Hiiraan Online

Once again the Somali people’s hope for peace and a functioning government is slipping away. For 18 years, Somalia’s biggest problem has been insecurity and lawlessness. The primary task of any Somali government should be to establish peace and security in the country. However, the Transitional Unity Government (TUG) is failing and flailing. To understand its failure before one looks at external factors, one must look first at the TUG itself to see what went wrong.

There was no lack of goodwill. To see Somalia to stand on her feet, the TUG had a lot of support from the Somali public, the region and the international community. However, the TUG is not the one to turn any support into anything. It is suffering from a blanket of ineptitude and incompetence. Its preoccupation has been priorities other than the interests of the nation. One of its fixations is gathering funds for which it has no progress to show for.

From its inception in Djibouti in January 2009 to its relocation in Mogadishu, the TUG had no idea how to tackle the problems of the nation including the insurgency. Politically it could not advance the peace initiative. Other than the empty phrase ‘our door is open’, they have come up with little or no input. Militarily too the TUG had shown ineptitude. Even if it were to withstand the opposition, this is a war of attrition which is going nowhere. No matter who gets pushed one day they will be there the following day. We do not have to be in the military to know that no one wins urban warfare. We know what went on in the Lebanese civil war which started in 1976. During 16 years of warfare, no faction was ever thrown out of Beirut. In Somalia, vital issues concerning peace and security needs to be tackled differently in the early days of a new administration.

Successive transitional governments have failed in Somalia. A major cause of failure has been the pursuit of power for the wrong reasons. In Somalia, the pursuit of power has become like a fashion accessory where anyone says: “I want that.” Ironically, in a nation in ruins and destitute to the bare bone, power is pursued for personal gain. Regrettably, in Somalia, the type of ‘each for himself’ greed based pursuit of power has made requirements such as competence — not the first — but the last thing on the mind of aspirants.

Among other things, the purpose of power is to tackle issues, solve problems, and serve people. It is also to institutionalize and deepen good governance and prosper a nation. For Somalia to stand on her feet, the primary responsibility lies with the Somalis themselves. Others can help so much to that end. In fact the whole world is helping to see the recovery of Somalia. Only recently, it was the United States which has given millions in arms and cash so that the TUG may organize itself. The African Union too did not spare any type of assistance to the TUG. Thousands of Ugandan and Burundi forces remain in the capital fighting alongside the transitional government. At the end of the day one has to help himself. Unfortunately, the TUG has shown total dependency on others for everything including the expectation others to do its job. The following Somali tale may encapsulate the level of its total dependency and what it had become.

In the 1970s, in a Somali town lived Ali Ahmed also known as Ali Yare. One morning, an acquaintance had requested Ali to buy him tea. Ali took his friend to a teashop in their town. As two cups of tea were laid on the table, the friend asked Ali if he could spare a cigarette. Ali gave him a cigarette. The friend now demanded matches which Ali provided. While the two were sipping tea and puffing cigarettes, the man now demanded Ali to tell him a story. Saddened by his friend’s total loss of pride and complete dependency on others for everything, Ali now blurted out: Waxaagu waa ii shub, ii shid iyo ii sheekey. (Yours is pour me, light me up and tell me story).

The analogy of the story seems to match the way the TUG is conducting itself. In 1969 Somalia had a government which came to power under the banner: iskaa wax u qabso (self-reliance). At least the military government knew what it was doing. In 2009, Somalia has a transitional government which is wishing anyone to intervene in Somalia. It is calling for the French to intervene and to rescue its two kidnapped citizens as though anyone knows where they are.

Like Ali in the story, no-one seems to know why the TUG is showing dependency on other nations for everything. The TUG expects the world to pay the money, supply the weapons, and provide the man power to fight its war. Only recently having left a conference in which all African leaders have assembled in Libya, Sheikh Sharif was travelling in the region asking for additional troops when already there are over 4500 Uganda and Burundi forces under the AMISOM mandate.

In its wish for others to do its job, the TUG is also attempting to play the terror card to lure the U.S into what is primarily a Somali problem. Even if the U.S or other powers were to intervene, how long would it last without competence and local support?

The least expected of those who seek to lead is leadership itself. The TUG is squandering a lot of goodwill and a golden opportunity to establish a functioning government for Somalia. With a large internally displaced population and millions scattered around the world, Somalia has Herculean crises and challenges. There is the need for a leadership with comprehensive vision to solve the crises of the nation. However, a major obstacle to achieve a functioning government remains the pursuit of power for the reasons other than to further the interests of the nation. Every time such individuals gain power Somalia falls further down the abyss.

The blame for the formation of successive inept governments must lie with the Somali people themselves who engage in the costly habit of clan politics. The consequence has been endless cycle of inept governments which fail at the face of challenges. If we do not overcome the habit of promoting a narrow interest rather than the nation’s interests and success, Somalia is the one to continue to suffer. Not to mention Somalia shall remain the laughing stock it has become.

Because of successive inept governments, Somalia remains anarchic and stateless as ever. Even if it was to win the war of attrition in the capital, the question is where would Somalia go from there with the TUG at its helm? It is obvious that the TUG has neither good intentions nor the tools of vision and leadership to govern the country for the better. It takes leadership to lead a functioning nation. It will require exceptional leadership to mend a broken nation.

There is a lesson to be learnt from the failure of successive inept governments. At the end of the day it will take leadership to lead a nation. The Somali public must be careful whom they entrust the leadership of our nation. The issue of who should lead must always remain above clan consideration. Nobody hires a chauffer who cannot drive because of clan preference, why should we entrust the leadership of our own nation other than the right person for the job? It is only the right leadership, not clan preference, which can bring the competence needed to do the job!

Abdullahi Dool
E-mail: [email protected]