Gulf connected charities are competing to select the next Somali President

[galbeedi]

.

 

To run for President in Somalia you must have money, a lot of money. In fact you must have a truck load of money. In early October 2012, when he came back from Mogadishu after the loss of the Somali election to Hassan Sheekh Mohamuud, Proff. Ahmed Samatar told us that " we lost the election because of money and tribal machinations". When I told that story to one my friends in Ottawa, he said " Waar ma caruur baynu nahay mise waan is yeel yeelanaa, Qabaa'il la isku duba rito iyo lacag in furuhu yahay ma cid aan ogayn ayaa jirta". Roughly means " isn't it that obvious? ".

 

 

 

I am one of those who believe that money alone will not resolve the problem. While having money helps you grease the dry and hungry Somali hands, peoples skill and personalities may go a long way to earn or loose a friend. great communication skills ; grass root organizations and cultural understanding of Somali people; generosity and having an out going personality are needed to gain the trust of the people.

 

 

 

Before we indulge on the financial help that swayed the election in to the President Hassan's favour , let us examine his other strengths, including his peoples personalities that he showed way before the election. The Hiil-Qaran party was in the works since early 2008, but we haven't launched it officially until the spring of 2011. Some of the major platform document that covered the nation security, economic and social issue of the party were produced in a conference held in Djibouti called " Hoog Qaran Iyo Hill aqoon yahan".

 

 

 

We took that name after that conference. In December 2010, that conference was organized and hosted by the Djibouti government. people from back home and from the diaspora were invited to participate. I did not participate in that conference , but I was in Djibouti for different reasons when it concluded. While Proff. Samatar, who chaired that conference made his usual big noises , a quite Hassan Sheekh Mohamud was sitting in his chair acting like a private citizen who was their just to observe. He was among a dozen participants who came from Mogadishu, Garowe and Bossaaso. While Samatar was making waves in Djibouiti , including chatting with dictator Omar Geelle, who pledged his support for the professor, Mr. Hassan Sheekh worked his plan quietly. Also people who met Mr. Hassan many years ago will tell you that the wide smile (Qoslaaye) we all happen to notice when he meets people, was always present regardless of the circumstances. Regardless of that smile and outgoing personality, at the end, it was money that elevated President Hassan to the presidency. Money that was funneled from the gulf monarchs through Islamic charities controlled by one of his friends.

 

 

 

Now let us leave behind that history of 2012 , and way forward to the up coming election of 2016. My sources told me that the outgoing unofficial president of Somalia Nicolas Kay and his international backers have agreed that a change of leadership in Somalia is overdue in order to move forward. When I say change , I mean change of leadership not only from President Hassan but change from the same HAG clan that was ruling the country since 2009. This development became apparent after former President Shariif Ahmed and others from that same clan appeared to be the leading candidates to replace Hassan Sheekh. An emergency meeting between Nicolas Kay, the incoming United Nations envoy Michael Keating and President Hassan took place in late November to discuss the new criteria of selecting the 2016 parliament and possible alternating of the presidency to different clans.

 

 

In these discussions with UN envoys , President Hassan accepted the Idea of alternating the Presidency to the "D" block. Since they have a head start from anyone else, The Damjadiid boys begun their campaign to hand pick the next "D" block leader to replace Hassan Sheekh. Not only they will be picking the next leader , but they have also decided from which "D" block clan they prefer to select from. This time Damujadiid are not alone . There is another group, mainly connected to " Islaah Movement" who are also competing to be power brokers with extensive connections to Islamic charities and are expecting money from abroad to achieve their goal. On the second group of Islaah, the main players are Shariif Hassan of South west region; Ahmed Faqi, the man Damjadiid defeated in Galmudug, Ina Carte qalib, and others. The strange thing is Damujadiid are pushing former Prime minister Farmaajo to be their man.

 

 

When I asked " how about other millionaire businessmen in Mogadishu and Nairobi, don't they have a horse in this race?", he said "No business people can afford to throw millions of dollars on election without knowing the outcome". As I said, only those who have access to unearned money from the gulf could compete in this race. If this report is true a whole new group of people will not only be buying the election, but will be running the country through the gulf.

 

 

 

[Holac]

The strange thing is Damujadiid are pushing former Prime minister Farmaajo to be their man.

 

I can see why they would select him since he is generally considered hostile towards Jubaland and Puntland. He also had a falling out with Abdiweli of Puntland when he was Prime Minister and the two former personal friends never made peace after that.

 

This is definitely a cruel game. In the end, the Somali people are the ones who are being held hostage by these selfish politicians.

[galbeedi]

I guess you got the message.