of the group and nation for Somali people to be pre-occupied with regional institutional building instead of wasting resources and energies on one particular field. In this topic it is Mogadishu city.

 

The people of Galmudug have de-emphasized Mogadishu affaires, and emphasized their own affaires: Interior Regions (GalMudug).

 

They have lost little, and gained enermously.

 

It is time for other groups in Mogadishu to follow this example.

 

In the coming time I will present yet another succesfull model of regional development of yet another dominant group in Mogadishu.

 

This is the Ceeldheer Model. The people of Ceeldheer have played and still play a keyrole in the politics and mainly economics of Mogadishu city. Yet, despite this dominant role they have never lost touch with their Interior Regions and have lately put more emphasize on developing their region of Mareeg and particularly the town/city of Ceeldheer instead of wasting resources in Mogadishu. Despite this new re-orientation of the group, they are still the nr1 of Suuq Bacaad and are one of the most dominant business groups in Mogadishu.

[Thierry.]

Excellent post Meiji

 

The people of Galmudug have rolled up their sleeves and in three years achieved tremendous in developing their state. It is a model all Somalis should follow people should focus in developing their states, the era of Mogadishu being the centre of everything is over.

Federalism is the way forwards

 

T

[Meiji]

The Ceeldheer Model

 

Ceeldheer is a historical town in Galgaduud region of Somalia. This historical town produced very influential men in Somali history. Three of the patriotic 13 SYL were from Ceeldheer, Gen Daud, chief of armed forces in Somalia, Gen Salad Gabeyre one of the 1969 coup planners, Dr.Ismaciil Jimcaale, the leader of the opposition to Barre's dictatorship and the recently passed away Dr.Xuseen Xaaji Bood, just to name a few influential men.

 

Ceeldheer like other towns in the periphery received little state development and as such was an undeveloped town around 1991. The only people interested in this unpromising region were people who wanted to improve the lives of the ones that did live in that region. Since 1991 to around 1999, Diaspora groups hailing from this region linked up with foreign humanitarian organisations to provide for basic services like hospitals, and schools. These foreign NGO’s left around 1999, in which the Diaspora groups had to finance the projects themselves. Since they could not do this, they contacted the new economic class of Mogadishu, the wealthy Suuq Bacaad merchants did gladly invest in the region and supplemented the NGO’s.

 

This trend intensified with the ever growing business class hailing from the region on board of the regional development process. The Diaspora group too became very organized, and were in contact with the region on a regular basis.

 

This natural alliance between the wealthy Mogadishu business class and diaspora groups hailing from Ceeldheer/Mareeg led to the slow but crucial process of regional institutional building. As a consequence, they put emphasis on the development of Ceeldheer and the region of Mareeg and invested their resources and energies into the interior regions. In Mogadishu, the group was engaged in the dynamic economy of the city and as such came on top as one of the most dominant and wealthy groups of Mogadishu. On the political field they kept a low profile throughout the years, and it is thus not surprising that the only known men of this group was Dr.Xaaji Bood while the other groups in Mogadishu had countless warlords and politicians.

 

During the Ethiopian occupation of MOgadishu and Somalia, they were one of the many business groups that were hit by the barbarious Ethiopian bombardement of Mogadishu's residential and business districts. As a consequence they became one of the main financiers of the resistance movement since it became clear to all business groups that they had to invest their money in the resistance against the brutal Ethiopian occupation.

 

Today the advanced layers of Ceeldheer people are busy to build their region of Mareeg (Coastal Mudug and Galgaduud) and are busy lobbying to give Mareeg the provincial status in Somalia.

[Meiji]

Ceeldheer in pictures:

 

Security apparatus for the interior regions

 

Regularly paid security forces

 

 

 

 

 

 

Commander of the Police force.

 

Educational facilities for the interior regions:

 

Elder secondary school:

 

 

 

[Meiji]

The opening of High school of Ceeldheer:

 

 

 

 

 

Start of schoolyear in Ceeldheere Lower, Middle and Higher school:

 

 

 

 

[Meiji]

 

 

 

Residential development in Ceeldheer:

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Meiji]

Health Facilities for the Interior Regions

 

Hospitals and Pharmacies in Ceeldheer

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Meiji]

Hospital of Galcad

 

 

 

 

 

Dur dur Hospital