Emotional biography of President Hassan Sheikh Mahamud

[Timur]

Not more than an hour ago from this moment Somalia walked away from 21 years of civil war and the complete absence of central governance. A heated electoral race between the final four candidates left Somalia’s former president against a dark horse who would go on to win the last round by a landslide in what would usher in the rebirth of the Somali Republic.

 

The man declared president today was a stranger just the night before. He came from humble roots and for the duration of the civil war paid no mind to politics and kept his focus on serving the people of his broken nation.

 

Professor Hassan Sheikh Mahamud was born in 1955 in the farming town of Jalalaqsi, in Somalia’s central Hiiraan province, where he would complete his basic religious and secular education. In 1978, Hassan Sheikh left his small community and moved to the bustling Somali capital Mogadishu to obtain a post-secondary education.

 

After three years at the Somali National University, he completed his undergraduate requirements and obtained a degree. Upon exiting the Somali National University he left his country for India to further his education with the hope of one day returning to serve his people.

 

In 1988, Hassan Sheikh received a Master’s Degree from Bhopal University, but his plans to return to Somalia were shattered by the outbreak of an abrupt and brutal civil war. For the years following, he would only hear about his beloved Somalia through news reports describing it in worsening terms with every passing season.

 

After a brief exile, Hassan Sheikh left the comfort and security of Indian cosmopolitan life and put his professional development on hold to serve the dire needs of his people back home. He joined the United Nations Children’s Fund in 1993 as the director of their education program in the central and southern regions of Somalia; at the time and still today the hardest-hit regions of the country by conflicts and famine. He had only the desire of delivering a curriculum and a sense of normality to the war-weary youth of the country.

 

In 1999 Hassan Sheikh took his love of learning to a new level when he co-founded the Somali Institute of Management and Administration (SIMAD) with like-minded individuals in the turbulent capital Mogadishu. Simad University, as it would be known, would later grow into becoming a leading educational institution in Somalia.

 

He stayed with Simad University, first as a professor and later as the dean of faculty until his departure in 2010. The following year, Hassan Sheikh turned his attention to the political activism after the announcement of national elections originally slated for August 2011 and founded the Peace and Development Party, which he would serve as chairman to this day.

 

For twenty years Professor Hassan Sheikh Mahamud educated young Somalis across the country at the cost of his own time, health, and property. When it was wise to wait the war out in a distant land, he flew home to Somalia. When the entrepreneurial and intellectual strongmen of the Somali nation were jumping ship to stake out new opportunities overseas, he sought solace in relieving the anguish of his people. And even when powerful powerful warlords and politicos were fleeing with their own caravans full of wealth and influence, he chose to stand his ground and build towards a better day for all Somalis.

 

The good professor’s cooperative work with the Al-Islah philanthropy network has helped build primary schools, secondary schools, universities, and research hospitals in almost every one of Somalia’s 18 provinces. The combined efforts of Hassan Sheikh and his close colleagues has placed hundreds of thousands of young Somalis in competent educational facilities across the country, while providing scholarships to students wishing to further their schooling.

 

Though he is one among many, Professor Hassan Sheikh Mahamud is nothing short of a hero. And to have a man of his quality leading Somalia is either the greatest and most random stroke of luck for the downtrodden Somali nation, or simply a miracle from Almighty God.

 

Our gentle professor has given the youth their right to an education, and the moment has come for him to give service to the rest of Somalia. On this day, no other man or woman among Somalis is more worthy of our respect, praise, and attention than President Hassan Sheikh Mahamud.

 

Prof. Mahamud has sacrificed his entire professional career to provide the gift of knowledge to young men and women in Hargeisa, Kismayo, Mogadishu, Bosaso, Beletweyn, Galkayo, and elsewhere he and his colleagues could profess. Now it is time for him to receive warmth and attentiveness from the people whose advancement he has devoted his life.

 

The Somali people salute you, our dear professor. Sleep well in your new home, for we will be at your service come the next morning. God bless Hassan Sheikh Mahamud, the most righteous heir to the democratic throne of Somalia.

 

DissidentNation.com

 

http://dissidentnation.com/profile-of-somalias-newly-elected-president/

After reading this I am fully convinced he is the right man for the job, not simply for his qualifications, but because of his character as a man. Indeed may Allah bless our president.

[General Duke]

I have been reading his biography and work. I must say the right man won. Somalia needs a man like him to bring back dignity to governance. I am touched by this man, his work history, his dedication and I am truly thankful to Allah that after all these years I witnessed such an event.

 

This morning I was shocked when the warlords where entered into the Peoples House. I was alarmed and bewildered that all the hard work to end the transition would come to naught. However at the end of the election I was clapping and nearly in tears when our Parliment choose to stand with justice and elected this man.

 

Masha Allah, what a great day to be a Somali...

[Isra]

Thanks for the english bio - seems like an interesting person - good luck to you all.

[Tillamook]

Awesome dude indeed. Now anyone up for visiting Jalalaqsi with me?

 

The election of President Hassan Sheikh is good because he is a very educated man who has already proved his mettle working all those years in our war stricken country when like many he could have done the cowardly thing and escaped to a life of safety amongst the Diaspora communities around the world. More than anything this will ensure legitimacy in the eyes of the people inside Somalia who definitely see him as one of their own instead of a diaspora lover of ease.

 

May Allah protect him and Allah protect Somalia.

[Polanyi]

No detAILS of of where the "professor" got his PHD?

[Timur]

Polanyi;867732 wrote:

No detAILS of of where the "professor" got his PHD?

Did you even read it? Nowhere in the article does it say he earned a PhD.

[Maaddeey]

Tmor, waa kaa qaldan tahay, Ictisaam aka Itixaad iyo Islaax waa arch enemies.

[Polanyi]

^^ In most countries the title " professor" is reserved for people with phd honours. I know another dude who has a masters degree and is involved in somali politics ; he is also being called a professor by clan media. Maybe this guy became professor after years of teaching at MOQ university? In any case, i believe some SOmalis are taking the dignity from this title. If everyone with a masters becomes professor we will have the most professors in the world.

[Timur]

Maaddeey;867735 wrote:

Tmor, waa kaa qaldan tahay, Ictisaam aka Itixaad iyo Islaax waa arch enemies.

The post was taken from an article.

 

I believe you are wrong here though. Al-Ictisaam is peace-loving, and only contains a few Al-Itixaad elements. In Puntland, Al-Ictisaam works together with Al-Ictisaam. And the Al-Islaax supporters in Garowe and Bosaso call themselves Al-Ictisaam, I am not sure if it happens in Xamar too. When Al-Itixaad broke apart, some of their members even joined Al-Islaax, but that does not mean they run the whole organization.

[Timur]

Polanyi;867736 wrote:

^^ In most countries the title " professor" is reserved for people with phd honours. I know another dude who has a masters degree and is involved in somali politics ; he is also being called a professor by clan media. Maybe this guy became professor after years of teaching at MOQ university? In any case, i believe some SOmalis are taking the dignity from this title. If everyone with a masters becomes professor we will have the most professors in the world.

That custom only exists in Canada and the United States. In most of Europe, the legal title professor is reserved for those who hold the position.

 

Also, Xasan Sheekh is not called professor as a legal title, it is just what affectionate people refer to him by since he was an academic leader for most of his adulthood.

[Abtigiis]

Not overly qualified, but the man somalia wanted for sure. He didnot run when things were bad. He stayed behind and that is the key. He knows the issues Somalia is facing from his own experience.

[Timur]

Abtigiis;867740 wrote:

Not overly qualified, but the man somalia wanted for sure. He didnot run when things were bad. He stayed behind and that is the key. He knows the issues Somalia is facing from his own experience.

His greatest qualification, and to me the most important by far, is the fact that he stayed with Somalia throughout the civil war. This man was already a shepherd of the people, declaring him president is not needed to validate his credentials as a leader.

 

A lot of people are skeptical about this man, understandably, but one look at his record and it's obvious that this level of leadership was designated for individuals like him.

[Abtigiis]

Staying in Somalia doesn't prove anything about the man's convictions. There are thousands like him who stayed behind. What matters is whether he stayed because he found his best life opportunities at home or whether he sacrificed better opportunities abroad to stay put. We don't know that, and therefore we can not get overboard with this sentimental 'man of the people' mantra. Still, he is good person, I am told and that is enough. But to carve a saint out of this man is not fair. What if he was at home because that is where his skill set kept him? Would he have turned down an African Development Bank job in Tunis or a UN post in Geneva? I am not suggesting he wouldn't, but....please!

[Timur]

Abtigiis;867747 wrote:

Staying in Somalia doesn't prove anything about the man's convictions. There are thousands like him who stayed behind. What matters is whether he stayed because he found his best life opportunities at home or whether he sacrificed better opportunities abroad to stay put. We don't know that, and therefore we can not get overboard with this sentimental 'man of the people' mantra. Still, he is good person, I am told and that is enough. But to carve a saint out of this man is not fair. What if he was at home because that is where his skill set kept him? Would he have turned down an African Development Bank job in Tunis or a UN post in Geneva? I am not suggesting he wouldn't, but....please!

We aren't comparing him to the thousands of others, it was only he who went up against Sharif.

 

Like I said, the review on this man is far from complete, but from what we know so far he deserves the benefit of the doubt in support of his actions. His race and the symbolism that his victory means is enough to start inking his legacy.

[Abtigiis]

Timur;867743 wrote:

His greatest qualification, and to me the most important by far, is the fact that he stayed with Somalia throughout the civil war. This man was already a shepherd of the people, declaring him president is not needed to validate his credentials as a leader.

What you wrote here suggests Hassan worked for the people. As you know Education is a big business in Somalia nowadays and many people -good and bad, have set up schools and colleges. many people work for UN and NGOs inside Somalia. Not all are there for the people. I repeat: I am told Hassan is a very decent man. But let us not run to build the profile of a saint just yet. And none of his history (by itself) suggests that he worked for the people. That doesn't mean he worked against the people. I am just cautioning against starting a new sychopancy line as we are wont to do as Somalis when we get a leader. I don't want people singing for this man, or his portaits displayed on walls. Let him start work and focus on it. I am afraid we will spoil him very soon.