The Tide Online
Monday, March 31, 2008
The rising death toll of innocent Somali citizens could have long been nipped, but for a deliberate turning away by the international community, former President Olusegun Obasanjo said in Nairobi.
“We have collectively failed the Somali child, the Somali woman and the Somali people,’’ Obasanjo said in a keynote address, which he delivered at meeting on Somalia’s Finance
and Economic Issues on Friday.
“We have failed ourselves,’’ he stressed in the address entitled: “The Advancement of Peace
in Somalia’’, which was made available to the newsmen in Abuja.
“We cannot continue and we should stop the implicit and latent ranking of conflicts which had
relegated the Somalia issue to the background,’’ Obasanjo said.
Obasanjo said that the downturn in the economy of Somalia and the sufferings of many, were indications of international neglect, rather than symptoms of a “failed state’’.
He expressed regret that the international community continued to pay lip service to the conflict in Somalia, while focusing on other conflicts with higher economic benefits.
Newsmen quotes him as querying that: “Was Somalia given the same attention and resources as Afghanistan, Iraq and Kosovo by the international community?
“Could it be that we have concluded that Somalia is not of any strategic relevance to the international community and Africa?
“Could it be that lack of “strategic’’ mineral resources within the borders of Somalia has made
its case somewhat unimportant and irrelevant? Or Could it be that lack of a demonstrable high nuisance value is the Achilles heel of Somalia?’’
“How else can we explain that a world that could afford to expend well over five billion dollars in
78 days in Kosovo and an additional 55 billion dollars in reconstruction costs could not afford to find the required resources for peace in Somalia?
“How can we explain that a world that could spend 500 billion dollars, deploy 168,000 American troops, recording the death of almost 4,000 of them in the quest for ‘peace’ in Iraq, could not afford the resources for peace in Somalia?’’ the former president queried further.
According to Obasanjo, the Somalia tragedy will continue to be a scar on the conscience of the
world, and it will ridicule the entire effort at building global community until it is resolved.
“It is this lack of demonstration of the principle of solidarity and collaborative effort that has failed in the Somalia case.
“The solidarity that we underline as the basis of our unity and development as a people, a principle that underscores our relationships as neighbours and as Africans.
“Solidarity that we underline and capitalise in our charters and constitutive acts will remain mere
appellations until we are ready to use it again as guiding, goading and inspirational term.
“It is not too late to correct the inadequate human collective efforts on Somalia,’’ newsmen quotes Obasanjo as saying.
Quoting a famous sociologist, Ralph Linton, on the subject of solidarity, Obasanjo said: “If all humanity had been left unaided by others, it is doubtful if any human society would have advanced beyond the level of the stone age.”
On the labeling of Somalia as a “failed state’’, Obasanjo said the tagging was derogatory and
it undermined the value of lives in that country.
“I have often listened to some intellectuals describing the Somalia situation as a failed state, with the implicit message that there is not such, if anything that could be done in Somalia.
I find that rather unconscionable.
“How can we talk of a failed state where human life and living are involved? In my mind as an analytical tool, the concept of a failed state is at best obscurantist and in the worst of situations a
gratuitous insult,’’ he said.
Obasanjo warned academics and political leaders to be wary of concepts that had been coined to
gain wide acceptance, without really conveying values to the African states and economy.
“Indeed and in truth, what has failed in Somalia is a myriad of highly ineffective, largely selective and predetermined initiatives and efforts at conflict resolution at the local, regional and global level.
“What has actually failed is global governance, what has happened which is a failure on our part, is our collective willingness to live with such a blight on our conscience and consciousness,’’ he said.
Citing an instance, the former president said a concept such as the Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) failed to improve the African economy, in spite of its wide acceptance and
usage.
“We recall with pain the foisting of a patently absurd economic framework called SAP on us and the effort it took on the part of some progressively inclined leaders to reject and repudiate the concept,’’ he recalled.
He added that it was after its failure that “the World Bank and the IMF agreed that it was a totally misleading and hastily conceived framework as unrealistic and certainly irrelevant to our situation doing more harm than good’’.
On the way forward for Somalia, Obasanjo said the resolution of the conflict must be based on clearly definable and identifiable principles.
“There is need to guard the balance of power, reduce the gap between expectations and power,
and reduce the probability of successful violence, ‘’ he said.
Obasanjo said a post-conflict Somalia must also be focused on prioritising on economic recovery
in order to heal the wounds of loss and poverty, instead of dwelling on political considerations.
Source: The Tide Online, Mar 31, 2008