The Clan Rivalry Among Somalis Must End!

[SOO MAAL]

The Clan Rivalry Among Somalis Must End!

 

 

Like every other nation the Somali nation has its detractors and those who wish us ill. Forgetting that we have had a state since independence in 1960, our detractors label us Somalis, a collection of clans who are not a nation. What has happened to our nation could have happened elsewhere. But that is not the issue. The question is: Did we ourselves dispel or reinforce such stereotypical concept? By taking part in clan gatherings and encouraging the feeble notion of clan-based governance, haven’t our people themselves played into the hands of those who dismiss us as a collection of clans? The challenge is: Can the one-nation Somalis live together without malice and rivalry like everybody else?

 

Clan-based governance is from a different era in the vicinity of 15th century. Anyone who wants things done will look for competence not clan. Establishing a functioning state for Somalia is a case of, who can shoulder the burden of reviving governance in our broken society? There is no individual who represents any clan. People are individuals. In a clan-based government what is represented is neither nation nor clan. What is being represented is ego so that clan members can say so and so from my clan is in the government. In the end only precious time is wasted and nothing is achieved. To the bemusement of other nations, nowhere on this planet are there such things as clan-based governance, clan-based constitution or institutions, except in transitional Somalia. Why then are such time-honoured practices found in contemporary Somalia and not in any other nation? Somalis are a gifted people. Unfortunately, since 1991 Somalia has fallen into the hands of unprincipled individuals. If clan-based governance has no use why did the world invest in clan-based gatherings? The world does not make or choose leaders for any nation. If a nation chooses Ali Baba as leader, the world will roll out the red carpet to honour a nation by honouring its leader.

 

Clan-based government came to Somalia in 2000. In an era of civil war, it seemed the solution for Somalis to share power on clan basis. Unfortunately a system based on clans splitting positions is chaotic and unworkable because every clan has sub-clans and every sub-clan has subdivisions. Many of us knew all along that it was a waste of time and an unmitigated disaster. Some of us have also stoically waited until the day when the rest of the nation would arrive at a similar conclusion. Unfortunately, no one has envisaged the bandwagon of clan-based utopia would simply roll on without end. Ultimately, the losers are the country and the people. The question is: How can Somalia achieve a representative government without clans splitting positions the same way nomads split up the meat of a slaughtered camel in the open savannah? Only a responsible leadership can ensure a representative government.

 

Our history is our history. Part of that history is our history with our neighbours. A common history is an important factor for the establishment of nationhood. Needless to say, without nationhood there can be no state. If we manipulate our history, how is that going to help the revival of nationhood in Somalia? For that reason it is fair to say Ethiopia is not Nigeria and Somalia is not Sierra Leone. For too long we may have allowed the pillaging and statelessness of our own homeland, but Somalia is neither an abandoned backyard nor a country without its people. There were a number of factors which culminated to the intervention of Ethiopia in December 2006. For starters, no leadership can be without analytical capability to assess situations; otherwise, it will be a leap in the dark. A dangerous game has been played in the region’s geopolitics which angered world powers and resulted in the intervention of Ethiopia in Somalia. Ethiopia too saw the involvement of her warring rival Eritrea in Somalia, a dangerous development. There are lessons to draw. (1) We Somalis are the ones responsible to put our own house in order. (2) It is never in our interest to become part of conflicts in our region or the wider world. (3) We should not allow anyone to use the nation to threaten anyone near or far. (4) To stand as a nation we should end division and seek the unity of our people. (5) In 2009 what we need is a clean slate: a new mandate to ensure a new direction to end clan-based governance and stalemate in Somalia. (6) In 2009, we should look for a new leadership which can turn the mangled hopes and aspirations of the Somali people into reality.

 

In Somalia, the use of Ethiopia for political gain is not new, and has been endemic in our recent history. In January 1991 the government of Colonel Mengistu Haile Mariam of Ethiopia was instrumental in the overthrow of the government of President Mohamed Siyad Barre. Throughout the 1980s, all Somali opposition movements were operating from Ethiopia. The then Marxist government in Ethiopia was also using our people to further her strategic interests to finish off Somalia. The consequence has been the collapse of Somalia followed by two decades of mayhem and anarchy. In December 2006, with the help of Ethiopia, the transitional federal government (TFG) fought its way to Mogadishu when it was denied to establish itself in its own capital since its formation in Kenya in 2004.

 

It is neither in our interest nor is it right for Ethiopia to remain in Somalia. Unfortunately, in Somalia those behind the violence are causing not only death and destruction but also making it impossible for Ethiopia to quit Somalia. The fear of Ethiopia is, once it has exited Somalia the dynamics and circumstances which have instigated intervention will return back in the country. Ethiopia also takes the view that her exit from Somalia is victory for Eritrea. It was also alleged that fanaticism was taking root in Somalia and fanatics were seeking alliances with groups in other parts of the world. This was deemed at the time a serious security threat to countries in the region and powerful nations of the world.

 

This is a different world. Leadership requires moving with the times. In today’s world the use of terrorism takes away legitimacy and support from those who employ it. In order to change the course of the Somali nation, violence is never the solution. What about those who would say ‘blood is the only price to pay for freedom’? The complex nature of the crises in Somalia requires a different solution. In the world of post-9/11, fanaticism and terrorism have shot up in the watch list of global powers to the canopy. Somalia was a forgotten nation until 2006. Even the Tamil Tigers, who are struggling for freedom in Sri Lanka, are now in the list of terrorist organisations. Terrorism of any cause is seen as evil. The provisional republican IRA which has sensed the shift in attitude and perception had to abandon and relinquish the use of terrorism for its cause as unprofitable. For the IRA, the days of the balaclava are over. The days of grabbing the AK-47, Russian assault rifle, to struggle for emancipation are long gone. Indiscriminate killing and bombing may work in the short term but such actions are counterproductive. Obviously, anyone who encourages our people to use violence does not know what is happening in the world around us. We must stress that what will send Ethiopia out of Somalia are not bombs and bullets but something else: the unity of the Somali people and a bit of patience.

 

The stewardship of politics is not driven by emotion but pragmatism and constructiveness. A peaceful coexistence is mutually beneficial for all. There is no need to fight with our neighbours nor is there a cause to occupy one another’s territory. Conflicts bring only calamitous consequences and in most cases prevent peaceful resolution. In 1982 Argentina went to war with Britain over the Falkland Islands and lost. As a consequence it brought social and economic devastation. In 1984 mighty China gained Hong Kong from the United Kingdom not by waging conflict but through years of negotiation and patience. Another example is the Palestinian issue. The Palestinians have established their PA (Palestinian Authority) on land returned by Israel as a result of the Oslo peace accord. The Palestinians should have built peace with their neighbour. They should have never allowed violence to scrubber their chances to establish their own state and the return of their remaining land. Impatience and lack of leadership to reign in the violence is costing them dearly. Anyone who loves the Palestinians will tell them to stop resorting to violence. It is playing into the phobia of their neighbour. The violence is also playing to the stereotype that they are not peace-loving neighbours. By abandoning them to their devices, the Arab League too does not seem to have a say or an influence on Palestinian affairs. The best way to resolve conflict is to engage through peaceful means. Negotiations are by far the best way to settle disputes.

 

We have allowed the pillaging of Somalia go on unstopped for 16 years. In life your next door neighbour will only stay away from your affairs when you trim your hedge and run your household effectively. If you leave the grass on your lawn unkempt, you leave the door of interference wide open. An abandoned home which has been left open is an invitation to intruders. We need to reverse the trend of self-destruction in our society. We need to take charge of our affairs and care enough to look after our own. Our nation’s fragility is the work of individuals who use clan to divide. Corrosive clannism is responsible for the collapse as well as statelessness of Somalia. Privately, it doesn’t matter if Somalis are clans. But the removal of clannism from politics and governance is a must. It is a matter of life and death for Somalia. The removal of clannism from public life will not happen by chance, nor will it happen from the bottom up. A clannised society cannot rid itself the malaise. A Russian proverb says: the fish rots from the head. Clannism in Somalia is from the top. Only a visionary leadership which is committed to the wellbeing and progress of the nation can rid it from Somalia. A bad political culture such as clannism can only got rid of through leadership by example! The public will always know who is appointed to where and why! There is no way a chain-smoking doctor can tell the patient to quit smoking. When the leadership is clean of clannism, the common man will have no reason to cradle it.

 

There is, of course, a difference between the notion of clans and nationhood. The notion of clans is one of everyone belonging to the village of their ancestors and sticking to it. But a nation consists of individuals who originate from different villages, towns, cities and regions. Today, Somalis are being born in almost every country between the North and South Pole. However, even creatures such as goats, cats and donkeys are born in a country. That doesn’t make them humans. Anyone can be born in a country. A foreigner who is committed to our national cause can become a worthy citizen. There are a number of things which no one chooses. There is no one who chooses one’s parents, one’s nation and where one is born. Such things are decided long before one arrives in life. Yet in politics one may choose where one wants to serve: hometown, region or nation. To lash out at nationals because of their birthplace is to be a village boy and lack personal development. None of us has chosen to be born Somali. We are Somalis by birth not because of a birthplace.

 

State-building has no room for petty thinking. It is time we have stopped thinking small. We have come a long way from being confined in petty boxes of clans, villages, towns and regions. There is a growing need to discard divisive clan boxes (the ZIP code) which locate us in separate camps. The clan ZIP code is costing us dearly. Throughout the Somali society we need to discourage and disallow evils such as clannism, regionalism and xenophobia. They are bad for development. Who wants his child who was born in the Diaspora and who was endeavouring to make a difference back home to be discriminated against simply because he or she was not born in Somalia? The vision of nationhood allows us to foresee such bumps and potholes which lie on the road ahead. In new Somalia, what is most important should be the commitment of the individual to the nation and what he or she can offer. Deng Hsaio P’ing, the Chinese statesman who helped China embrace free market economy, has once said, “It doesn’t matter if the cat is black or white as long as it catches mice.”

 

In every nation there are individuals who bring glory or shame. Somalis who have given exemplary service to the nation hail not only from any particular community but from across the nation. However, the Somali region in Ethiopia has produced some of the individuals who have enriched, struggled or built the Somali nation. The Somali region has given birth to personalities such as Sayid Mohamed Abdulle Hassan, known for his struggle for nationhood, Qaman Bulhan, known for his enrichment of Somali literature; Wiil Waal, known for his wisdom, courage and communal leadership. These are some of the individuals who have rendered invaluable service to our culture, identity and nationhood. At a time when the Somali nation is beset by disservice, there is the need to remind ourselves of those who have dedicated to the service of the nation. We call the Somali region because it is the right thing. What we want is the unity of Somalis not their division into clans. If we encourage division, we are hampering, not helping the nation? No divided people have ever achieved a thing and no one clan alone can achieve much on its own. Individuals who believe the cause is best served after the name of one clan are to say the least, short-sighted. Even if 99.9% of our people in the Somali region were from only one clan, still the name should have been Somali. Which clan is bigger than the Somali identity to which we all belong? Why are contemporary Somalis so obsessed with clan and not the nation? It is only the Somali identity which can ensure our people’s wellbeing, common good and common destiny. The confusion around Somali affairs is because of individuals who are merely adding to the bewilderment. Perception is not reality. What one perceives is not necessarily the case.

 

We come to the important issue of allegiance. People the world over harbour deep love for their country. Some even kiss the dust of their homeland. In the civil war era, our people are generally suffering from divided loyalties to clans, sub-clans, regions, etc. The nation’s ordeal will end the day our people place country above clan. In some of us, Somalia has such a commanding hold and power in our heart. If we are to succeed as a nation, our allegiance should be to nation and not to clans or regions. Needless to say, let us not forget that Somalia was not destroyed by individuals who were born in faraway places. I mention these facts for the purpose of national accountability so that the new society we strive to build stands the test of time and never again suffers destruction and humiliation.

 

In South Africa, the blacks have been subjected to age-old injustices under the apartheid system. It was because of the grace and the positive nature of Nelson Mandela that the blacks and whites in South Africa live side by side in peace and harmony for their own sake and for the sake of their nation. The South Africans have moved on, drawing a line under their past. In Somalia even though we are all Somalis who are of the same race, religion and culture and all speak the same language, there was discrimination directed against a section of our own people based on unfounded and unnecessary reasons. In a modern society discrimination is unacceptable. Ironic as it may seem, the section that were discriminated against did not allow discrimination to destroy them or their lives. They are very positive people. A positive attitude is a must-have tool of survival. Wronged Somalis from this section are neither bitter nor blighted by grievances. I know a number of individuals from this community whom we go back as school or class-mates. Many also possess another precious quality: good attitude!

 

Attitude is a small, yet a very important commodity. Attitude and behaviour are the two things which give away the person behind the individual. It is how people behave and what they say which tells who they are. One may argue, anyone can display an elaborate show of best behaviour. But the question is: For how long? Nothing becomes what it is not. Needless to say, there are also individual Somalis who harbour grievances based on perceived or imagined injustices. The healing of these individual Somalis is very important. To begin with, what such individuals need is to be positive. They need to be reminded that in every society there are unfair and undignified individuals who demean and scar those they come in contact with. The behaviour of such individuals should not be perceived as that of a whole people. Every community has its own killjoy. Negative individuals exist everywhere. They represent no one but themselves. It is very unfortunate if the behaviour of such individuals is construed as that of a whole community. Negative individuals who spoil things for others should not make anyone bitter. They should be seen for what they are. They are damaged individuals. Their behaviour is a cry for help. In new Somalia discrimination against anyone should be seen for what it is: unjust, unacceptable and illegal. A society is based on the principle of ‘give and take’ of its people and never to rock the boat. Everyone has to do his or her bit for the sake of the nation and no-one should undermine anyone to get ahead, get what they want or overturn injustice.

 

Crime is crime. There are no good and bad crimes. There are no nice and bad atrocities. All atrocities are heinous. We need to abhor all crimes committed against Somalis, no matter who carried them out or to which clan they belong. How can we re-establish nationhood if there are different perceptions and attitudes towards crimes which have been committed against fellow Somalis? Are the crimes committed in the 1990s good crimes because they were committed against other sections of our society? Because of clan, are there blind spots to some atrocities? For instance, what makes a former leader guilty and not his own ministers or allies from other clans? The continued attack on former President Mohamed Siyad Barre and other officials is clearly clan-motivated. We should either abhor all atrocities or even better forgive them all for the sake of reconciliation. To move on we need to draw a line under a difficult past. The word of the angels is forgiveness. We need to forgive our leaders, past and present. We also need to forgive the warlords. Nothing is more important than the future of the nation. The only way a troubled nation can cut its losses is to embark on a path of healing based on forgiveness. That way we can move forward without the burden of the past holding us back. We can draw a lesson from the past or let the past destroy us and the nation. We need to move on to strive for a better tomorrow.

 

The healing of the Somali nation is very important. We need to embark on a road to mend the whole nation. Our broken nation is suffering from trauma and it remains in a deep hole which is getting deeper. The hole is being dug and deepened by self-serving persons both in the South and the North. What we need is not to add to the nation’s woes but to limit and cut our losses. The role to roll back anarchy is not for ‘the little men’ whose obsession is to divide, harm and injure Somalis in the North and the South. The Somali nation is in need of a different leadership which has other priorities: not persons whose main preoccupation is to gain and keep power and privileges at any cost and at the expense of the nation. What we need is the leadership which can heal and look after the nation and pass the mantle on so that the nation can keep progressing. In Africa, to take power is to remain there as if there is no purpose or life after power. Power needs renewal through injection of new blood. The hen which makes the habit of remaining on her eggs will kill her chicks and not prosper them. A leader who indefinitely remains in power will only destroy his legacy and all that has been achieved under his watch. In politics (especially in politics) there is time to come and time to go and move on. Power is never one’s own kiosk.

 

Another issue is the issue of Somaliland. Northern Somalis are our people. We belong together. They are our own brothers and sisters. They are important to us. They too have their say and role in the nation. Their frustration is understandable. Good things come to those who wait. Our people need to look beyond today. In the developed world no one has time for lamenting over recent incidents let alone things in the past. The past is important for reflecting and learning from. What is most important are now and tomorrow. What is the point of wallowing about how the past was spoiled by another generation? A victim is an individual who dwells in the past. The past is not ours. But the future is. It is in our hands. It is up to us what we make of it. Let us make it bigger and better. Let pessimism, hopelessness and suspicion give way to renewed hope, optimism and a better and brighter future. Let us get things right the next opportunity.

 

Good and evil can be planted like seeds. The incitement of hatred, division and conflict are planting seeds of evil. Let us plant not evil but goodness within Somalis. We cannot rise to the challenges facing the nation when our people continue to watch one another like sworn and unrelenting enemies. The media can play an important role to heal and mend the nation. We need our media to promote harmony, goodness and brotherhood rather than conflict, division and rivalry among Somalis. One of the main responsibilities of the national press is to fight evil and not encourage or feed it. In the Internet there are nearly eight hundred Somali websites catering to all sorts of services. Let us channel the valuable energy of our people to good use. Goodness is contagious which can create a feel-good factor. Let us help turn a new era. Let the infighting end.

 

The people of Puntland and Somaliland are brothers and sisters who belong to one and same nation. They are neighbours who live next to one another. Ethnic and geographical proximity should not be a curse but a blessing. Why fight over nothing? Our people cannot continue to fight one another like ferrets in a cage which lack the wisdom to live together and have to constantly bite one another. Somaliland and Puntland have everything to gain by working together to prosper those under their administration. Undermining one another will not serve anyone or any purpose. It is time to end feuding and loathing. In every society there are individuals who thrive on division and tension. Our job is not to fuel but put out flames set by small men in positions of power who benefit from conflict. Our fight is not with one another. The fight on our hands is for the very existence of the Somali nation. The enemy of our nation are those who seek its division. We need to put all our efforts to end division and rivalry among Somalis.

 

The strategy Ethiopia has been pursuing in Somalia is short-sighted. Who gave the guarantee that the division of the Somali people is eternal? Since 1993, Ethiopia has been interfering in the affairs of Somalia. Many Somalis suspect the architects of her strategy towards Somalia are probably old-hand (experts) from the school of the era of Emperor Menelik II, who ruled Ethiopia from 1889 to1913.[1] Their strategy is probably based on the maxim: crush your enemy by division and dismemberment while he is down so that he no longer poses threat. This is a small world in an ever smaller planet. In this modern age neighbours need not be at one another’s throat. Nothing is more lethal than warring neighbours. Proximity makes hellish conflict. One’s neighbour is there, going nowhere. The habitat is affecting equally. Neighbours have nothing to gain from conflict. Yet they have everything to gain from working together towards a stable, peaceful and prosperous region.

 

It is very unfortunate, now we also have individuals who seek to fight occupation, using clan and not nation. Can’t we ever come up with anything different? Somalia is not an issue for one community. This is a national issue. This is not the way to go about the business of a nation. If we continue to act like countryside folks on the national platform as well as the international stage, we will have to forget about nationhood and governance. Perhaps we need to check if our behaviour has not been the reason for 17 years of statelessness? What can one clan achieve on its own? Do we really want any section of our people to be targeted and labelled as the source of unrest in the country? Why then are our people (many of them in developed countries) acting and behaving thoughtlessly? Perhaps we need to remind ourselves that we would never have been in this predicament had we as a nation been kinder to one another rather than at one another’s throat.

 

A lot of suffering has been inflicted on the Somali people. The pain of any Somali is our pain. It touches us all. We cannot be Somalis and at the same time not feel pain at the misery of any Somali. One’s nation is similar to one’s body. You cannot switch off the pain of any part. This is a time when there are countless issues of utmost importance and urgency facing the nation. Sadly, because of the division it is hard for Somalis to see things eye to eye as one nation. A divided nation is a weak nation. Rather than working together to emerge out of the woods of mayhem, some individuals are still busy propelling clan issues to secure clan domination. They work in tandem, not for Somalia but to further clan interests. We do not like what they do, but we love them. After all they are fellow Somalis. You cannot cut off your nose to spite your face. It is time they got their act together. It is time everyone realised that to work for clan interests is to work against your own nation and its interests. The Somali people are in desperate need of governance, not any government but one which will look after them and their interests. That government can only be an inclusive government which serves and benefits all. It is incumbent on all Somalis to help end anarchy and statelessness which is eating away at the fabric of the nation.

 

There are Somalis who camp in the bushes for fear of their lives. Somalis who flee from instability and hopelessness continue to die on the high seas by the boatload. However, we sense the curtain is coming down on the nation’s darkest era of anarchy. The ending era of mayhem had no legs to stand on. It was as fake and false as plastic. It had no heroes or role models. However, praise where praise is due! There are a few doctors who struggle to save lives with little resources in rundown hospitals in our capital. They are angels in a sea of mayhem. The Somali people have waited too long for the arrival of a good government in Somalia. The wait of our people will be rewarded. The task of leading a broken nation is about sweat, tears and toil. For a morally vibrant person, the incentive for shouldering the heavy burden of a broken nation can only be: the call of duty, love of country and to fix things. Tell that to individuals who go anywhere, ally with anyone, grease any wheel and blow any trumpet for selfish ends. Such individuals have neither the comprehension nor the capability to form a government let alone a good one. Their concern is not the suffering millions and those who camp in the bushes but to quench their greed and line up pockets. They will waste only more precious time. A nation’s collective time is very precious. It is only the Somali people who can choose a future free from conflict, rivalry and warlords. For those of us who love Somalia and want a new direction which can lead to the formation of a functioning and prospering nation, the rendezvous is 2009. Violence will not get us there. Violence does not re-build a nation in ruins. Violence only makes one lose what one has. The Somali nation needs to rein in divisive individuals who incite conflict. Hatred is a terrible illness which can kill its owner. The only treatment for a sick mind is to empty hatred from the mind. For some individual Somalis clan has replaced nation. Some who incite hatred also forge unholy clan-based alliances against other Somalis. Their blinding hatred makes them see fellow Somalis not as their own people but like members of another enemy nation. Every Somali has his or her place within the nation. We need to accept each other and accommodate one another. We have everything to gain from unity, harmony and brotherhood. We can only stand up to the challenges of the nation when we put a stop to the rampant suspicion and hatred within our people. Remain divided and the Somali nation will lose out. It is time to end the division and clan-rivalry. The childish need for clan supremacy too has to stop. The ugly evil of ethnic rivalry has struck again. In January 2008, our neighbour, Kenya, is smouldering as a result of tribal rivalry.[2] We are only too aware how painful this must be. We wish our neighbour Kenya harmonious coexistence among its people.

 

In 2009 the Somali people should be prepared to take the destiny of our nation. It is high time clannish thinking is replaced by thinking for the nation. The message to our people is unite! It is never going to be easy to bring Somalia back from the dead but it does not await anyone else. This year, 2008 will end with little or no progress for the nation. In 2009, our sternest challenge is to change our country’s direction and embark on a journey to raise the nation from the floor. We can have leaders who can sort the problems of the nation or as always suck up to individuals who make things worse. It pays for a nation when its people care about their country. A serious fight is on our hands. The fight is over the future of the nation. This is a fight we cannot lose. What we are striving for is a lasting common future for the nation as a whole. The choice is between our country becoming a nation capable of looking after its own people and affairs or an insignificant nation relegated to oblivion. A lasting common destiny is a cause worth fighting for. What we want is not the return of old Somalia but a new Somalia which is neither a threat to itself nor to its neighbours: a nation-state which every Somali can be proud of!

 

Notes

1. Guide to Ethiopia 2004.

2. Unlike one-nation Somalia, Kenya has multi-ethnic groups (tribes).

 

Abdullahi Dool