By Ali Haji Warsame
The Somali population is extremely young, with approximately 46% consisting of children aged 0 to 14 years, and 27% representing adolescents and youth aged 15 to 29. Together, these groups make up almost three-quarters of the total population. The average age is 14.9 years, which is even lower than the 19-year average in Rwanda. This demographic situation deserves our attention at both the federal and state levels, to address critical issues affecting the youth and their well-being and livelihood, including education, skills development, health care, job opportunities and migration challenges.
In recent years, a significant number of Somali youth have been fleeing the country to seek opportunities in Europe and elsewhere. Unfortunately, many of them have not succeeded in making it and have lost their lives at sea. This troubling trend could have negative implications for the country’s future in both the short-term and long-term. Somalia is a vast and rapidly changing land with enormous untapped natural and mineral resources. With a population of about 20 million in the republic, the country has the potential to sufficiently support itself, provided there is an equitable distribution of wealth among its citizens.
During the civil war, the country experienced a significant brain drain, as many skilled labourers and trained civil servants left. The majority settled in Europe and North America. As the country began its state-building process anew, the shortage of skilled workers emerged as one of the main challenges. Additionally, the country’s primarily villa-style universities struggle to understand market needs and are unable to produce graduates who are equipped to enter the labour market and, out of it, earn a decent living.
In 2018, I led a project funded by the EU to bridge the gap between higher education in Puntland and large private sector enterprises, and the goal was to help universities understand the immediate needs of the private sector and then align their undergraduate programs with the demands of the labour market. We discovered that these two vital sectors had never interacted or even discussed such crucial issues, which has resulted in a high rate of unemployment among recent graduates. We have published recommendations to improve that situation and forged a relationship for better prospects in the future. I have recently discussed this situation in my recent article titled “Unemployable Graduates: The Plight of Somali Youth”[1].
The challenges faced by the youth are prominent in Somali politics, and given their significant number, no area deserves more attention than this. So, it is astonishing to hear a senior minister in the federal government of Somalia state that Somali youth have no right to education and health services from the government.
Furthermore, the minister stated that if such services were provided by the government, they would be considered charity. This position is in direct contradiction to the letter and intent of the federal provisional constitution, which stipulates under Article 30 (sections 1,2,3) that education is a basic right for all Somali citizens. Specifically, it declares that every citizen shall have the right to free education up to secondary school and the state shall give priority to the development, expansion and extension of public education.
Article 27 (sections 2,3) also states that every person has the right to healthcare, and no one may be denied emergency healthcare for any reason, including lack of economic capability. Additionally, every person has the right to comprehensive social security. When executive members ignore the constitution, the laws become ineffective and redundant, undermining citizens’ rights and sending the wrong signals.
Over the past 12 years, I have been involved with the issues that affect youth, connecting with them in various capacities, including serving as a senior lecturer at the local universities, working as a consultant on World Bank PFM projects, and giving a series of lectures at different venues. These discussions covered a wide spectrum of topics and issues, from migration to acquiring skills for entering the labour market. Throughout this experience, I have sensed a genuine desire among young people to engage positively and actively in these discussions and evidence of showing change in attitude.
I have observed that many young people have not received adequate mentoring to prepare them for the harsh reality of life in Somalia. They face soaring unemployment rates and rampant corruption at all levels, including nepotism affecting employment opportunities, scholarships and access to training. Many young people who attempted and dared to participate in local elections were not given proper training to prepare for the responsibilities ahead. A notable example is the recent local elections in Puntland, where a significant number of young individuals joined local councils for the first time with the expectation and anticipation of earning good pay. However, the reality is that being a member of the local district councils doesn’t qualify you for a stable income, as it is considered a voluntary position that requires individuals to dedicate time to public service without expecting any financial compensation.
The young councillors were not informed that these roles are unpaid. This lack of communication often causes tensions between council members and the elected mayor in nearly every district. As a result, there have been several instances of councillors ousting the mayor through a vote of no confidence. This occurred in Bosaso, Galkio, and Waaciye districts, while Garowe and other cities have also acted at the last minute to avert the same fate, often influenced directly by the government.
The young people in Somalia have demonstrated the ability to engage in discussions about complex issues affecting the country’s future and overall direction. They emphasize the importance of upholding the Constitution, properly implementing federalism as the new law of the land, ensuring fairness in the recruitment process for government positions and providing skills training. Additionally, the topic of migration is significant for the youth, particularly regarding the risks associated with it.
Without a comprehensive and forward-thinking approach to address illegal migration and offer alternative opportunities for representation and advancement, efforts to limit their exodus or prevent migration will be ineffective and ultimately detrimental to the country.
Historically, Somali youth have always been at the forefront of the country’s independence movement. The thirteen (13) members of the Somali Youth League (SYL) are still remembered as the reference point for the role of young people in both the pre-independence movements and post-independence state-building efforts. Many of the first ministers in the new government were under 30 years old, and they performed remarkably well. Given the opportunity, Somali youth can match or even outperform their counterparts in Africa and beyond. British Colonel Gerald Hanley, in his famous book “Warriors: The life and death among Somalis”, notes that “their natural intelligence is second to none, and when the education factories start work among them, they should surprise themselves and the rest of Africa”[2].
The older generation should serve as a positive influence by instilling principles of fairness, responsibility, and equitable access to all opportunities, regardless of their gender, background or clan, in the youth. It is important to avoid relying on false promises and ineffective policies that exploit and misuse them. A critical issue is the adequate funding for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) centres to enhance their skills, as well as the establishment of mentoring programs to expand their horizons towards the country’s abundant and untapped resources and the wider world. Without proper induction, training and skills education, the younger generation risks becoming lost, similar to those who came of age during the civil war, which could lead the country into a perpetual state of being fragile.
Somalia needs informed and responsible youth to lead genuine and drastic social change, and without strong role models, young people are likely to make wrong choices, as we have seen in the country. The best way to prepare them for this leadership role is through education and by providing excellent role models who can set a positive example. Some of us clearly remember the establishment of an experimental polytechnic in 1970th, launched as part of the literacy campaign in Somalia, that successfully halved the country’s illiteracy rate. This initiative resulted from a bold and courageous bilateral cooperation agreement with some international partners. Within just over a decade, the Somali National University (SNU) supplied the country with thousands of professionals, including doctors, vets, engineers, agronomists, biologists, and mathematicians, all to be wiped out by the civil war.
It is painful to see that the youth recently s/elected to public office—whether as district assembly councillors, members of state and federal parliaments, or in the executive branch at all levels—have not performed any better than their predecessors in terms of corruption, lack of vision, and nationalism, as envisioned by our forefathers. In some stances, their performance has even been worse.
I attribute this failure to the older generation, including myself, for not fulfilling our responsibility towards the majority of this country, the youth and for failing to provide them with the right mentoring to improve. However, that does not absolve them of their own pitfalls.
My call now is to urge policymakers and the political leaders in the country to recognize that the ambitions and desires of the young generation should not be stifled, as they represent the majority in this country and are undoubtedly the leaders of tomorrow. They deserve to be prepared for this important role, which is why they should receive the mentorship and attention they do need and deserve.
Ali Haji Warsame MBA, CPA & CGMA
Email: ali.warsame@hiilinstitute.org
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Mr Warsame is the former Minster of education of Puntland State and the Executive Director – Hiil Institute for Governance
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Reference:
[1]Unemployable Graduates: The Plight of Somali Youth – WardheerNews
[2] Warriors: Life and Death Among the Somalis, by Gerald Hanley (Author)