Of late it has become a common place for some Somali writers in the Internet to use one or more pseudo names in order to express their views on issues of interest to them. But until recently, they had rarely ever used the Internet for their own self-promotion. While we cannot speak for them as to what prompt them not to disclose their real names, we can all the same venture some speculative explanations. Needless to say, some may choose anonymity because they are publicity shy or may be because it spares them finger pointing and shaming, especially if what they write about is considered disgraceful.

But what is in a name one might rightly ask, and then one may respond that it is the substance of their writing that matters. That is right, and that is why much attention has not been paid to most types of pseudo names. But what we are now experiencing is a new type of a writer with sinister personal agenda aimed at self-defense or self-promotion. Looking through the Internet archives, one could easily spot what unmistakably would struck as the archetypal solo self-promoters masquerading under various pseudo names.

One spectacular catch that may have surprised us all is the infamous “Dutch man” Adrian Baldwin who wrote an interesting article in defense of the head of the BBC Somali service Mr. Yusuf Garad as it relates to Somali politics of today.

Recently Somalis have voiced their concerns on the uneven handedness of the BBC on clan based Somali politics in which certain groups are provided a free platform to propagate their propaganda while others are shunned all together.

It was intriguing to say the least, to see a mysterious Dutch man appearing from no where and for the first time jumping in the ring in defense of Yussuf Garad. Somalia was in a state of turmoil for the past 15 years, civil war and zonal warlords have crippled the country to a total destruction. To emerge from the woodwork and beat the drum of Yusuf Garad’s kudos, whom he only met briefly in Nairobi, is a bit hard to digest when there are a plethora of other subjects that may have cried for a foreigner’s interest or attention. Especially for some one who has, as he claims “extensively traveled throughout Somalia, from South to North, between 1994 and 1998” amid the peak of the civil war. For a person who claims this extensive exposure to Somalia at the height of its humanitarian and political crisis and yet did not feel any urge to be involved with its problems in one way or another to the best of our knowledge but suddenly appears from no where and volunteer as Mr. Garad’s advocate by making a baseless and hopeless case in his defense makes you wonder as to who he really is? Mr. Baldwin, if that is his real name, far from defending Mr. Garad has only managed to raise many eyebrows to suspect his motive and his true identity. You do not have to be Sherlock Holmes to see all the give-away inaccuracies and dubious assertions to guess the real face behind the mask. No doubt we are thinking of the same face.

Then there comes Mr. Ibrahim Sheikh-Nor, who vigorously glorifies Mr. Yusuf Garad’s otherwise mediocre achievement at the BBC, such as the launching of the FM radio transmissions of the BBC Somali programes in some parts of Somalia. For the record, it was the initiative of the various Somali local radios and not Yussuf Garad, who started the transmission of the BBC Somali Service programes in order to attract more listeners. The credit has to be given where it is due.

The state of the BBC Somali service since Yusuf Garad became its chief editor couldn’t escape the eyes of its former staff members, who had sent a letter of complaint signed by more than 15 individuals from various Somali clan background to Mr. Mark Thompson, director of BBC World Service. These concerned former BBC staff couldn’t let pass the deterioration and the slow death of the quality of the service that they had invested and worked so hard for. They simply could not let the years of hard work be used to serve the motives of some warlords to polarize the delicate situation of the state even further. They said in their letter dated June 2005 addressed to Mr. Thompson “We the undersigned are former staff members of the BBC Somali Section who served at different times, from the early years of the Service in the 1960s to the new millennium. We belong to different age groups and come from different clans and from all regions of Somalia. The BBC Somali Service has been until recently the paragon among Somali broadcasting stations inside and outside Somalia. Its high standards, built over a period close to half a century, have been true to the BBC’s well-known reputation for impartiality, fairness and objectivity. Unfortunately, that reputation has been dealt major blows since Mr. Yussuf Garad Omar was appointed as head/editor of the Somali Service”.

Its no small feet when such concerned citizens speak out about the lack of fairness, qualified staff and poor programs at the service, I am not sure how Mr. Baldwin and Sheik-Nor didn’t take a notice of the service’s quality from its former announcers beyond clan boundaries and dialect as they want us to believe.

Another staunch supporter of Yusuf Garad is some one named Yosra Ali. This person often scours the Somali media for details on issues related toYusuf Garad’s work at the BBC. He then plans his attacks selectively on any one who critiques Mr. Garad’s performance. Yosra is a character known to any one who has ever written about the decline of the BBC service and the role Mr. Garad has played in that decline. Many who are privy to Mr. Garad and his style have confessed that this Yosra person is none other than Mr. Garad himself.

One of the same

It seems that these three characters are one and the same. The language used, the style of writing and the reasoning of their thoughts provides the reader with some skepticism on the true identity of the three writers. Some of the writings that creates doubt on the minds of the reader are as follows; Sheik-Nor wrote “They can’t stand that a man from Southern Somalia, after fifty some years of North (Somaliland) and Puntland dominance of the service, to lead the BBC Somali Service”. Sheik –Nor continues to argue, “Mr. Garad was not hired on the basis of 4.5 as some have suggested. His qualifications in leadership and languages convinced the BBC to entrust him”

Yosra wrote “Could it be that it bothers you to hear a different kind of dialect on the Somali service after nearly half a century of Qaldaan and Bari dialects. Yosri carries on to say, “Mr. Garad, the man behind this cutting edge effort, for your information, was not hired in accordance with 4.5, rather, on the basis of his proven knowledge and capacity”. For the record no one to my knowledge has suggested that Mr. Garad was hired on the basis of 4.5.

Both Yosra and Sheik-Nor stress and highlight the establishment of the FM radio stations as one of Mr. Garad’s top accomplishment during his service at the BBC.
There are a lot of other similarities between Yosra’s letter to WardheerNews (please see letters to the editor) and Sheik-Nor’s piece in defense of Mr. Garad.

Reading these two pieces one could come away with the understanding that these personalities are all one and the same. But I will leave it for the readers to judge.

Abdelkarim A. Hassan
E-Mail:abdelh1@hotmail.com

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