Garowe, June 13, 2019

Transition to democracy from the evils of one city-state, dictatorship, warlordism and religious extremism is fraught with despair and many disappointments along the way on the rough road.

In Somalia’s case, the journey had caused untold massive sufferings and havoc on all lives, particularly the most vulnerable, women, children, the weak and advancedly aged. But, the saddest of all is the lack of recognition and remorse for wrong-doing in such massive scale as it had happened in Rwanda and South Africa to heal the nation.

What does that mean to would-be a nation-state like Somalia? This is where despair sets in as there is no accountability of gross human abuses of yesteryears, which in turn, means that there is no guarantee that it wouldn’t happen again. With no accountability and genuine national reconciliation, there is no basis for coming together again for common nation-wide objectives.

Somali political leaders never understood why it has become difficult to revive the Somali State – the problem is not Al-Shabab. The problem is two-fold:

1. Mogadishu War Economy

2. Public Mistrust

Both have their root causes not only in the civil war, but also in the imposition of pseudo-socialism mode of production and political orientation by Somalia’s Military Junta of 1969-1991, where the population was compelled to fight for meagre resources available in the black market as the authoritarian regime abused the national economy and made it a crime to own personal produce and fruits of one’s labour. These abuses had only to intensify during the civil war, and still raging in Mogadishu. Business community there is predatory and unreignable by neither public institutions, weak and fledgling transnational governments, nor by invitation of more AMISOM troops to Mogadishu. They are hardest nuts to crack.

Mistrust among Somali clans is quite obvious to all, but nobody minds to address it. The political situation and thinking in the country sees the need for national reconciliation as taboo subject not to talk about. Taugh love! Let me say frankly that until we find moral courage to address the legacy and mayhem of the Civil War, our political leaders would be moving in vicious circles. The weak centre and peripheral regional states would always be in loggerheads, and blame and counter-blame would go on for ever. The IC and Somali foreigner partners have also found comfort in making rounds along these spirals of fictious circles for over three decades now. Taugh love too!

Welcome to the real world and realities on the ground in Somalia.