SOL: Where priggish goat-skinners parade as political pundits

[Abtigiis]

Macsaro Discourse

 

We are living in dauntingly interesting and draining times. The age of Internet has solved old questions, amended our ways of living, dashed yesterday’s verities, imposed uncomfortable certainties, doubts and ethos,and ushered in new problems.

 

I am in no mood to expound on this loaded assertion. That is for another day. What I am interested in is highlighting an often overlooked adverse product of the proliferation of internet –the advent of puny pundits and social commentators. It is a clear and present malady, more so when it comes to Somalia. Men with the skills and acumen of a mere goat-skinner dissect politics, tender opinions on weighty technical matters ranging from financial regulation to environmental protection, and issue admonitions and even intimidations via glistening gadgets without suffering the slightest reflexive embarrassment or self-pity.

 

Kindly indulge me for this stylistic superfluity. Let me go to the heart of the matter I wish to raise in this installment.

 

A lot of things have been said and written about the political problems in Somalia. Nearly one thousand clan websites share information and analysis on the causes of the problem and offer ideas on solutions. Innumerable foreign “experts” and reporters divulge who is doing what, why and where in Somalia on an hourly basis. There is no dearth of information or analysis about the problems our Somalia faces. I see little value in re-broadcasting the information and news alerts on the politics section of Somaliaonline when the odds are most members would have seen it or heard it elsewhere. But, I can see that some people might find it useful to get the updates consolidated in one forum.

 

That is not my problem but it is a problem when the same information is posted and reposted under tens of different title, just because some vindictive fool with a laptop or another gadget feels irked enough to even out “the biased” headlines posted by a member of a “rival” clan. There sure must be another way of doing that without boring others by recycling stories.

 

My core problem is when the pertinent and broader national conversation is ignored in favour of petty tit-for-tats. My problem is when discussions follow the disorienting circles camels that rotate wheels to refine macsaro oil in Muqdisho markets make.

 

Misreading a cloudless day

 

Currently, the Kismayo issue and the pitfalls of political processes in Somalia dominate the headlines. Contrasting emotions of national buoyancy and national anxiety co-exist. In time like this, real analysts assess the myriad of political events and issues not in silos and in isolation but in conjunction with temporal and spatial precedents and best examples, and as a sub-plot of a wider socio-economic, demographic and moral transformations of our society. Analyzing the tussle over Kismayo under the theoretical framework of sovereignty, Kenyan invasion, clan expansionism, and HAG Vs SAHAL is not only misleading but pointless. I am not saying these issues must not be factored in when analyzing the problems we face. But these issues must not be treated as the causes of the malady, they are symptoms. But that is not happening. Missing the bigger picture and relishing in side-shows is an abiding and ductile feature of our national body politick and communal consciousness.

 

Will Hassan consult Gramsci?

 

The dual disease in Somalia is leadership failure and the erosion of individual moral responsibility. President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud was not begged to lead this nation. He stepped forward and volunteered to take the challenge assuring us that he has what it takes to deliver. And he knew he will not be leading law-abiding and affluent Brunei or a country with impeccable institutions like Norway. He and the other dozen Presidential candidates who run for office knew or should have known that what they were seeking was to lead a broken nation. The enormity of the task should have been clear to them, unless their singular interest in seeking the Presidency was about flying to foreign capitals and ensconcing on shiny Sofas in luxurious hotels.

 

The Kismaayo problem, the Somaliland enigma, the Khaatumo confusion, the Puntland shenanigans are among the intricate and difficult tasks that President Hassan and his Government were entrusted to address and solve. It is simply unacceptable that men who cherish authority at the start, hide their inadequacies behind crass conspiracy theories and finger-pointing when they fail to discharge their responsibilities.

 

Perhaps President Hassan should have consulted Gramsci so that he realizes the perils of “expiation speeches” – speeches that seek to direct attention away from the core problems of the day. Somalialand will not come back because he congratulated it on 18 May, a week after he denied its existence by asserting his authority over the territories it claims. Puntland will not come back because Djibouti sided with President Hassan. Jubbaland will not disappear because AMISOM will fly a Governor to Kismayo. All of his wishes may be good, but they will not materialize because he wished them or he made appealing perorations about this and that. The question is does he have the skills and acumen to handle these issues, even if we accept his vision?

 

Hoodwinked plebeians

 

It is even more shameful that people who elect and cheer leaders fall for the tricks of the misfit leaders they elected and start itemizing excuses and apologies on behalf of those who failed them. With authority comes responsibility, and the onus of getting Somalia right is not on the shoulders of Kenya, nor Ahmed Madoobe, nor Faroole, nor Amisom, nor some sleepy Prime Minister. The onus is firmly on the shoulders of the President, who is acting both as the Head of State and Head of Government, in clear breach of the Constitution. The onus is also on the Parliament which is the only body that can hold the President in check.

 

If President Hassan succeeds, the end justifies the means; and if funding Barre Hiiraale can bring results, I am for it. We will applaud the President when four years from now we see that his one fit for all “I will-appoint-Governors- who-will-in-turn ‘appoint’ regional administrations” approach bears fruit.

 

If he fails, and the country descends into chaos, it is only fair we hold him – not Uhuru Kenyatta or Faysal Ali Waraabe – responsible for what went wrong. In return, we should be fair to him and give him time. We should allow those whose job it is to check him, to do their job and call it the day when they feel it is the right time. I reckon it won’t be too far. Somalia will get right when the right leadership comes to power. A leadership that does not engage in conspiracy theories of the type ‘Obama is a close friend of young Kim in Korea’ and 'Ahmed Godane dines with Netanyehu every Saturday'.

 

Doubting the Amen of a devil

 

In the meantime, it is our responsibility to purge and banish the parochial theories of empty jars like Gabbal, characterized by his suicidal zero-sum 'tolka-takes-all-or-hell-breaks-loose' politics.

 

We should laugh at Mintid Farayar who is fond of conspiracy theories and baseless conjectures. For Mintid, if a furious husband slaps an old lady in any parts of Somalia, it must be the case that a certain political group inside the country or even an intrusive foreign freemasons must have been behind it!

 

We should get careful when grey-haired secessionist Oodweyne sings praise about resources in Southern Somalia and crys “Congo”, suddenly morphing into a Somali nationalist upset with foreign exploitation of Somali resources. Surely, Oodweyne will not get ulcers because Somalia is pilfered!

 

We should ask a question or two when misguided characters like Che hide behind simulated nationalism in their nostalgia for extremist theological state.

 

We should tell Gabbal that it would do a lot of good if they could spare us endless threads and inks by making their nude points with poems, as their alter-ego in medieval ages were wont to do when they were doing the same job this reconstructed village boy is trying to do in this modern time. For instance, he could have parted with these beautiful lines, which summarize his feelings, and we would have got his point the same way we get his English threads:

 

“Waxaan dooni reer Cag-dheer, qiblada inaan u daayaaye

Daantay Jiraan uma tukado, diinta la I farayee”

 

People of my soil, we should not answer Amen to the Amens of the devil! Doubt, my people!, doubt!

[Gabbal]

What the mouth says, the ear fails to hear. A period of self-reflection might go to some length helping you to reorient your individual constitution.

 

You, my self-declared Ethiopian national of a friend, are empty shrill and predictable posturing. It would be something if you were grounded in a consistent personal philosophy; Alas, your admonitions are, as always, as empty as your convictions.

 

Enjoy.

 

http://www.somaliaonline.com/community/showthread.php/68413-President-Hassan-must-be-impeached-urgently-to-save-Somalia

[Waranle_Warrior]

This is one heavy load of a return to SOL Abtigis and I enjoyed reading your long multi-angled thread. It sure has all the ingredients to explode.

 

Let's see how the Oodwayne, Mintid and Gabal's of this world, who funnily have become or been on the same side, tackle it. Even your sane secessionist friend, Wadani was spotted jumping up and down in euphoria screaming 'Barre waa geesi geesi dhalay' during Barre Hiiraale's self-deceleration of Jubbaland Presidency. Indeed its funny brave politicking as you put it, because the very same Wadani passionately hates and curses the old Barre but embraces and praises the new Barre. A perfect fitting of the Amen of the devil, oh yes indeed, we must doubt the Amen of Wadani regarding Barre Hiiraale.

 

Besides, good to see you back!

[Abtigiis]

Dear Gabbal,

 

What you posted as an alibi may prove I can be crude and coarse, but no, inconsistency? Nah!

 

In truth, I find the language I used when I called for the impeachment of President Hassan few moons ago, woefully awkward. But given how things transpired since then, how remarkably prescient I was. All of the allegations I made are no more allegations but an incontestable reality. I said the President would rather have a civil war than allow a particular clan dominate the politics of Jubbas. I said he is trying to use a certain community as a pebble to advance that cause. I think the aborted fart of Bare Hiiraale is the alibi. I said there is a risk of civil war. We have not seen the polarization we witness today for the last 10 years, even during the Ethiopian invasion. I felt impeaching the President may be the first step towards saving the country. I still feel the same way.

 

What changed is that I have realized that I must keep my wish to myself but allow the matter to run its course and leave it to the legislative branch. In any case, as you know, both you and me do nothing but talk in this forum. I am yet to see you deposing a President or carrying a poor women in labour to the delivery ward by way of civic altruism. And therefore, my call for impeachment would not amount to anything beyond the "fart a dog breaks out to put off a furnace" to quote the Immortal Achebe.

 

My current position - and yes the thoughts of sensible human beings do mutate - is that the present political challenges need a mature political leadership and the problem is no longer about who owns what but the existence of a prudent leadership that can navigate through this problem. I do not have a predetermined and preferred outcome. There are only two foundational guiding principles that must not be breached: one, there should be no return to civil war; two, the unity of the country must be maintained. It is therefore my humble submission that the critical problem in Somalia today is a crisis of leadership.

 

Your position last year, and the year before last, and today, - and yes intellectual midgets mistake intransigence for consistency and rarely do alter their thoughts - remains that unless your clan gets a particular town, there should be no peace. It is this undiluted madness that I object to. I do realize the current arrangement in Kismaayo is favouring a particular clan, which also is not right. However, if I were to witness Barrel Hiirale taking Kismayo tomorrow and his community dominating that town, I would have supported that status quo rather than call for mayhem. For I believe, the debate about who owns a town or land is as pointless as who owns the sky. In due course, when law and order comes back to Somalia, it is he who has money who will own land and town, not the fool who recounts ancestral domicile.

 

Waranle, thanks walaal.

[Tallaabo]

Abtigiis;952186 wrote:

Dear Gabbal,

 

What you posted as an alibi may prove I can be crude and coarse, but no, inconsistency? Nah!

 

In truth, I find the language I used when I called for the impeachment of President Hassan few moons ago, woefully awkward. But given how things transpired since then, how remarkably prescient I was. All of the allegations I made are no more allegations but an incontestable reality. I said the President would rather have a civil war than allow a particular clan dominate the politics of Jubbas. I said he is trying to use a certain community as a pebble to advance that cause. I think the aborted fart of Bare Hiiraale is the alibi. I said there is a risk of civil war. We have not seen the polarization we witness today for the last 10 years, even during the Ethiopian invasion. I felt impeaching the President may be the first step towards saving the country. I still feel the same way.

 

What changed is that I have realized that I must keep my wish to myself but allow the matter to run its course and leave it to the legislative branch. In any case, as you know, both you and me do nothing but talk in this forum. I am yet to see you deposing a President or carrying a poor women in labour to the delivery ward by way of civic altruism. And therefore, my call for impeachment would not amount to anything beyond the "fart a dog breaks out to put off a furnace" to quote the Immortal Achebe.

 

My current position - and yes the thoughts of sensible human beings do mutate - is that the present political challenges need a mature political leadership and the problem is no longer about who owns what but the existence of a prudent leadership that can navigate through this problem. I do not have a predetermined and preferred outcome. There are only two foundational guiding principles that must not be breached: one, there should be no return to civil war; two, the unity of the country must be maintained. It is therefore my humble submission that the critical problem in Somalia today is a crisis of leadership.

 

Your position last year, and the year before last, and today, - and yes intellectual midgets mistake intransigence for consistency and rarely do alter their thoughts - remains that unless your clan gets a particular town, there should be no peace. It is this undiluted madness that I object to. I do realize the current arrangement in Kismaayo is favouring a particular clan, which also is not right. However, if I were to witness Barrel Hiirale taking Kismayo tomorrow and his community dominating that town, I would have supported that status quo rather than call for mayhem.

For I believe, the debate about who owns a town or land is as pointless as who owns the sky. In due course, when law and order comes back to Somalia, it is he who has money who will own land and town, not the fool who recounts ancestral domicile.

Waranle, thanks walaal.

That is exactly what I believe and implied a few times. With genuine democracy where every man and woman has one vote, the issue of land ownership becomes irrelevant.

[Chimera]

Abtigiis, welcome back brother.

 

The right leadership is at the helm in Mogadishu, and fairly shared between the petty clans. Unfortunately the amount of obstacles they face is gigantic. You can take any historical leader or government that countries around the world consider the cream of the crop in their timeline, be it George Washington, Churchill, Thomas Sankara, Mutsuhito, etc and all of them would either fail or find themselves incapable of resurrecting a dead republic at the pace the ordinary civilian wants it to be.

 

130000 Somali children died only two years ago, and even that was not a big enough lesson for us to learn the art of compromise, no instead we derail anything good, and call ourselves presidents and sultans.

[Abtigiis]

As Someone for whom I have immense respect and who is clearly not among the loony club of goat-skinners I were attacking in this post, including their infamous chef de band Gabbal, it is hard to disagree with you. You are always one step ahead and I learn a lot each time you speak in this forum. And this is not flattery, for one of my debilitating weakness is to be economical with appreciation for people. I mean it.

 

While I agree with the gist of your conclusion, I will say the jury is yet out on the current leadership at best. I think you will agree with that. What happens in the next one year and the progress of the political processes in the country will determine whether we owe them an apology for slighting them prematurely or whether they should be hanged for taking the country down. So, let's wait and see. Judging by what I see, I think they will not deliver and I believe this is the conclusion of many well-informed Somalis. But still, it is good to give time to people.

 

BTW, with profound sadness I have learned that the bright Carafaat is now the black and white Eshu - the sprit of confusion and oscillation - and is a Somali patriot before lunch and an ardent agitator of communal strife in the South after dinner. How times change.

[Chimera]

I agree, the situation domestically looks grim from a reconciliation perspective, though internationally Somalia is very much back on the map.

[Tallaabo]

Abtigiis;952199 wrote:

As Someone for whom I have immense respect and who is clearly not among the loony club of goat-skinners I were attacking in this post, including their infamous chef de band Gabbal, it is hard to disagree with you. You are always one step ahead and I learn a lot each time you speak in this forum. And this is not flattery, for one of my debilitating weakness is to be economical with appreciation for people. I mean it.

 

While I agree with the gist of your conclusion, I will say the jury is yet out on the current leadership at best. I think you will agree with that. What happens in the next one year and the progress of the political processes in the country will determine whether we owe them an apology for slighting them prematurely or whether they should be hanged for taking the country down. So, let's wait and see. Judging by what I see, I think they will not deliver and I believe this is the conclusion of many well-informed Somalis. But still, it is good to give time to people.

 

BTW, with profound sadness I have learned that the bright Carafaat is now the black and white Eshu - the sprit of confusion and oscillation - and is a Somali patriot before lunch and an ardent agitator of communal strife in the South after dinner. How times change.

I am joining your Chimera fan club;)

[Abtigiis]

Somalia is internationally and spiritually back. You sense the return of hope when you go to Mogadishu. But the current positive development in the international arena are not matched by political progress inside the country. And the President and his team seem to be victims of doctrine-based politics and are in the mood of imposing their 'solutions' on regions. The goodwill in the International stage may soon be reversed if there is no progress between SL and South Somalia, PL and the Federal Government, and if the Jubbaland saga leads to violence. It will also be lost if Alshabab's threat increases. The President has his ideas about how the Federal system should work. It may be good, it may be bad. But unless he is ready to listen to other regions and is willing to compromise here and there, I can't see him going far with Puntland, for example. You should also know there is mounting backlash against him even among his constituency. There are signs the goodwill he enjoyed when he was elected is already lost and we are entering the era of motions, counter-motions and impeachment fetish. All of this is distracting. I think Hassan may have good heart but I just can't see him coming up with the requisite flexibility and problem-solving ingenuity that the challenges require.

 

You may call me a pessimist. But in truth, I am neither a pessimist nor an optimist. I am a pragmatist. For me, the glass is neither half-full nor half-empty, it is twice as big as it needs to be. :D

 

Tallabo, waan ku salaamay walaal, but don't disgrace yourself by telling me you haven't noticed the razor-sharp intellect of Chimera before today.

[xabad]

Add to that he is an Islamist and no good comes out of those people :mad:. Wlc back professor.

[NGONGE]

Oh A&T, you let Gabaal's posturing get to you and that's a real shame.

 

Gabaal, as we all know, will change positions depending on where his clan's interests lay. I even recall a time when he was an ardent supporter of the Shabab. However, in SOL at least, Gabaal has not been the one making the most noise. In fact, I am surprised that you managed to notice his contributions here when even people such as the guru had written and commented on the topic at least ten times more than he did (this is not without mentioning the Xiins, Baashi's and Zacks).

 

Now putting Chimera's daydreams aside for now, you know and I know that the Somali problem is not all about Hassan Shiekh alone. You know that EVERY side have their very own "Gabaals" and can be accused of the same charges that you chose to place at Gabaal's door above. Hassan Sheikh is simply an amateur president that is trying to fix Somalia in the only way he (and other Somali leaders) understand. If he fails, there will be other presidents that will follow him in the job and may mess it up just as bad as he has been doing so far.

 

The differences between all sides are HUGE and Jubbaland is only one battle field. When it's fixed, all sides will move to Xamar, Bakool or even Khaatumo and they will all have something to say or complain about according to their clannish leanings. How long will you keep on asking for the driver to be changed when it's the passengers that are not in agreement about the destination?

 

Naga daaya dee.

[Tallaabo]

Abtigiis, waad salaamantahay walaal and of course I know Chimera is not in the category of the bed-wetting "nationalists" who are it seems the curse of this forum. The guy is genuine and reminds me of the days I used to believe in and wave the blue flag:p

[Gabbal]

Abtigiis-

 

What I posted is a reflection of the superficiality I have witnessed from you. It is not my intention to personalize a discussion---although I must say the entire rationale for your penmanship was obviously to strike against those who expressed reservations toward Kenya's concoctions on this land.

 

If you had cared to notice, my twist of irony at the expense of your small legitimacy was precisely designed to make you aware I do not disagree with much of what you said, but rather that I am not impressed with who said it. Essentially, that you visualize yourself to stand on concrete, when you are on really nothing more than a sinkhole. It was not once, nor twice, nor thrice you excessively displayed, what you described as, the peculiarities of the Somali opining amidst the trials of modern accessibility; you, my friend, took note of yourself in the mirror is my gist. Why must you attempt to excuse away your deficiencies in that scope rather than take ownership? Macsaro discourse is an apt case study on the nature of the Abtigiis I have periodically observed and so you, with all due respect,, should stop playing for the gallery as is your constant habit, and take the nature of your illegitimacy, at least in so far as the frowning disciplinarian you have chanced to air, to task before you lecture the rest of the good people out there in the universe.

 

With respect to my person; you mention clans, not I. You speak of clans in powers, not I. Imagine you label me a detractor for theorizing my consternation results from my clan not being in a favorable circumstance, as you said, while you chastise the President and myself (no less! ) for theorizing your clan is in a favorable circumstance, as you said. This all was implied by you. I am not sure whether to call this chutzpah or as one man said long ago moogane, war mooga.

 

Let me make this clear to you.

 

I am not motivated by what your clan has or does not have. I am also of the opinion the President is the same. The issue here is not what you believe of our motivations; although I must say your superficiality knows no bounds once again. The issue here concerns the state resurgence of a failed society required to lay the foundations of sustainable peace and security. What has been taking place in Kismaayo, under the auspices of IGAD and the covert and overt influence of Kenya, is not about Madoobe nor is it about your clan. If the premise you derive that from is my support to one Barre Aden Shire, pay attention very well. I do not expect Barre to build a Jubbaland State in the manner this has arisen. I do not expect the Somali government to ever recognize it in that scope. I do not expect the IGAD project leaders to acquiesce to him for any reason. Barre did what no one else could have---he stopped the momentum. He has men, weapons, and support at his disposal. He used his personal capital in name recognition and stature, infamous or otherwise whichever is to your preference, to bring about the political setback and even beginning of serious delegitimization of what should have been a heralding coronation for IGAD'S project. If you had any confusion, that is the extent, as well as the limits, of my personal glee.

 

Unlike you, motivated by a really incredulous worldview that espouses this being about the eminence, as you implied, of a small, hungry, and war beaten clan materializing on the backs of an illiterate former Shabaab infantryman, for me this has been and will continue to be, before and after Barre, mitigating the undue negative influence and predatory patronship of a foreign neighboring country on the newly resurging Somali State in general and the area where my family calls home in particular. Above all, I support the government's stabilization initiative. I support setting up temporary administrations while the methods, modes, and protocol of federalizing the country in an universally legitimate way is reached through consensus in the legislating body of the newly resurgent state. I do not and will not share your immature, trivial, and politically retrograde rants about "HAG". I do not see the President as a man who embodies the spirit of the USC henchmen. I do not see this as "D" vs. "H". Period. Full stop //

 

If I could not have been any more clear; I simply do not subscribe to any of the bankrupt infantile arguments you have become infamous for, at least in so far as my observations are concerned, on this issue in this board. I attempted to remind you in an easier spirit and if the reaction warranted was an admission of "awkwardness", my question will continue to to examine the overriding causes of that emotive response as still being on display. Why display awkwardness when you are still of the same opinion? Admonition is easy to throw around Abtigisioow; superficiality is hard to acknowledge to oneself and since the first time I have read your commentaries, that has always been my impression.

[genius pauper.]

xabad;952212 wrote:

Add to that he is an Islamist and no good comes out of those people :mad:. Wlc back professor.

Stuff and non sense at best. discuss issues as others, or dip your head in hot oil.