Category: Politician

LOGIC OR CRITICAL THINKING?

N&N 2020 GENERAL ELECTION PLAYBOOK IS WELL UNDERWAY NOW

July 11, 2018
N&N Concept Note on Federal Election 2020 boils down to removing the carpet under the feet of leaders of the Federal Member States by-passing them to convey N&N message directly to the general public, especially to the youth. So far, the plan is working well.
The remaining hold-outs among the Heads of the Federal Member States are feeling the N&N political pressure now to either give in or get eliminated. The battle grounds are now shifting to Puntland and Jubaland. In the case of Puntland, there is still a political space for Puntland President Deni to maneuver as he was elected a half year ago for a 5-year Puntland mandate. Ahmed Madoobe of Jubaland is now fighting for survival. He is deeply entangled with vicious confrontation with leaders of N&N. How this would end up is everybody’s wild guess.
Prime Minister Khayre’s visit to Galmudugh and Northern Galkayo in an uncoordinated fashion with the local authorities tells volumes of information on how this political game will play out in the next few months and beyond. The plan has risk factors that could spark off renewable of the civil war. It is a daring political gamble. But, it seems to have the overwhelming support of youth in the country. And this is the very reason why N&N leaders are reluctant to approach politics as usual by ignoring community leaders, civil societies and local governments. These are to be undercut and undermined by talking to the people directly. That populalist political approach had made the election of Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo possible in 2016, to the surprise of those who regarded themselves political weights.
So far, no local politicians are equipped to deal with the N&N Concept on populalist agenda.This is how electioneering and political campaigns are conducted in democratic one-person one-vote elections. But, the Heads of Federal Member States are doing politics in the conventional Somali ways: clan politics. That is why they are losing battles one after the other. Puntland President Deni had underestimated Khayre’s recent visit to Galkayo by sending junior politicians to deal with the issue. The gathering yesterday in a North Galkayo stadium tells the rest of the story. But, the war has not been won or lost yet, and the final casualties are unpredictable.

SOMALIA: WONDERING GENERALITIES AND NO MEANINGFUL SPECIFICS

Annual subscription

$37.00

July 7, 2019
EDITORIAL
Politics and policies are boring when there are no benchmarks, no priorities and no defined policy objectives to achieve. When government actions are attended aimlessly with no standards, no monitoring mechanisms and no performance evaluation, it would amount to wondering in the dark, boring and dull existence for those required to discharge public responsibilities.
To complete the process of re-instating the failed state of Somalia, both the Transitional Charter and Federal Provisional Constitution had clearly defined the benchmarks to achieve, among them, the review of the Federal Constitution, establishment of Constitutional Commissions and timeframes to realize these constitutional and policy objectives.
Instead, you have a static condition, political paralysis and artificial gridlocks that had turned everybody cynical and hopeless among the general public.
There are reasons for this happening. When a selected Leader, MPs and the Cabinet came through vote rigging, vote buying, influence peddling and all inherent corruption manipulations to be where they are today, their next most concerns are how to recuperate the financial losses (investment), and return on investment, getting ready for the next vote-buying projects at expiration of their stints.
If the general public is too ignorant, uninformed and had lost faith in themselves that they could make any difference in their unenviable existence, not to mention about their inabilities and lack of community awareness to come together for collective political actions, then it becomes remote to do much in societies like Somalia.
This is what is wrong in Somalia. How long will it take for this society to get informed to act together on common purposes? Long time, you bet. The Chinese saying, however, has it that a 1000 steps journey starts with the first step.
So, let us start stepping up.
@ismailwarsane

THE ROAD TO DEMOCRACY THROUGH ONE CITY-STATE, DICTATORSHIP, WARLORD-ISM AND RELIGIOUS EXTREMISM IS ROUGH.

Annual subscription

$37.00

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.

Go back

Your message has been sent