By Muuse Yusuf
As the majority of Members of the
Transitional Parliament (MTPs) meet
in Baydhabo, a glimmer of hope and
expectation fill in the hearts of
many Somalis and their friends and
supports from the international community.
However, I am concerned that history
will repeat it self, and that hopes
will be dashed again as a consequence
of the honourable MTPs failing to
achieve any concrete results from
the meeting, or the conference descending
into chaos and a punch-up as it did
in Kenya. I am particularly concerned
that topics such the deployment of
foreign troops, the lifting of the
arms embargo, personal ambitions and
self-interest, and the Mogadishu issue
will dominate the meeting, and that
the crucial issues of legitimacy,
representation, constituency and leadership
that are essential in nation-state
building will be marginalised or forgotten.
Recent events since the formation
of the TFP (Transitional Federal Parliament)
in Kenya show that the above four
topics were the major factors that
divided MTPs into the Speaker's corner
and the President's camp. Also it
is obvious from speeches made by politicians
in Baydhabo and elsewhere that the
topics have not gone away but are
lurking around to surface later on
in the meeting.
In this article I will argue that
there would be no need for the deployment
of a foreign army, the lifting of
arms embargo and the need for a capital
city, provided that MTPs take sincerely
and seriously the crucial issues of
legitimacy, representation, constituency
and leadership at grass root level.
Also, I will outline some challenges
or a list of tasks that each MTP will
be expected to complete before or
at the end of the term of TFP. The
tasks or challenges will be used as
a benchmark for measuring up an MTP's
legitimacy, credibility, trustworthiness
and integrity. Those MTPs who rise
up to the challenges and complete
their tasks before or at the end of
the term will be considered as honourable
real MPs and will be entered into
the golden pages of the history. Those
MTPs who do not measure up to the
challenge will be dismissed as failed
MTPs who do not possess the wisdom,
vision, integrity, dignity and courage,
that are essential for a hero to command
the trust, credibility, legitimacy
and a leadership that are crucial
for a leader to save a nation.
It is not disputed that MTPs were
selected and were not elected by the
people, which is why I coined the
term "MTP" and chose it
over the phrase MP. This is because
the term MP is conventionally applicable
in situations where members of a parliament
were elected by the people directly.
I have also coined the phrase "s-elected"
when describing the status of MTPs
because the term combines "selection"
and "election", which is
appropriate in MTPs' current position
who are between selection-election.
This is because in some political
circles particularly those who believe
in the process, it is argued that
MTPs are selected by traditional leaders
"ugaasyo, duubyo, suldanno, malaaqyo"
etc who in turn were supposedly elected
by their clans and therefore are representatives
of the people. Therefore this group
believes that MTPs are elected members
of a transitional parliament. In other
political circles particularly those
who see the current transitional parliament
as a process argue that MTPs are merely
individuals who put their names forward
and were then selected for perceived
personal qualities, skills, clan-hierarchy,
and seniority etc, and therefore do
not enjoy legitimacy and cannot be
considered as real MPs. However, for
the sake of argument and to make a
point, and also as the huge debate
about democratic representation and
legitimacy are beyond the sphere of
a short article like this, let us
assume that these MTPs were se-elected
and because of this they "represent"
some constituencies. Therefore the
legitimate question that imposes itself
is: who are their constituencies?
And where are they? Although I do
not believe dividing up Somalis into
clans, for the sake of argument let
us again say that the constituencies
of MTPs are their sub- clans who habitually
reside in villages, towns, districts
and cities across Somalia where they
struggle to survive in a harsh environment
with scarce resources but with dignity,
resilience and courage. However until
now, the "constituencies"
are still waiting the service of MTPs
who were "se-elected" for
their personal qualities (e.g. courage,
integrity, principal), expertise,
and social status. Sub-clans or "constituencies"
are still yearning for a hero, a leader
who they can trust,
who they can share with their dreams
and fears, and a hero who has the
wisdom, integrity and knowledge to
solve some of their many problems.
Since the formation of the Federal
Transitional Parliament (FTP) in Kenya,
some MTPs have been staying outside
the country where they have been scrambling
for a few hundreds of $$$ as their
daily allowances, while others have
been supported by their families or
clansmen in abroad or at home. It
is well documented that some MTPs
were even thrown out of their hotels
in
Kenya after the $$$ from the international
community run out and they were forced
to live in an undignified manner.
It is also well documented that few
MTPs particularly government ministers
have been travelling extensively around
the globe. I bet you surf one of the
many Somali internet sites, and hardly
a day passes by without some news
about a government minister in a foreign
visit. Some of the sites have even
dubbed the government as the "Dowladda-Dalxiiska-ku-
Maqan" or the "Tourist Government
in Exile." Sometimes one wonders
whether even some stable and functioning
governments in Africa or Asia can
afford to travel extensively as TFG
ministers have done! On the other
hand, some members had the courage
and integrity to
return to Somalia to engage with their
"constituencies." However,
they tend to congregate in major cities
or towns where in café bars they talk
about the politics of the four topics
mentioned earlier, as they plot to
outwit other MTPs who they perceive
as their opponents. The last group
of the MTPs are those who are armed
and have militia. It is clear from
their behaviour that the main interest
of this group is the preservation
and protection of their power and
position in the struggle for survival
of the fittest!
While MTPs have been scrambling for
$$$, globe-trotting, plotting against
each other, or congregating in major
cities, the "constituencies"
that they were s-elected to "represent"
have been experiencing a harsher and
harder realities ranging from natural
and man-made disasters e.g. droughts,
tsunami, civil wars, terrorists, and
lack of basic needs etc. The life
of a MTP in a Nairobi hotel subsidised
by the international community is
not comparable with the life of a
barefooted nomad in a village who
has no prospect of employment, and
whose last she-camel was killed by
the drought. But ironically, it is
in the name of the barefooted poor
nomad that the MTPs were s-elected
in order to save them. During the
selection process, it was believed
or perceived that some MTPs stood
out of the crowd because of their
vision, wisdom, courage, integrity,
skills, social status, seniority and
many other skills and qualities. It
was also assumed or believed that
an MTP would use their personal qualities
and skills to serve the communities
they were se-elected to "represent"
and would gradually gain the trust
and the
confidence of their sub-clans. And
yet so far and before the Baydhabo
meeting most MTPs have been unable
to bring themselves down from the
undignified lives in hotels in Nairobi,
or to stop bickering and squabbling
among themselves in order to serve
the nomad whose name is being used,
and also to honour the oath they took
to work towards the unity of the Somali
people. The barefooted nomad, the
misled and lost militia-men, the orphan
and the widow at village, town, district,
and at regional levels were/are left
to deal with life's challenges while
MTPs sat in cafés, indulging themselves
in a talk-shop about the above-mentioned
four topics which, in my opinion,
are insignificant if compared with
the crucial issues of legitimacy,
representation, leadership and constituency,
which are crucial in nation-state
building, but which, unfortunately,
seem to be missing from their political
debates and agendas.
The top-down level solution?
The issue of Mogadishu as
capital city
It is not disputed the importance
of a seat for a government or a parliament.
However, in my humble opinion, all
the arguments created by the "Mogadishu"
as the capital city is not worth if
weighted against the task that each
MTP were supposedly "s-elected"
for, namely to represent the interest
of their "constituencies"
and to serve the Somali people. In
my opinion it is at the grass root
level namely at village, town, district,
regional levels that the MTPs need
to prove the personal qualities, political
skills and expertise that they were
s-elected for. Rather than wasting
their time and energy at a one issue,
it is at the grass root level where
the MTPs should have been undertaking
their constitutional responsibilities,
e.g. demobilisation and disarmament,
institution building, conflict resolution
and reconciliation, protection of
human rights and the
environment, restoration of peace,
and all other tasks that are summarised
in Articles 68 and 71 of the Transitional
Charter. In other words using their
personal qualities and expertise,
MTPs should be performing the above
duties at lower levels in order to
first of all gain the confidence and
the trust of the people they claim
to represent, and then prepare their
"constituencies" and themselves
for a future direct federal election,
in which the Somali people will hopefully
decide a capital city for their country.
I know the civil war destroyed most
of Somalis' civic and economic
institutions but I must say that it
also made people realise that top-down
solutions do not work, and that solutions
are at lower levels. In other words
the development of economic and civic
institutions in villages, districts
and regions is also crucial in nation-state
building. For this
reason, some communities have heavily
invested in their regions, and it
is a de-facto that each existing regional
state and administrations have their
own capital cities. Cities like Boosaaso,
Hargeysa, Garawe, Baydhabo, Kismayo
etc are now becoming big towns, which
will be rubbing shoulders with other
international cities and town soon.
Furthermore, it is obvious that in
post- state collapse era, in the eyes
of many Somalis, Mogadishu is no longer
the capital city and does not command
the respect it once had as the official
capital city of Somalia. Therefore,
in my view, it is not wise to impose
a capital city right now but to wait
until such a time when people are
ready and politically mature, and
the country is stable to choose a
capital. However, the task of preparing
people to choose a capital is on shoulders
of MTPs who are in view shying away
from their responsibility.
It is now clear that one of the reasons
why the Arta FTP failed was because
it tried to use the top-down solution,
i.e. the group thought that securing
and centralising power in Mogadishu
would bring in legitimacy and recognition.
Also, most Somalis would agree that
the military regime failed because
of its obsession with a centralised
state - in which Mogadishu or
the Villa Somalia became the power
house for all Somalis. Do the MTPs
want
to follow the road to failure?
It is understandable that MTPs need
to have a focal-point or a place where
they can meet to discuss their responsibilities
under the transitional charter. However,
in my opinion, MTPs could hold their
regular and irregular conventions
in any neutral town or a city as they
are doing right now in Baydhabo until
such a time when a city that is acceptable
to all emerges. For example current
MTPs should - through diplomacy -
try to ask or negotiate with the authorities
in the North West state (Somaliland)
or the Puntland State if they could
hold a reconciliation meeting in Hargeysa
or Garawe. This would be the second
reconciliation meeting to be held
in Somali
soil and would hopefully bring people
together.
The deployment of foreign
troops
In my opinion, bringing in foreign
troops is the wrong solution. This
is because past events and experiences
demonstrated that a top-down solution
did not work for Somalia, for example
the deployment of US troops - one
of the largest foreign troop missions
in an African soil - ended in disaster
because of an immature political thought
and plan, which believed that stability
and peace would be restored in Somalia
once Mogadishu is captured, and once
Caydid and Mahdi were reconciled!
It was more or less known to everyone
that both men lacked the legitimacy,
credibility and trust of even their
own sub-clans let alone the whole
nation, which was disintegrating into
warlord fiefdoms. It was also obvious
that Mogadishu was no longer seen
by many Somalis as the capital city
of Somalia, and that it did not command
the respect and admiration of all
Somalis as it did.
The deployment of foreign troops
may not be necessary if MTPs take
the crucial issues of legitimacy,
representation, leadership and constituency
at grass levels very seriously and
sincerely. Again the argument here
is that rather than wasting resources
in a vague talk about bringing in
foreign troops, MTPs' resources should
be utilised at village, district and
regional
levels. Individual members of the
sub-clans "constituencies"
ranging from armed men, barefooted
nomads, orphans and widows are still
waiting for a hero and a leader to
salvage them from a vicious circle
of violence, self-destruction, and
perpetual poverty. Once MTPs-including
armed ones-do their homework i.e.
disbanding local militias, the process
of reconciliation, peace restoration
and the disarming the armed militias
would be much easier than it is now.
It would also be easier for the transitional
government to build a national police
force using the disbanded militias.
Estimates suggest that there are over
hundred armed militia. Imagine the
outcome of a hypothetical scenario
in which each and every one of the
275 MTPs, utilising their personal
qualities, political skills, influence
and enlisting the help of others e.g.
traditional leaders and international
community, make their number one priority
is to disband at least one
existing local militia and integrate
it into a national federal army. Would
there be a need for foreign troops?
I doubt it.
The lifting of the arms embargo
Somalia is swamped with a huge amount
of arms and ammunition, which is why
the international community rightly
imposed an embargo. If you need the
evidence for this, just ask a widow
and an orphan whose father was killed
by the recent fighting in Mogadishu,
which left many innocent people dead.
In some parts of Somalia food markets,
e.g. Bakaaraha, have been transformed
into arms markets where people congregate
to buy arms to rob, to kill, or hurt
fellow Somalis. I fail to understand
the logic behind the argument to lift
the arms embargo in country like Somalia
where there are already enough arms
and ammunition to build a national
police force to restore order and
stability, which is, in my view, what
the government needs right now. Again
I would argue that provided MTPs-including
armed ones-do home work at local level
i.e. engaging in political dialogue
with militia, their bosses, and the
traditional leaders in view of integrating
them into a national federal army,
there would be no need to import more
arms in Somalia. So my advice to you
as MTPs is first to do your homework
- i.e. disarm yourself and disband
an existing militia instead of uttering
words lifting of arms embargo, foreign
troops, which are top-down level solution.
The grass root level
solution?
Legitimacy, constituency,
representation leadership at grass
root level
The 275 MTPs came originally from
villages and towns that are situated
in their sub-clans "constituencies"
regions. So if these MTPs claim that
they are the most qualified to represent
their constituencies, then the question
is what prevents them from accepting
their responsibilities and descending
into towns, districts and villages
in order to serve the people they
claim to represent. It is understandable
that there are safety and security
concerns, which are legitimate, and
the assassination attempt of the life
of the transitional PM when he ventured
out of Jawhar demonstrated it. However,
when MTPs were se-elected they obviously
accepted some risks that are associated
with their positions and work. Therefore
the question is: Why talk about the
big ideas likes the deployment of
foreign troops, the lifting of arms
embargo and the capital city while
they can not even venture out of their
relatively comfortable lives in hotels?
The answer to this may rest with the
character and legitimacy of some MTPs
who may not commend the respect, trust
and confidence of the people they
were se-elected for. Some of them
may lack the personal qualities (i.e.
vision, wisdom and political skills)
that they were se- elected for, which
are essential for a leader and a hero.
So to conclude my article - here
are some challenges for each and every
MTP in Baydhabo. The task will start
from the day they conclude their meeting
in Baydhabo and the day they start
leaving to their "constituencies"
or regions. The tasks will have to
be completed before or at the end
of the transitional period. I would
and I am sure every Somali would take
off their hats as a sign of respect
and would salute and embrace the "MTP"
who successfully completes the following
tasks before or at the end of their
term:
