Abdifatah Sheikh Abdullahi & Engineer Selahadin Mao signing the peace deal agreement

Abdifatah delivered long talks to different audiences, who marveled at the seriousness and sincerity of his speeches. He is a firm believer that the Somali region can reach an ideal progress when its people pull together. He warned the Diaspora community of division and delving into destructive ideologies. Mr.Abdifatah Sheikh Abdullahi reminded the community of its collective interests and cohesive existence. He stressed the fact that anti-peace elements can’t succeed, however they kill and kidnap innocent civilians in the region. He was interviewed by Somali major media outlets, and his interviews were very impressive indeed, as many people concede. Abdifatah is a deft politician with analytical capacity.

The ONLF wing led by Engineer Selahadin Mao is adamant to reach a peace deal with Ethiopia in order to consider and serve the interest of the population ravaged and wrecked by the front’s aimless war. Engineer Selahadin Mao and Abdifatah Sheikh Abdullahi representing their two respective sides penned down a peaceful agreement in the month of August 2010.

Abdifatah’s delegation, including Mr.  Khadar Abdi Ismail who is a deputy minister of Disaster Prevention Minstery, reached out to a multitude number of the Diaspora community from the region. They conveyed their messages and painted a clear picture of the region’s existing situation. They eventually returned home at the end of August with an accomplished mission.

ONLF fights wrong battles. ONLF’s purported mission is to detach the region from Ethiopia and create a utopian Ogadenia where people live in justice and prosperity. But it’s ironic that the front kills its own people on a regular basis. What’s to be liberated here, then? Engineers who work on roads to lessen existing passage problems in the region are killed because they are Dabaqoodhis (stooges); doctors and nurses treating sick and bed-ridden patients are killed because they serve the interest of the occupation; traditional, untouchable chiefs are decapitated because they are indifferent to the struggle and discourage youth from joining it. But Engineer Selahadin Mao is presently rolling up his sleeves to end these atrocities and help alleviate the suffering of his people.
Justice fights unfairness in all of its variety. ONLF is an unjust and a divisive organization. It’s the principle of this organization to sow division and discord in the Somali region of Ethiopia. ONLF is oblivious to any weight that other Somali clans may have in the region, because the organization is blinded by its lopsided ideology; ONLF advocates that the region should be called Ogadenia, a name frequently referenced by the outside world.

But this ideologically corrupted organization doesn’t grasp the ploy behind the name that it’s hung up on. The ploy behind the name is to divide and dismember the tightly knit Somali population that lives in the region, thereby destroying the power of the region and its people.

ONLF’s precise conviction is you are either with me or against me. If one can’t subscribe to the sloping ideology of the organization, then one is antagonistic towards the front and its clan; this is a something to be frowned on. However, the fact remains that the name doesn’t bind the region’s people together. Take the Abasame conglomerate of clans, for example. They part ways when it comes to the identity and interest the name Ogadenia paints and portrays. Ogaden clan is one of four Absame clans, although it’s the biggest one by far. Next to Ogaden is Jidwaq clan (Abasguul, Bartire & Yabare); this clan is vehemently opposed to the utopian Ogadenia that ONLF calls for, simply because the name doesn’t serve the interest of the Absame clans, let alone other Somali clans in the region.

It’s a part of Somali clans’ nature to brag about their distinctive characteristics and the glory of their names, but one can’t subscribe to the notion that ONLF is doing whatever it’s doing to elevate the glory of their clan’s name. If a clan’s glory is to be sought out--Sayid Mohamed Abdulle Hassan, who spearheaded Somalia’s independence--has glorified the Ogaden clan.

The Somali region’s delegation led by the chairman of the region’s ruling party impacted the perception and the outlook of the region. The Diaspora community has realized the fact that exists in the region. Although the region’s situation isn’t perfect, it’s a something to be marveled at compared with its past history. The peace deal signed by Engineer Mao will add to the stability and progress of the region.

Mohamed Bakayr
E-Mail:mohamedbakayr@hotmail.com

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