By Ali Bahar

Decisions made by the Somali prime minister, Abdiwelli Sheikh, without prior approval of the president as stated by the Somali constitution (2) The Council of Ministers is the highest executive authority of the Federal Government and consists of the Prime Minister, the deputy prime minister (s), ministers, state ministers and deputy-ministers- should be viewed as legal prerogatives of the PM, contrary to what president Hassan Sheikh believes. But then again, we are talking about Somalia where all powers rest in the hands of the president alone, nothing is new.

In this current cacophony between the president and the PM, a simple attempt of ministerial reshuffle by the Prime Minister, Abdiweli, as accorded to him by the constitution, results a fury and publically expressed threat made by the President, Mr. Hassan, to axe the PM, or else. He wows to risk sinking the boat (the country) if he doesn’t get his way. In a nutshell, he simply wants the PM out. Here we go again.

Whether it’s arrogance, ignorance, or an assumed aristocratic move on the part of the president, it is a disturbing issue in today’s Somali politics. It is a good reason, then, to suppose such difference between the president and prime minister is undoubtedly stemming from a conflict in vision between them. Where the PM envisions transparency and democratic processes as essential elements in governing the society, the president envisions and practices an aristocratic system of government, where the government stays in the hands of the few, which may even lead to royalty.

The president maintains the protection of the interest of the few, the social privileges of those who put him in power. More than one-third of the dysfunctional, handpicked, clan representatives in the so-called Somali parliament in Mogadishu are controlled by the president. The seats in the parliament are outright for sale in any moment; that is how he got to the office and he uses that abusive power as his stick and carrot, any time he feels pressured. Aggregating forces great enough to overcome any challenge, he brings to play his single motive power to crush any resistance; and usually it is the executive branch (the PM and his cabinets of ministers) that is kicked out of office when that happens. Such propensity among the past and present so-called presidents in Somalia has been overtly demonstrated. This has been a recognizable trend, where prime ministers come and leave through a swing door, some have even been threatened to leave office immediately, or else. Why then bother calling these men (PMs) to join the president in the first place? How should they govern and under what rules? This has been a practice sustained as the norm in the president’s office, the usual thing presidents get away with, and the Somalis never bother questioning its validity.

Clearly, what we are witnessing is conflict in vision between the PM and the president. When it comes to governing a society, it has been demonstrated that there is a profound inequality between the conclusions of “leaders with narrow views- -here the president” and those with “cultivated minds- -here the PM”. It seems the president is fighting for special interests, an attempt to preserve the old tribal ways of corruption and nepotism. While the PM believes that tribal values must be overwhelmed by democratic processes that permit to promote the functioning of larger aggregations of people—-governance and promotion of public interests as whole, and not only the clan privileges. This is what the PM envisions. This, nonetheless, creates conflicts in vision because the president fails to bring himself up to a higher ground (mentally) to understand where his PM is coming from… his vision for Somalia.

It is apparent enough to state that, in many concrete ways, the president feels he is in trouble and he is losing popularity, something he never had to begin with. It’s hard to judge his acuity to remain in power, but here is a president, Mr. Hassan, who, in his short period in office, allegedly embroiled in multiple treacherous activities of money embezzlement, corruption, and worst of all, being in bed with underground activities to empower Al-shabab, of all things. Such activities alone, if proven, warrant an impeachment of this president and his removal from office. But then, in the Somali politics the president assumes a status of a king; can’t be touched. His vision for governing, as these reports have suggested, is to create an environment of chaos and confusion that helps him govern in outside the constrains of the law, and get away with it. Insofar this being the norm, the president and the PM would inevitably and incessantly remain at war with each other. This phenomenon is observed through all XY-land enclaves in Somalia, where self proclaimed presidents are promoting clan interests, while camouflaging under corruptive and sugar -coated systems wrongly labeled as democratic institutions.

We often see a president who, when in trouble with the law, rallying his tribesmen around them. As usual, his supporters proudly come out to rescue him with their usual tribal sound bites and cacophony, whirling and waiving their fists and spears over their heads for all to see, singing the usual song, “Welweleeyee Hooy, Warmaheenaa Laga Waashoo, Hide Weeyee”. And in the middle of all, the president is dancing a victory round. Is this how you honor the office of the presidency and the public responsibility that comes with it? One must wonder!

In short, we have been witnessing this plunder and abuse of power under this president and former presidents, and it continues all over again. The country is brought into a halt, any progress thus far made loses momentum, anti-government opportunists prosper and accumulate wealth on the backs of the public, al-shabab returns, individual liberty is denied and destruction and sufferings continue. No progress. Thus the song “Somalia Waa Mashruuc”, by Minister Abdirahman Beileh, comes to mind.

One wonders, therefore, in light of all the apparent reasons, can we then dare the say the darn thing, “The president must leave?”

Ali Bahar
Email:Abahar57@gmail.com