Fruits from one tree

[wind.talker]

Unity Delivered on a Silver Plate Does not Come twice!

 

 

As much as I love Somali unity, stock must be taken of some hard facts. It cannot be denied that in the North there is self-administration and none elsewhere except for Puntland where there is a degree of self-governance. I can say this because I have been to the North not long ago. In November 2003, invited by a friend, I stayed in Hargeisa for a week. I went to school in Hargeisa during my teenage years. Beletweyn also was where my family and I lived and I attended primary schooling there during my childhood in the early 1960s. Here too is a city, like Hargeisa, for which I have profound attachment. And they are not the only such Somali cities.

 

During my visit I saw for myself the normality and progress that prevail in Somaliland. I say Somaliland because this is the name my brothers and sisters in the North have chosen. From life-long experience I must say the Northerners are largely very good people. They never deserved what they had been put through. Nor did the rest of our people in other parts of our country. I admire our people in the North for their unique qualities. They do not dwell on bitterness: especially when brought about by ignorance, ineptitude and misgovernance. Hargeisa today is populated not only by Northerners but also by Somalis from other regions. For instance, the main telephone company laying cables in the streets of Hargeisa is owned by someone from the Somali regions in Ethiopia.

 

Cynics, of course, may jump to the conclusion that my visit to the North was a kind of clan expedition to forge some cross-clan alliance: feel sorry for such individuals! They need to grow up! Throughout my weeklong stay in Somaliland, I was able to witness the perseverance and ingenuity of our people in the North. I understand what they are up against. Even so, I also recognise that whilst the whole of Europe (including the former communist states in Eastern Europe) is coming together to achieve the strength and benefits which unity brings, the world is reluctant to stomach the emergence of two, three or four impoverished Somali states all carved out from the defunct Somali ‘Democratic’ Republic. Betrayed by the rest of the country which has yet to deliver governance, and a world which does not recognise their efforts, this could well be a no-win situation. As a Somali who loves his people regardless of their clan origins, the North has my sympathy. On the other hand, I am ashamed of those who support warlords and others who prolong our statelessness. Such individuals undermine the emergence of a new Somali State by failing to outgrow clannism.

 

Clinging to old grudges and prejudices is not the way forward. Our brothers and sisters in the North may today possess governance based on self-administration. But a vision of nationhood, which is the basic requirement for statehood and its success, is surely lacking. Governance based on clan and not nation, suggests a fiefdom rather than a state. Governance based on one, two or even three clans will eventually fail.

 

During my stay in Hargeisa, among the number of intellectuals and civil servants I met was Minister Hussein Ali Duale, who, with his colleagues in the cabinet, is striving for the wellbeing of his people. I, for one, am torn between two strong feelings. By all means I feel a desire to help the Northerners in their progress. They deserve the encouragement of all Somalis for their development and self-governance. I’m more than pleased to be involved in the welfare and wellbeing of our ordinary people. And indeed, am involved in the setting up of a salt plant in Berbera which I trust will benefit Somaliland and the wider region. On the other hand I have always believed in the nationhood and unity of Somalia. Despite divisions emphasised by petty-minded leaders, warlords and clan politicians, we are the fruits of one tree. We have many things in common and very few differences. I am wholeheartedly for the re-institution of a Somali state in which there will be good governance based on fairness, equal opportunity, enlightenment and justice: a working system which can accommodate the real needs of our nation and deliver sustainable development.

 

If one day the issue of unity should resurface, it is clear that there has to be a complete cultural change in the idea of governance. It was the misrule of the past which drove the Northerners away and was the root-cause of the state’s demise since it could neither bring about good governance nor foster unity.

 

To ask the North to join a South where there is no functioning government is to ask someone to join in matrimony when there is no home to go to. Only when a proper Somali state is initiated which rights the wrongs of the past and brings about change, progress and hope for ordinary people, should the issue of unity re-surface. The North must continue to govern itself. If one day the rest of the country has a system with a better future for citizens, they may join. If not they will never and should never join. Unity is not out of charity. The best way to make it possible for Northerners to one day consider rejoining a future Somali State is by refraining from attacking their endeavours to govern themselves. Somali unity can never be achieved or maintained by force nor can it be attained by mere persuasion.

 

This text would be incomplete without saying one or two things to our foreign friends. Every nation needs and values foreign friends and even today the Somali nation is not without its share of good friends. They have our respect and gratitude for friendship especially in adversity. At the hour of trial only true friends stay constant. Nonetheless, our foreign friends, who like many of us have been frustrated by the folly of the many ‘peace conferences’ or by their dismal outcome should not despair.

 

Unity and trust, once lost have to be earned. It will take a visionary leader with a highly talented team to restore Somalia by establishing and developing governance that recovers trust and makes unity attractive once more. At the heart of that Government there must be probity and transparency. Unity on a silver plate does not come twice!

 

 

Abdullahi Dool

 

United Kingdom

 

Hornheritage@aol.com

 

 

 

 

Jamhuuriya Online