A ward from Jigjiga.

[galbeedi]

Soomaali Galbeed (Ogaden region), as it should be called have been one of the most back ward lands inhabited by Somalis for a long time. Before 1991, there were no universities, any the only available high schools were int Jigjiga and Diredawa.; medical clinics and hospitals were few and far between the communities. Police, civil servant and government operations were run by ethnic Amara's. Most people live in rural and small villages. They were literally occupied by the Amara dominated army. There were no running waters or electricity. Since the collapse of the Derghi government of Mengistu , Ethiopia was transformed in many different ways. Although the Tigre ruled with iron fist in terms of power , the newly adopted constitution allowed ethnic regions to govern themselves internally. The dominant Ahmara's who were running the country for 500 years were forced to rule their own region. It was a difficult arrangement for a group of people who were the governors, mayors, police chiefs, public finance administrators and all of the civil servants.

 

The Ethiopia of yester years is gone. The Oromo's, Somalis, Danakil's (canfar) , Tigray, and others are running their own affairs. Although supreme power rests with the Addis government, there are reasonable autonomies that exist in this regions to build their communities and provide services.

 

Jigjiga: a city rising from the west.

 

 

 

Those who knew Jigjiga, will be pleasantly surprised the modern transformation taking place in the Capital of the Somali Region. The Kaaramardha entrance whisk was more than 15 kilometers out in the countryside is a suburb of Jijiga. The city streets are wide open, with regulated urban planning. High rise buildings are encouraged by the administration. I will discuss later the cultural aspects of the residents and people , but let me share with you what I have observed of the leader and the Zone 5 administration.

 

 

 

Abdi Mohamed Umar ( Iley), is the undisputed President of the Somali region. He has dictatorial powers to achieve his goals. One of the first impressions of the city and the zone is that the law and order is paramount, and no one can threaten regardless of who they are. The city is one of the most peaceful and secure among the Somali speaking world. As you may have observed in the SOL pages , I was one of those who used to bad mouth or criticize Abdi Cumar for being a stooge of the ruling Tigre government of Addis. Although there are always weaknesses in the system, heavy handiness and other shortcomings in the Zone, I would like to share the major surprises that I found in Jigjiga .

 

 

 

1- The man , President Abdi Iley, is on a mission. He reminds me of the early years of the Kacaankii October, from 1970 to 1977, when the leadership and the military were achieving great results in terms of education, public infrastructure and enforcement. He seems to have a vision of what he wants to achieve, and he doesn't deviate from his goals. It is a Chinese cstyle of rule and developments, with great results on the ground. Like him, most of the government directors and office administrators are all young people in their twenties and early thirties. The old guard is out from the Zone 5.

 

 

 

2- He doesn't do useless pronouncements , he doesn't promise things that he can't deliver. When he orders for the government agencies to build a project , they must finish as they promised or heads will roll. The same goes with private contractors who are awarded to a project. almost 90% of the projects are finished within the timeframe promised by the contractor .The WiillWaal Airport of Jigjiga project was finished with less than 18 months. Most of the government buildings have all modern amenities.

 

3- The Somali race has became famous of constant quarrel and what we call " yooyootan", an unproductive dispute and argument than will neither conclude nor produce any result This man has no appetite for that. Few months ago he called three of the Jigjiga districts judges, who were sitting in huge backlog of cases in the court that needed to be finalised. These judges kept dragging their feet while people were waiting a verdict one way or another. He gave them warning and ordered them to speed up the cases in front of the court. Being judges, and having certain powers, they thought these warnings are the usual Somali chatter. They dragged their feet with no urgency.

 

Then, one morning , the three judges were arrested and put in jail for negligence and incompetence. There were cries and hues from some people. " waar reerka ha u tago oo ha laga soo daayo", were heard from tribal corners and others. He ignored the cries and kept them their for a month. Then he released the three judges and instructed to heed the warning and do their job. Now every case is heard within reasonable time.

 

4- there were small sedan buses that take people to major cities like Addis , Diredawa and other towns , who could take about a dozen or more people. Owners of these buses overload them with both people and goods, which resulted few horrible accidents. It was always been like that. Accidents and constant delays. Next morning , he convened his transportation minister , banned the use of minivans and small sedans for human transportation. . He told private companies to bid for the contract of moving people. Those who were awarded the transport contract were told to provide huge buses with double axle and time table. These buses are exactly like the buses that transport people in north America. Now, if you want to ride a bus , everyone knows what time the bus leaves. If you miss the morning one, you must wait the afternoon. Tickets are purchased through tickets offices. Small bus owners made noise, but the travelling public is happy both for the service and safety of the new buses.

 

 

 

When I went to Borama, in 2011, the landcruisers that depart to Djibouti will come to the bus stand around 9am , in the morning. They will stay there all day. they may even tell you to go home and come back late afternoon. After sitting there all day , they will depart at 5pm. No scheduale or organized time table.

 

 

 

5- Downtown Jigjiga is thriving. The local government is encouraging the diaspora members and others to take up land in downtown for modern buildings and new developments. The shanty town or the slams in the downtown were burned few years ago. Some people say the government itself burned these rundown zones in order to make way for a new Jigjiga. The government is investigating for the cause. Regardless of who is responsible for the fire, wide four lane streets are passing through downtown Jigjiga, another five lane street connects the town to the main high way going to Harar and beyond. Unlike most Somali cities, everything is being built follows modern urban planning.

 

 

The national budjet of the Zone five rose from $80 million dollars from 2007 to $245 million in 2013. Among these almost $50 million was the portions of the Zone from the direct foreign aid Addis Ethiopia received from the international donors. The government started copying from the way the Tigray and other developed region invest and finance theoir regions. National banks have opened branches in Jigjiga. Credible organized companies could get loans from these banks. Threre are exlusive ecomomic zones that are encouraged for development and loans. Diaspora members are attracted and cheap land could be given for those who have plans and assets.

 

 

 

Some of the legacies of former dictator Meles Zanawi is the whole country is surrounded by a huge ring road built by the Chinese. This huge, Twenty thousand kilometres asphalt high way circling the country like a ring road, starts from the Djibouti border to Addis, to the Tigray capital of Mekele and beyond; then passes Tana river and the great dam being built by Ethiopia , all the way from the western borders of Sudan. It passes the Sidamo farmland of southern Ethiopia , and ends to JIgjiga and beyond to Wajaalle. . Electricity is also reaching far flanks of the country. Almost all small Somali inhabited villages of the Zone five have cheap electricity.

 

 

 

6- Jigjiga was always famous about local crooks and spies who made money from travelrs and others who passes the city for either business or just visiting. There was a saying " Jigjiga Ayuu ka Yimid Iyo Wuu Fiican Yahay Kala Daa". People were arrested for being accused of pro independent, or just an outsider who doesn't have relative. So, in order to be save your self from these " Dilaaliin", you must pay the local " mukhals " his " Khat", before he goes to the Ahmara or Tigre authority. That character , didn't disappear from yet. Anyone can accuse you to be Al-shabab sympathizer , ONLF or just somebody who isn't chewing khat and not comforting their way. That is probably the biggest threat that discourages people for visiting here.

 

 

 

7- President Abdi Iley, got fifty thousand strong paramilitary police called " Liyuu police". These are well trained police who are both effective and ruthless.. They are controlled by the President himself, and people fear them. They are every where in terms of policing and confronting insurgencies. In terms of counter insurgency, they are mostly active in hinterlands of oogo, the Long foot countryside. In conversations that I had with people, the ONLF threat is disappearing. Many of it's former members are incorporated within the system, while development and government services are reducing the sympathy of the locals have for ONLF. I do not think The ONLF, will be effective in this environment to achieve the goals of the people, which is progress and development, instead they should concentrate in advocacy and lobbying rather than take the gun and hinder development.

 

 

 

8- The 5 Zone is huge in terms of land mass , it has both agriculture, grazing land and rich natural recourses. Every Somali clan community could be found in this huge land. Jigjiga is a Somali town of different people.. There is a larger Awdal community who live in the zone 5, than the one living in Djibouti or Somaliland. DireDawa, once the largest Somali inhabited city is now a federal town. A large Oromo population settled while Somalis disappeared to Djibouti and other places.

 

 

 

9- The Long Foot Community effect: as I said the Zone 5 is multi clan region where Somalis from every clan can be found. There are also Somalis who became Oromo by culture, but hail from different clans. It is really hard to exactly say which one is the largest. The D...R community is probably the largest if you combine them. Any way, the Long Foot community seem to be the most active, both politically and regionally. Also, the huge effect of the ONLF could not be discounted. Among the large Somali tribes who reside the region, they are the ones who took up arms against the Meles government. Having said that, if you barely know how huge and diverse this region is, there are no Somali clan or clan family that can dominate both the political life and future of these region. Look , in this vast land of Somali Galbeed , " Kaadi Baan U soo Cabnay" will not work. In order to prosper, everyone must cooperate with one another. Although the Long Foot community dominate the government, they are also by far, the largest members of the people who are jailed, charged and persecuted for suppressive and other crimes. Most of the people targeted and mistreated by the Liyu Police are them. This month , the President pardoned large number of prisoners from the Jigjiga jail. They were about 2000 people both men and women, 80% of them were long Foot community.

 

 

 

President Cabdi Cumar doesn't tolerate " Odayaal iyo Suldaano", in terms of running the government. They have Zero influence. They do not have big roles determining projects or law enforcement. Yet just like Mogadishu in the eighties and Hargeisa today, there are large unemployed " Oday Dhaqameed" sipping tea in Jigjiga hotels doing nothing other than gossip and useless chatter. The Long Foot community dominate government operations, and if you want things done , you must pass through them. Also there are other Somali clan members who are also well connected. In terms of projects he chooses those who are capable and credible. He gives contract's those who have proven to be hard working and operating like a company.

 

 

 

I spent about a week and was unable to visit outside Jigjiga because of time constrains , but I conclude by saying that the main reason people tolerate tribal imbalance and other misdeeds of the government in the Zone is, service is delivered to the villages and towns. The system is responding to peoples demand of service, security and development. If this man Abdi Cumar rules another five years in the Zone 5 , he could definitely transform the region from poor undeveloped rural land to a thriving Somali state with a great potential to surpass many of the so called Somali regional governments. This benevolent dictator, with no non sense style of doing business , is what Somalis of this region need at this moment of history. Guys, I am not exaggerating , Somali Galbeed is rising.

[CidanSultan]

Best way to get to Djibouti from Borama is not to wait at the land cruiser stall but to buy your own and drive it their. They wait to increase number of passengers and thus profit.

 

In your drivel glamourising servitude you say you never been to the outskirts of jigjiga because you didn't have enough time. Yet make a million statements saying how the slave of xabash delivers services.

 

Jigjiga is a small town. It's not that big, the benefit Ethiopia gets from the region is arguably the highest of any regional state yet it's the least developed.

 

Ethiopians xabash and their servants ilays don't actually do anything. The infrastructure is Chinese aid. The security is terrible if you travel between villages you would know.

 

Also fifths region was called ogad%= during the Somali Ethiopian war and put into books. That region has almost every tribe living in it therefore it should never bare the name of a sub tribe. It's counter productive. From dirdaba to the Djibouti border and to Borama which is like 30% of that region is settled by reer Borama and from East jigjiga to the Somaliland border and down south to hawd reserve area is entirely duriyada territory and then further down south you have hag and others.

 

All development is a good thing but it's a small fraction of the Chinese aid they receive. Alot of discrimination and abuse still. Not to mention indirect colonialism.

[CidanSultan]

If this isn't Ethiopian Indirect colonialism I don't know what is. Iley is there because he is the best slave they are able to find not because he actually does anything

 

 

 

 

[CidanSultan]

The persecution of people.

 

[DoctorKenney]

Very interesting read. The leadership style of President Cabdi Cumar can hopefully set a new standard for Somali Regional Governors in all of the Somali regional states. Sometimes it's necessary to have a heavy-handed approach to the "madaax adeeg" Somalis. This is the future of Somalia; regional governors should have most of the power, and they will have the ability to set policy in their own regional States, with the Mogadishu President having minimal influence. A collection of "benevolent Dictators" governing over their local population.

[CidanSultan]

Supporting "benevolent" dictatorship and heavy handedness.... Desperados.

 

No such thing... No practical.

 

You can live in slavery if you want. Be it French slavery in Djibouti, Ethiopian slavery, Ugandese slavery or Kenyan slavery.

 

We will die free men.

 

Gentlemen. Good day.

[DoctorKenney]

<cite>

@CidanSultan

said:</cite>

Supporting "benevolent" dictatorship and heavy handedness.... Desperados.

 

No such thing... No practical.

 

You can live in slavery if you want. Be it French slavery in Djibouti, Ethiopian slavery, Ugandese slavery or Kenyan slavery.

 

We will die free men.

 

Gentlemen. Good day.

 

Warya your Maamulka SNM is also a Regional Government in Somalia, don't act like you're not part of this at all. You are, admit it.

 

There is nothing that makes you different from Puntland, other than your desire for independence.

 

Regional Governments in Somalia and NFD Kenya as well as Ogaden Somalia is the way forward, with regional integration coming soon after.

[CidanSultan]

These walls are funny. First you hate 'em, then you get used to 'em. Enough time passes, you get so you depend on them. That's institutionalized.

 

The Somali condition...

 

Not even the desire for freedom

[CidanSultan]

Kennedy... Tell me one thing that makes Somaliland similar to any Somali territory.

 

We are free and independent we run our own affairs, free from the vermin that rules all of you. Puntland is a two region state with nothing they are subject to mugdisho and they are barely able to stand up.

 

Get your head out of your as% and look at the world for what it is. Not what you think it is

[Mooge]

ninkaan galbedi walahi maskax ba ku duugan niyoow. he always has so much good information.

[galbeedi]

Mooge, Waan ku Salaamay, I am also humbled by your praise. I do not deserve it. Ciidan suldaan, I never said there was freedom or democracy. We all know power rests with Tigray and others, but that is not an excuse not to develop. The Chinese are building the whole country, so the Somalis should take advantage of that development.. under the current circumstances, Somalis are doing better than before.

[Che -Guevara]

I have met women Iley personally tortured and threatened with rape. Hi cruelty and debauchery was to the extent that it was Tigray soldiers took pity on these Somali women. There is nothing decent about this man and the Liyu police he controls.

 

All dhaanto and tall buildings in Jigjiga cannot hide the oppression that people are facing, perhaps you should have paid visit to Jail Ocaden.

 

Beyond Jigjiga, towns in Somaligalbeed are garrison towns surrounded by bases. There are parallel governments. The Tigray appointed civilian officials may "run" the town but in the morning, they report to the Tigray officers in the bases. The communities have in every town youth, women, and guulwade associations. The business community are closely watched and anyone who come in the town is registered. These associations keep on each other. Every block has community organizations that keep tabs on any activity in everything. The TPLF have extensive spy system that have presence in even Dadaab camps and all over Somalia including Somaliland and Puntland.

 

Iley's boss is Major General Abraha Wolde Gabriel.

 

Please look into the crimes committed by Iley when he was head of the security during Daud era.

 

Let's not kid ourselves, Soomaali waxa fara ugu jiro malaha.

[Holac]

Che, I agree there are still challenges for the average person in the Somali region, but we can't ignore the progress the state has made during Iley's tenure.