Hiiraan Online

The government so far has not added an inch of land what was in the hands of the previous government. The TFG government is holed up in villa Somalia and is in the protection of the United Nations Mission in Somalia a patch work of Ugandan and Burundi soldiers. The capital is as lawless as ever before. Population centers and markets are shelled equally by Al-Shabaab, Xisbul-Islaam and UNISOM along with TFG. Bandits and unpaid government soldiers roam the streets and frequently rope people and transport systems.  The president, the prime minister and their ministers are in whirlwind tours around the globe begging for money that does not reach beyond their entourage.

The government’s lack of discipline and poor performance in international stages are the laugh of foreign dignitaries. The Somali delegates are so unprepared to leave up to diplomatic protocols, for example they would show up too many and often times uninvited in international conferences. Case in point the UN conference in New York, the UN has to scramble to get a seat for uninvited Somali official at last minute and more examples are abound in other international venues.

False hopes and outright lies are disseminated by high level officials wearing religious garb. An example how many times we have heard a TFG official promising the security of Mogadishu will all be in government hands next few weeks! It never materialized and there was never a plan to secure it. The government soldiers are deserting and are opting for illegal means to obtain their daily bread. What is worse the trained military are joining the opposition Al-Shabaab because Al-Shabaab pays on time while the government is not.

Money is coming in but where is the money going? What results had the money produced? So far with the exception of few hundred students going for scholarships to Yemen and Sudan, we do not see anything else the government has tangibly produced. The money is lost in unnecessary travels and fat salaries for lazy parliamentarians. Currently, military units are trained in Djibouti, Rwanda, Uganda and Kenya but who would take them in when they graduate? The TFG or Al-Shabaab? I do believe these soldiers are indirectly trained for Al-Shabaab because at the end they will join who pays them not who they were trained to protect.

If you really think this government does not have enough resources to make things happen all you have to do is compare and contrast with Al-Shabaab. The point here is not the viability of Al-Shabaab state as they carry their own destruction and will eventually within short time destroy themselves but the point is; see how far they have gone and what they achieved with meager resources and the will to succeed. A misguided group but highly effective in their operations and goals. Al-Shabaab with little support from Eritrea is gaining ground every day. They now control from Kismayo to Afgooye and Baydhabo to the borders with Kenya and Ethiopia. They have absolute and complete control of all the cities under their control. Compare the Yo-Yo situation of TFG and Hisbul-Islam in Baladweyne. Al-Shabab established impenetrable defenses and functional administration areas under their control. They have eliminated narcotics such Qaat and Cigarettes. No sound can be heard from their areas without their complete consent. They have established a state based on fear nonetheless exists today without ever making one trip to foreign land or the support of the UN, European Union, UNISON, African Union and other nations. To their credit they made all these efforts possible while their leadership is being hunted from sea, air and land, granted they have been doing their own hunting as well. My point is there is no excuse to do nothing because the world is not supporting TFG. All they need is the will and committed leadership that shows impartial justice to all.

The president who saved warlords from an eminent demise are portrayed as being inexperienced and needs handholding, case in point see the presidential speech in Washing DC and Minneapolis where the other Sharif  Hassan is breathing on his neck and sometimes shamelessly reading his prepared speech. Perhaps the president advisers forgot to remind President Sharif where his true power is and how he came to power, he came to power because of his roots in the Islamic Courts and the moving eloquent speeches he use to make back in 2006.  People of Somali saw him as a wise, religious and moderate leader and the world including some of the warlords who voted for him saw a man who can take them to a different level.  It seems the president is made to believe that solution lies with UN and African neighbors. If the UN and African neighbors have solution and are keen on helping Somalia, why then did they not help Prime Minister Gedi and president Abdullahi Yusuf, two men they trusted and hand-picked! Obviously a solution cannot be forced from outside, it should be born within and I am sure President Sharif was sitting in the trenches when all these disparate Islamic courts was coupled together and made united organization. He just needs to go back to the same drawing board and make it happen. No more half hearted negotiations where the president looks back to former warlords how long the stick he can hand, he should have free rein to negotiate the opposition to make his government viable to work or soon there will be no government at all.

Sharif and Sharmarke have 90 more days to show tangible results or fatigue and doubt will soon creep in people’s minds. The Somali people who supported will see them another chapter of failed Somali leadership. That would be an unfortunate as they have represented one of the best opportunities for Somalia. Let us hope the next 90 days produces better results than the last 300 days. It is about time to remove all the former warlords whose loyalty lies elsewhere and let them sit for a while.  Give the leadership to those former Islamic Courts Union members who have achieved results and are interested nation building. I am eager and pray to see better days for Somalia and the government. My hopes are not as high as the days that followed January 31, 2009.

Ali Osman
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