By Leyla Qasim
It’s been almost two long years since Farmajo’s election on February 8, 2017. Seldom are the times he spoke to the people on the nation’s state of affairs.
The president’s silence has not only been confounding but condescending as well.
Granted he’s not been gifted with the gift of the gap, meaning he’s not been the best of communicators, but, as citizens, we still would like our president to connect with his people.
We want to hear and get from him directly on his take on what’s going on in the country: what he’s accomplished thus far, the challenges and opportunities there are, how he overcame and/or wants to overcome them, outstanding issues and how he wants to take on them, and what support he needs from us as the citizens of the nation to cover more grounds.
With so much crisis, insecuirty and lots of that remaining unexplained, the President has been too laid back, too hands off, too mouth off, too all off. I don’t know how true it is (because I am no fan of national geographics) but Somalis claim the tortoise and turtle (Diin iyo Qube) raise their young ones by encircling around them. The President should at least take a step further than the tortoise/turtles’ circling around, by attempting something of verbalising his affection for us as his citizens and how he plans on meeting our needs that he’s taken oath for.
We need to know about everything going on including the political upheavals in the region and his take on what those changes portend for Somalia–in terms of what we stand to gain or lose, updates on the gulf crisis and putting it in perspective the consequences and way forward, a-z updates on where we are on transitional tasks, security, socio-economic, reconciliation etc.
We need to hear from the President, not from PM nor Fahad, but HIM.
The more the President remains mum on the issues affecting the country the more fertile, imaginative, creative minds will run overdrive to churn out, spin, and pass around conspiracy theories about the President’s (in)ability and other juicy stuff in a manner that might be detrimental to the health of the nation.
In his state of the nation address, which should ordinarily come every other time, The President should resist the temptation to be overly zealous to paint for us a Disneyland as happens with his speeches at international conferences. He should resist rumbling through highly editorialized scripts, that would seem alien to the people and out of touch with realities on the ground.
A good leader is one who has a) complete and deep understanding of the affairs of the country, breadth, width, and depth of the jurisdictional reach of his responsibility, b) is able to communicate all that in both complex and simplified terms depending on the audience, and above all, c) is able to put forward well thought out explanations, if not solutions, to the challenges.
Unfortunately, as Somalis, we haven’t had much luck with leaders with such abilities because, maybe, the process for selecting/electing our leaders has not been anticipatory, participatory, and open enough to draw in more candidates with more potential higher calibre than we we’ve been open to bet so far.
So, Mr. President please speak up, speak to us and for us, speak to the independent media, engage with us in credible town halls, inspire us, show us that something is coming together for us (without reminding us that “it’s happening for the first time in 27 years), instead of leaving us to our devices to figure it out for ourselves.
But if you found the kitchen is too hot like hell to handle, then get the hell out and let Somalis search for a better chef at statecraft cuisine.
We see no sense in you finding sense in meditating countries and leave behind a fragmented nation!
What would you tell the world? Like Prophet Yunus, you found it easier to abandon and run away from your people because they became difficult to deal with? Lucky there’s is no whale, or was it a shark, to swallow someone aboard Airbus or Boeing. But remember no world leader will give the slightest care or attention to a leader with a weak domestic base. All politics is local.
Spare the nation and yourself the embarrassment and pay attention to the gruelling domestic issues, starting with opening up a dialogue with Federal Member States.
Leyla Qasim
Email: [email protected]
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Related articles:
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-Somalia Continuing Crisis Worsens with UAE Dispute By Atlantic Council
–The rise of Qatar controlled radical Islamist government in Somalia By Dr. Ahmed Ibrahim
–The Blah blah PM of Somalia By WardheerNews
– The disintegration of the Federal GovernmentBy Gulet H.
– The rise and fall of FarmaajoBy Guled Hagi Hersi
–Farmajo one year review part I By various authors
–Farmajo one year review part II By various authors
–Farmajo: The saga of missed opportunity By Faisal Roble
–How Farmajo fragmented his fragile state By WardheerNews
–Farmajo’s farce By Hassan Abukor
–Fahad the fuddy duddy By Abdi I Dalal
–The first year of President Farmaajo and Prime Minister Kheyre By Dr. Ahmed I.
–Wardheernews person of-the year-2017: Fahad Yasin
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