By Avv. Abdiwahid  Abdullahi warsame

“Iyana waxaan kaga gudbaa gobey liicoo ha jabin” by Hassan Ganey.

At this point in time we need to agree without any form of delay or justification to hold an election for the 2020/21. Regardless of the polarizing political ideations that have crippled the minds of the Somali people, one thing is eminent, the current administration and its opposition have set their eyes on a prospective election. Many writers and other commentators in social media have been trying to lay out our differences and how to resolve in order to reach a common ground that can be beneficial to all.

I have great respect and really enjoyed reading about the writings of Dr. Mohamed   Mohamud Culusow and the other great writings of Faisal Roble in which they wrote extensively on the malaises of our governance. Both have tried to persuade us to govern modernly along with the rule of law and social discourse. These writings and other social commentators alike, including but not limited to, Snapchat accounts Somali Insight and Xoogagga Saddexaad (the third force) and many others like pal talk rooms have been attracting followers to engage in social discourse about the situation in Somalia. All of the writings and social media accounts mentioned above have gone through recalcitrant political ears. Perhaps this kind of writing may have historical value to shed a light on the events during the lifetime of these writers for future readers. It may lead researchers, commentators and future writers to understand what we have been dealing with in these current times. These are not wasting writings, but are a gold deposit for future generations to unravel.

In a society wishing to democratize its people it is a normal setting to have and expect many divergent political quarrels because we are in a process to settle. The process and the final product are not the same and we cannot expect to behave as if it were one. For example, there is a huge debate about the structure and formation of our Somali nation. The central authority in Mogadishu led by President Farmaajo and his Prime Minister, Hassan Ali Khaire, have conducted their governance like a centralized country while we are in an actual and legally federated system. Puntland is the most outspoken defender of the federal system. People who lack the knowledge about the system of governance through the history of the world may have difficulty to understand the appeal of Puntlanders. The history of a nation acts like a spring during its life going through different forms of governance. These stages may include monarchies, dictatorships, centralized authorities and federal systems. Much like a spring, the ends can stretched or shortened with no loss or addition to its weight and value. In the end it is all one piece. 

We cannot wrongly blame Puntlanders to forcefully defend the federal system. President Farmaajo and his government never presented their thesis about the structure of Somalia to the public but their actions manifested their background thoughts, covertly destabilizing the nation. Somaliland has been acting like an independent entity since 1991 which is another factor that has been making the country ungovernable. Different politicians with differing inclinations have not yet agreed on how to govern the nation besides their political rhetoric. On the other side, our religious behavior is not a unifying factor, but rather; it becomes a dividing element. Many different religious sects have been spreading their influence along with their political philosophy.

The most troubling above all of these challenges is the behavior of those in Villa Somalia. They never attempt to galvanize these divergences since they have the appropriate means and legitimate status but are part of the problem. Those who have an inclination for a federated system were frightened about the prospect of war which may ultimately spark another civil war. The spirit of resistance is overly seen by many localities especially in Jubbbaland and Puntland. The difference between the reginal states and the central authority in Mogadishu is not about personalities but based on fundamental principles.

The act of the President and his cohort executive branch is undermining the spirit and principle of the separation of powers, which have been mentioned in the constitution.  Therefore, the responsibility of bringing together the forces that have been raging to get a piece the formation of national politics has shouldered onto the international community, due to the fact that the central government has abandoned its responsibility to become a unifying entity. Recently, there is an indication that the international community withered about the constant lagging of any progress towards lasting peace.

In addition to the internal political instability of Somalia, there has been outside intervention that internalized their influence along the political spectrum. It is well written about President Farmaajo’s willingness to side with Ethiopian hegemony in the region. He has been crisscrossing and has made his political pilgrimage in Addis Ababa by appeasing the Ethiopian Prime Minister’s conditions.

In less than five hours after Prime Minister Abiy’s unannounced visit to Mogadishu in June of 2018, President Farmaajo enumerated many concessions by allowing Ethiopians to invest and develop the already existing five ports of Somalia. It was a historical appeasement in which Farmaajo surrendered the intrinsic value of the Somali ports. He may argue it was a memorandum of press release instead of actual and binding legal handover. The press release is the projection of the mindset of the president. However, I remind the President and his supporters that the memorandum of understanding, whether it is press release or not, is a legally binding contract.  The Ethiopian military has been used to suppress the political dissidence against President Farmaajo by alluring Abdirashid Janan to come to Mogadishu which ultimately led to his illegal arrest. Kenya has established its political sphere in Jubbaland due to the constant political quarrel between President Farmaajo and the regional President Ahmed Madobe. It may be avoided if the President Farmaajo diligently worked with Ahmed Madobe instead of pressing him which forced Madobe to go further into the hands of the Kenyans.  

In that chaotic and unstable political environment in Somalia, President Farmaajo has failed to persuade the legitimate entities that had a stake in the political life of Somalia to come to an agreement on the pathway of our nation. He, the president, enjoys avoiding public speeches and is not forthcoming about his philosophical attitude towards this troubled state. As a result, nobody trusts his leadership because he cannot hold any promises. It is a legitimate to attack the leadership character of the nation since we lack a firmly established institution and structured political behavior. There is no other alternative but to censor and limit the effects of the personal gossip –laden politics that mingled public affairs. The people feel duped. 

I urge President Farmaajo and his political circle to utilize the only chance that has been left for them which is setting an agreeable solution on how to set the tone and put in motion a realistic procedural electoral process that will convince all political stake holders to come to terms. With an election that is less than a year away, it is irresponsible for the president not to come to the nation and speak directly to the people about his position about the upcoming election.  I may forgive him if he argues in his post presidency that Somalia is very difficult to govern during his time because of his inability to convince the parties to come together. Regardless of any other of his political failures, holding an election on time would remain as part of his legacy that will shed his genuine love for the Somali nation because it will avoid our country to collapse once more had he not held an election. As humans we may not be able to avoid problems, however people have different abilities and skills to overcome existing issues at any given moment. I have the most utmost confidence in the fine character of the Somali individual on their ability to overcome any adversity in order achieve a prosperous and unified society. 

 Avv. Abdiwahid  Abdullahi warsame
Email: Abdiwahid.abdullahi@hotmail.com