By Faisal A. Roble
On January 30, 2022, Kush Media Network aired a report on Mustafe Omer, president of the Somali region; the report focused on his alliance with Fanno and the red flag about potential danger to the border communities of Somalis and Oromo. Now that he has lost legitimacy within the Somali society at large, he is left with one political tool box and that is serving ultra-Amhara nationalists. In so doing, he is quick to label his critics as “anti Amhara.” as if that will stop his critics from assessing the sociopolitical conditions of their region. I will come back to this shortly.
As the network reported, Mustafe employs and owns multiple Facebook accounts through which he maligns his critics. Some of these Facebook accounts carry Somali names. The one he often communicates to non-Somali speakers in Ethiopia is through “Jigjiga Insight,” It is a phrase mongering notoriously infantile tabloid whose messages are in poor taste.
As many in the region would attest to, Mustafe is inextricably married to fake news. He is a master of character assassination. Many people advised him in the past to engage his critics based on issues. Not only did he fail to listen, but he continues to bully his critics and his own colleagues and their families.
He hurled some of the worst insults on Ahmed Shide, Minister of Finance of Ethiopia, and the Minister’s own sister on several posts; he did the same thing to Dr. Abdiwasa Badde and Adan Farah, who is now the top dog at Prosperity Party as well to other countless officials, and leading intellectuals. In short, he seems to have a knack for non-intellectual discourse and easily gravitates to insults he hurls against his critics. He does not even spare Abiy. Simply put, he is a political bully.
The short notes he scribbles on his media platforms are aimed at addressing ultra-nationalist Amhara. Many of you heard his narratives that are intended to anger federalists and please ultra-nationalist centralists. He basically believes that his alliance with Ahmara ultra-nationalist will shield him from Abiy and Somalis who thus far failed to hold his feet to fire.
Stormy Conditions in the Somali Region
As I post this commentary, a large number of leaders and former officers in the Prosperity Party rebelled against him. Such a move officially results in splitting into two the ruling Prosperity Party in the Somali region.
Storming at their peaceful meeting at a hotel in Jigjiga, on February 5, 2022 the local Liyu police arrested several well respected former officials. Those arrested have conducted a peaceful meeting at a local hotel. Only minutes after they released a communiqué expressing their collective disappointment with Mustafe’s administration, many were arrested. According to their communiqué, they are still part of the Prosperity Party, but they are seeking reform. How Prime Minister Abiy handles this matter will have a far reaching impact on the political freedom often touted by the populist leader.
Meanwhile, serious discord, often coming close to an open conflict between Mustafe and several other political groups, mainly the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) did not go unnoticed. The newly founded Congress for Somali Cause, or Danta Soomaaliyeed, which grew out of former ministers and dissidents based inside and outside the country, the FEB Party, and other civic groups are sending signals of the need for change. Up until now, the ONLF’s acceptance of a peace deal with the federal government has been the anchor for the pacification of this otherwise volatile region. Mustafe undermined that peace accord.
The Somali region’s crisis comes on the heels of massive corruption, embezzlement, neglected severe famine, and administrative incompetence. A large scale of looting public goods has lately sent shock waves; reports that schools, road constructions, and even a huge chunk of famine mitigation funds remain unaccounted for.
Whose Region is the Region?
Mustafe is a constant offense to the pride and collective memories of the Somali region. At the end of January, 2022, Mustafe met with Naimin Zaleke in Addis. Following their meeting, a delegation led by Naimin and the US-based ultra-Amhara nationalist, Tamaghn Beyene, who is neither educated nor savvy in politics, visited Jigjiga. Both are members of the Menelik Brigade leadership; by all accounts, the Menilik brigade is a vigilante group that the Federal Government is trying to disarm. Whether their visit to Jigjiga at this juncture poses a threat to the safety of Eastern Oromia is of much concern to the reporters of Kush Media Network and to many Somalis who are bewildered by their top leaders’ infatuation with the ultra-nationalist narrative.
Enjoying a strong relationship with ultra-nationalist branch of the Amhara, Mustafe does not get tired of glorifying colonial history at the expense of people who have been conquered. As a Somali, he at times reminds me of Ayan Hersi, the heresy who has became a mole of shame on Muslims and Somalis alike. One would not have cared his tortured point of view had Mustafe not been sitting on a presidential seat of the Somali nation. Otherwise, his words would have amounted to a mere nuisance.
In return for the distorted narrative he spews, ultra-nationalists crown him as Ethiopia’s new Prime Minister from the East. Some go as far as saying “he is better than Abiy Ahemed.” Still others said he could be the reincarnation of Haile Selassie. Moreover, a pro-Amhara youtube called 360 compared Mustafe’s uncompromising pan-Ethiopianst view to that of Mengiustu Haile Marriam. I personally think he is being a new Trojan horse. Highlanders are good at creating aTrojan horse; he could be the new kid on the block.
In addition to Jigjiga Insight, Mustafe pays Amharic speaking youtubers to lionize him and at the same time attack his nemesis. Recently, he hired Addis Dimse youtube to bad mouth several activists including Ahmed Baja, Filsan Abdi and some good standing former Ministers who have decided to leave their positions.
The script which was written for the youtuber, who could not even pronounce Somali names, accused one of Mustafe’s former associates of being a “CIA agent” without any proof. Such a pedestrian libel that someone is spying for the US against Jigjiga, is laughable. Had Mustafe lived in the US for one month, he would have grown out of his provincial thinking and would have understood more that the US does not spy on Jigjiga!. For what?
To silence his Somali critics, his new tool is to accuse them of being “anti Amhara,” or “Amhara haters.” As a long time writer, I attest to the fact that Somalis love their freedom more than they hate Amhara. What they have done and will always do is to stand up like grown up men and women for their rights and protect their land. And some of us will help them carry their messages to the rest of the world. If that inconveniences Mustafe, so be it. His fallacious fake news will not deter millions of Somalis and Oromo from expressing their feelings.
Despite such a preposterous allegation, his intent is to appeal to the so-called #nomore movement which bills itself as anti-America.
Destabilizing Somali-Oromo Borders
If not stopped, Mustafe’ could damage the region. As Kush Media reported, he is in the process of creating a conflict along the Somali-Oromo border areas. Meanwhile, Addis Ababa seems to be watching all these developments in vain. In this regard, Kush Media Network needs to do a lot of ground work to prepare for the eventual conflict so that they can right away play a positive role to avert a Somali-Oromo manufactured conflict.
With Mustafe, the problem is not that Somalis hate Amhara. He knows that is not true. He simply can not accept any discomfort felt by Amhara neftegna. He rather relegates the feelings of Somalis to lend incomparable convenience to ultra-nationalists. How, therefore, can one explain this?
Anyone who read the works of James Baldwin, one of Black America’s prominent explainer of why the “negro” feels inferior would understand where Mustafe is coming from. Mr. Baldwin carefully explains the Black person as being obliterated with Whiteman’s institutionalized superiority.
One can see traces of similar attributes in Mustafe. He absolves those who oppressed Somalis of their crimes; he thinks Somalis fabricated oppression by Amhara rulers; he thinks Somalis need re-education to love Ethiopia. He blames Somalis for overplaying the “victimhood” card. To translate Mustafe’s attitude to his own people would be a subject for another essay.
Faisal A. Roble
Email: [email protected]
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Faisal Roble, a writer, political analyst and a former Editor-in-Chief of WardheerNews, is mainly interested in the Horn of Africa region. He is currently the Principal Planner for the City of Los Angeles in charge of Master Planning, Economic Development and Project Implementation Division.
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