Category: Sheikh Sharif ahmed

The FARMAAJO’S POPULIST PHENOMENON


OCTOBER 21,

President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo, like Donald J. Trump, is a populist thriving in symbolism, empty slogans on patriotism and revolutionary flavour. Farmaajo became the Prime Minister of Transitional Federal Government under Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed through the lobbying of family connections from Farmaajo’s wife.  He was born to a low-income family, unlike Trump, and raised in Mogadishu. His father, Farmaajo Senior, was a gate-keeper at Public Works Ministry in the civilian Somali government before it was overthrown by General Siyaad Barre of the same sub-clan of Mareexaan as Farmaajo. A military dictatorship, practising nepotism and cronyism gave Farmaajo’s family the first break from poverty. 

As young adolescent, Farmaajo junior and his playmates ran into legal problems. The family had persuaded the Military Despot to post this youth to Foreign Service in the Embassy of the Somali Democratic Republic in Washington DC, thus allowing him to escape from a criminal liability in Mogadishu. He was granted political asylum in the USA as the Somali Government had collapsed in January 1991.

Farmaajo’s formative years had witnessed public deceptive slogans of Siyaad Barre’s “Kacaan” (Revolution), and under-handed operations of the ruling family, whereby secret family consultations were held at night and decisions implemented during the day – frequently sending pre-eminent and public figures to jail in the wee hours of the night, many never coming back to their loved ones. This was widely and extensively practised throughout the existence of the dictatorship for twenty-one years.Thousands had perished in maximum security jails like “labaatan-Jirow”. Many others were purged and destroyed, while hundreds of thousands fled the country to all directions of worldwide for their own safety. Somalia now, even the under the occupation of thousands of foreign troops disguised as AMISOM, doesn’t send out such huge number of refugees, fleeing from repression by their own government as Siyaad Barre’s. Farmaajo has sympathy and antipathy for certain politicians and sub-clans in the country. This personal characteristic explains also his anti-federalist policies and attitude. Welcome to Confederalism! If that wouldn’t solve his problem for good, then only a psychiatrist could try to help him.

Young Farmaajo grew up in the atmosphere of a dictatorship, where kangaroo courts, hand-picked rubber-stamp parliament and personal fear for life, devoid of any civil liberties, were supreme daily occurrences. Unexplainable in Farmaajo’s strange populist phenomenon includes the fact that many young Somalis in the country and within the diaspora, ignorant of the country’s recent ugly history, are engaged in advocacy for N&N deceptive social media misinformation. The sudden erection and unmasking of nationalistic statues in Mogadishu these days to coincide with the anniversary of Siyaad coup d’etat, while the entire country is in dire situation, are powerful tools and deceptive political symbolisms par excellent by a demagogue. The whole exercise is to misdirect the people’s concerns with what is happening with Somalia-Kenya Maritime Dispute.

Fond of specious mask and using propaganda that he stood for the interest of the common man and country in an uninformed and gullible society, and portraying himself as a different patriotic politician, who was paying soldiers on time and caring for the veterans of 1977-1978 Ogaden War with Ethiopia, he rode on a strange phenomenon of rare populism in Mogadishu, and to some extent, Somalia.

His popularity in Mogadishu became apparent after he was unceremoniously fired by joint decisions of Sheikh Sharif Ahmed and Sharif Hassan Adan as result of what is known as the Kampala Accord.

Surprisingly, certain sections of Mogadishu residents led by Murursade, his wife’s sub-clan, employing the grievances of disabled War Veterans occupying Di Martino Hospital, and hired IDPs in Mogadishu camps, rose up in public demonstrations, decrying the dismissal of Farmaajo as the Prime Minister. Mogadishu politicians had noticed Farmaajo’s popularity phenomenon.

Competing factions within President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud Damul-Jadid Government were on loggerheads as who would replace just fired Prime Minister Abdiweli Sheikh, with Fahad Yassin and Farah Abdulkadir competing for influence. Farah Abdulkadir had won the battle, but not the war. Fahad’s anti-Hassan and anti-Farah political campaign had ended up Farmaajo’s win of the Presidency in 2017, when on the eve of the election night, nearly 60 MPs close to Daljir Party suddenly switched from Sheikh Sharif’s Presidential candidacy to Farmaajo’s.

Now that Farmaajo is the President of Somalia, all other branches of the government, the Parliament and Judiciary are as paralyzed as they were during the Regime of Siyaad Barre.This had resulted in total political stalemate in the country. It won’t stay that way. Something has to happen soon. We only pray for the better.


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Correction: an early version of this essay wrote incorrectly “Farmaajo’s election as President in 2016. “Daljir Party” was said to be the face of Union of Islamic Courts supported by Turkey. It was managed by Ahmed Moallim Fiqi during the presidency of Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, with the knowledge of Sheikh Sharif, who hooked them up with Turkey. Ahmed Fiqi briefly got appointed Chief of Staff at Villa Somalia before he was pushed out by Fahad Yassin.

A WORD OF PRAISE TO SOMALIA’S FORMER PRESIDENTS

October 18, 2019


They say, give the devil his dues. The former Somalia’s Presidents of the Federal Government, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, have become politically mature enough to keep engaged in Somali affairs, irrespective of their political ambitions to seek 2nd chance at the Federal Presidency. That is citizenship. They sought public service to a make a difference. They know they had left huge problems behind and figured out that they still could contribute to a better Somalia. The mere fact that they are still publicly engaged in to help resolve Somalia’s predicaments as active and enlightened citizens of Somalia is highly commendable. Compare them with Abdulqassin Salad Hassan and Ali Mahdi Mohamed. What do you say to that?


Also engaged and still  politically active is  former federal Prime Minister, Ali Mohamed Geedi. He deserves praise for still getting involved in fixing Somalia. Compare him with the two Abdiwelis, CCC and Saacid. Are they even comparable to him? I know they would say that they had had their term and they couldn’t meddle in other politician’s mandate. But, we all know that they are still politically as ambitious as Farmaajo and Khayre.


Former President of Puntland State, Senator Abdirahman Faroole, turned out to fare far better politically speaking, and in terms of good citizenship than the two Abdiwelis, CCC and Saacid combined. Would you argue?


In fact, one could argue that those politicians, who have turned out to be indifferent to Somalia’s plight and daily suffering and struggles of the citizens, after they were rewarded with the full trust of the masses in the highest offices of the land, were fake and selfish, in the first place. Do you agree? 

It is rather disappointing as it is surprising that even Abdirahman Abdishakur Warsame is doing a much better job in Somalia’s politics than a bunch of our former prime ministers and state presidents.


Have your say.


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ON JUBALAND, NOW MADOOBE FORCEFULLY RE-INSTALLED 3RD TIME,  WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?

October 13, 2019


So, Ahmed Madoobe is proclaimed President of Jubaland for 3rd time, now three times consecutively, in exchange for the destruction of Jubaland natural environment and perinnial rainforest, turning the entire vinicity and Kismayo Port black with coal ashes; with extremists still occupying entire Jubaland, save Kismayo City, which still enjoys the administration of warlordism and one-man show, with the extra security threat this time around to Somalia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity from Kenya at mercy of autistic-like political leader at the helm of the Federal Government of Somalia.


Was the whole purpose of Madoobe’s Inauguration involves in doing more harm to the causes of the residents of jubaland and Somalia under the incompetent, short-sided, selfish and vengeful leadership of Farmaajo-Khayre feeble and pity dictators? 


Where do we go now from here to try to fix this mess created by Farmaajo Team?


Read what the Ethiopian intellectuals and scholars are concluding on FGS, in their October 2019 CDRC DIGGEST Journal, Vol 4 No 4:


“This is similar to how the Islamic Courts Union dealt with their opponents to emerge as the sole power in Southern Somalia from 2005 until early 2007. Currently the SFG is facing a dual challenge: addressing the threats that Al-Shabaab poses on the one hand and asserting itself as the de facto and de jure government of the entire country and the federal member states on the other.


 It appears that the SFG has yet to show progress on both fronts. The assault it has waged on the FMS has created fault lines that Al-Shabaab is manipulating. The situation of the Sourhwest, Galmudug and Hir-Shebelle states and the strength that AlShabaab is showing indicate these fault lines. Puntland and Jubaland have survived the onslaught of the SFG and are reasserting themselves in their respective areas of control, although the SFG is trying to asphyxiate them, Jubaland in particular. But these confrontations will not help either the SFG or these contesting FMS, as resources spent on self-defense and attacks could have been used to strengthen each other against a common enemy”


Prime Minister Abyi Ahmed of Ethiopia has just won the Nobel Peace Price for job well done for the entire Region, while President Farmaajo is being accusing of dismembering his own country and allowing extremists to multiply and get bolder under his watch.


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ANOTHER TURNING POINT IN SOMALIA’S GOVERNANCE


October 11, 2019


Since the adoption of the Provisonal Charter of 2004, a political battle has been raging on between federalists and centralists. A turning point in that political war came to half-way win for the federalists in confronting then former FGS President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, who had eventually capitulated to the formation of Jubaland. That was a strong message to the centralists that the clock couldn’t be turned backed to the departing position of one city-state status.


President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and his team of Damul-Jadiid had no choice, but to rush up a centrally sponsored formation of Hirshabelle and re-invigrated Galmudugh, as there was a political panic among Hawiye, as they saw themselves being left behind as the rest of Somalia had embraced upon federalism.


The centralists, however, didn’t give up their political struggle to turn the tide of popular desire for decentralization, even after formation of federal member states of Southwest, Hirshabelle and Galmudugh. They had to think of another way to continue the fight against federalists. Since they assumed the Daroods were spearheading the new notion of federalism, they had to find a Darood leader willing to sacrifice his constituency, like Siyaad Barre, for the position of a nominal presidency in Somalia. They struck gold in President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo, a Mogadishu born politician of former military regime, whose italian nickname, Farmaajo (cheese), sounds sweet to the residents of Banadir.


Farmaajo, heavily promoted and advertised by centralists, once elected under limelight of popular welcome, immediately started a war against what was supposed to his own power-base in Somalia’s clan politics, just in the same manner his former late boss ran things from Mogadishu then, while trying very hard to unravel the gains of the 2nd Republic. The only difference is that Farmaajo had deceptively chased out even the Marehans to project an inital image that they too aren’t welcome in Villa Somalia.


Regardless of whether the recent Jubaland election was properly and legally conducted or not, the bigger issue was that the centralists were using Farmaajo in the same way they were using HSM then. It looks that Jubaland is another turning point, again, that Somalia resists the temptation to restore one city-state dictatorship. 


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THE DEBATE IS ON CONFEDERALISM NOW, NOT FEDERALISM ANYMORE.

October 9, 2019

Those, who are still talking about Federalism in Somalia are way behind the times. Federalism is history here, at least in the minds of Somali thinkers. That is because N&N Government managers have been interpreting federalism to mean nothing more than a dictatorship by a city-state in the same way former Somali leaders ruled, until the fall of the Military Regime in 1991.

The debate is now raging on, on how to implement a fair and reliable governance formula consistent with Somali values as confederal system.

Confederation is a term understandable to most Somalis as confederate clans existed throughout Somali history. Raxanweyn or digil&Mirifle, Isaaq, Cawl-Yahan of Ogaden etc, are all confederate clans respectively, not blood-related. They are purely political confederates – even Hawiye is a confederate of clans.

Now, we are debating on macro-confederates at state level based on Somali traditional history and anthropology to officially formulate confederalism as the most suitable system of government.

As a starting point, the Provisional Federal Constitution must be revised to reflect on that reality with constitutionally defined powers for the shared central authority and confederal member states.

The future prime ministers of the shared central authority of Somalia should come from confederal member states on rotational order at consultations of confederal member states and the shared Somali central authority. The President of the shared central authority should be elected by all confederal member states in a national electoral process through one-person-one-vote. Choosing one of the leaders of confederal member states includes in this arrangement. Example, Dubai Ruler, Sheikh Mohammed, is the Prime Minister of UAE.

Confederalism is a native idea whose time and yours have come at right moment. Seize it.

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N&N, FEDERAL CONSTITUTION AND COMMON SENSE

Garowe, May 28, 2019

A wiseman man once said that he had found out common sense was not so common.

That is a profound understatement, given the fact that one always encounters some people, who do not want to engage in normal mode of operation and common expectations of people. Some, for selfish ends and others out of personal echo that they don’t behave within the realism of normal human behavior in addressing issues of common interest that require collective approach to problem solving in regard to societal concerns. Very interesting topic, indeed, that needs expert help here.

Regarding Somali national issues, what do you think that presidents Sheikh Sharif Ahmed, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo have in common?

Have you noticed that they are all anti-federalism, anti-constitution, anti-regional developments, and they are all proponents of one City-state solution for Somalia’s state-building problems. Have you ever heard them talking about or promoting the provisions of the Federal Constitution from any of these presidents? Have you ever seen or heard them talking about regional development projects or promotion of decentralization of the powers of central state to the regions? But, why? Did you ask yourself why they all wanted to restore stronger Mogadishu and highly centralized authority, repeating the same grave mistake that brought Somalia down in the first place?

Multiple explanations for the malaise of these men abound. Let us count some of these narratives here:

1. They naively and innocently believe that having highly centralized state would solve all Somalia’s current predicaments.

2. They are all students of dictatorship and bent on being new authoritarians after Siyad Barre.

3. They are still lagging behind the people and didn’t get yet the notion that Somalia would never be the same again – that decentralization is irreversibly a defacto development than a dejure, a result of the Civil War. That leads to point (4):

4. They don’t have common sense to take all of the above into account as people expect of them.

Now you guessed it. That is why each of these presidents had problems working with federal member states, themselves imperfect. Why not, if they don’t want to respect the Federal Constitution with clearly enshrined provisions to work together as this is a federal republic with devolved powers.

That is why common sense is not so common. True statement.

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