by Capt. Paddy Ankunda
Monday, September 03, 2007
To many people, it may be incomprehensible that a country can exist without a government or at least a central authority. However, Somalia provides the latest example of this naive reality.
For the last sixteen years, Somalia has not had a government and people were simply living on their own; no central bank, no national army, no ministries, no parliament and all the other organs of government. It sounds strange but it’s true.
Collapse of Somali state
The once powerful Somalia that boasted of the largest and most modern army in Africa, succumbed to the mismanagement of the same military and lost her nationhood. In fact, Somalia had the most advanced air force in eastern Africa at the time
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In the picture, are some of the Somali Russian made Hunters on a military parade in the 1970s.
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The Somali army was effectively decimated in the 1977-78 war, when they sought to annex the Ogaden region from Ethiopia, an operation that terribly boomeranged. To date, the country has not had a force of her own.
Indeed, the political impasse that reigns in Somalia today is deep seated in the role the military played in the affairs of this country. None the less, just like a necessary evil; Somalia still needs an army in order to regain her former great self.
African Union role
The African Union mission in Somalia has a role to play in restoring the state of Somalia. The AU mandate categorically states that AMISOM “…will assist in the implementation of the National Security and Stabilisation Plan (NSSP) of Somalia, particularly the effective re-establishment and training of all inclusive Somali security forces…”.
In fact, AMISOM would make a big difference if it turned into a training mission.
Way forward
Training the Somali military will mean practical empowerment of the Somalis to defend themselves. It will also enable the Transitional Federal Government to consolidate its authority over the entire country that is now torn apart among the different clan militias.
It is important however that all clans are represented during recruitment so that the national army is all inclusive.
Such training must emphasise issues of professional and ideological discipline, as well as training on protection and promotion of human rights. This way, the trained force would form the nucleus of a Somali People’s Defence Forces that would undertake the supreme role of protecting the people and the sovereignty of the Somali nation.
Capt. Ankunda is the spokesman of the African Union peacekeeping mission in Somalia
Very tragedy some here are glorifying the former dictator responsible much of Somali's tragedy. Undemocratically, after the death of our last democratically elected president, he held Somalia hostage for 21 paving the way for todays destruction. Crimes committed by the dictator is many including enriching his clan at the expense of millions of Somalis, encouraging and arming clans to fight each other and resisting peacefull transion from dicatator to democracy and lastly his war against the religion of Islam by massacring and arresting our learned Ulema. Lets not glorify our dark past so that we dont repeat it again in the future.
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Paddy
Make your quike money at Mog.airport,and leave before it is too late.Somalia is like naked women walking through gangsland expecting not to be harmed.
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y Capt. Paddy Ankunda
Monday, September 03, 2007
Thank you Sir. Thanks for saving a dead city “Mogadishu”. Very dead City. Somalis we invested in this city. We try to save secure grounds us clans. However, we try and the world is listening to us. Isaac, Hawaii, Darod are Somalis .The city belongs to ABGAL thank you if this President is a nonsense the Darod will take him back with a very good word from the Mogadishu families. Do we want to keep Hon. Ali Mahadi/Prime Minister Geed? We will take Abdullah Yussuf, which will not happen soon... Siyad Barre tried to put Somalis in one page/road, He wrote our language. He tried to unite the Somali family put his efforts to help the youth by bringing them from north to south to teach and show them what family meant he dealt with difficult adults to teach/show/learn Somali was one. I love our flag, I die for it
I love Ethiopia/Uganda they made Somalis focus in their stupidity/ignorance sabotaging politics.
The international community is applauded and I hope Somalis listen to this closely.
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Yeah u are right somalia need it is own army, but we don`t need an army that dance to the tune of ethiopian music.every country earmarks astronomical amount of money for defence purposes, therefore the army job is to defend the country from external agression .but if the army takes orders from another government, then the concept of forming an army is defeated in the best sense of the term.Capt Paddy Ankunda what somalia needs is peace, and that can come when other countries stop porking their dirty nose at somali affairs.Army will eventually come the moment we finish putting our houses in order.a man in the first place has to look a safe and condusive place to live after that he can go and fetch a wife for himself now that he got a house to entertain his wife.
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waxaa la yaab.ah mudo 16 sano ah 3 madax weyne medkoodna ma saxna hadaba yaan sugeenaa amxaaro soomaliyeey ka gura
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waxaa la yaab.ah mudo 16 sano ah 3 madax weyne medkoodna ma saxna hadaba yaan sugeenaa amxaaro soomaliyeey ka gura
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Wadajir,and Captain Akunda,would like us to have "an all-inclusive" army.What non-sense!We had that army and it was manipulated by Siad and his kindergarten opposition clans,and we know how useful an "army" this was throughout the period of our so-called independence in Somalia.Captain Akunda is full of platitudes,and short on substance.We do not need a national army in Somalia,inclusive or no inclusive.We need Somalia to be divided into territorially-separate clan entities,say e.g 15-clan based regions with their own internal lightly armed forces.The federal administration would a very limited jurisdiction in the internal affairs of these highly autonomous region.But again no strong "national" army,notwithstanding dreams of this simple-minded ugandan captain,and his Somali yahoos!
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Thanks Captain Ankunda, Make no Mistake Somalia will restore its glory in no time,
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Thanks to the captain and the points he raised are valid ones because our country do need a force that is all inclusive, however the captain is wrong on one point and that is when he says somali army was defeated because of poor organising, I totally disagree and it is very important not to ignore that the underlining factor why we were defeated, which was because of 80,000 cubans, god knows how many Yemeni forces and libyans came to the Ethiopians rescue under the soviet's orders.
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Thank you captain Akunda, u are indeed correct. Somalia
needs its own army. We also need a government that cares
about its people. We need to change the current puppet
government with a true Somali government then will form
a Somalia army Insha Allah.
It's time that we, the Somalis open our eyes.
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Thank you captain Ankunda you have made a very important point. We need an all inclusive army. Ethiopian Meles will most likely not support us to have our own army, so that we will be able to protect our national sovereinty. Thank you again for delivering this much needed aspect of our unity.
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It took Uganda 20 years to produce your army and
leaders like you. Give us some time, we need some
time to stand our feet and as African brothers we need
help to protect us against ourselves!!!
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