Sometimes the unthinkable can become reality if we applied our
minds to possibilities and fortunes beyond our ordinary imaginations.
When in 2011 Kenya invaded Somalia in pursuit of Al-Shabaab militants,
it was consistent with the UN Charter, which allows for self defence in
preservation of territorial integrity.
It
is almost seven years since the Kenya Defence Forces crossed into
Somalia to not only stabilise the country but also stop Al Shabaab
cross-border attacks. Supreme sacrifice by Kenya has seen lives of our
men and women lost. Fortunately, Somalia is slowly becoming stable and
hopefully peace shall prevail within its borders.
In
the scheme of geo-political strategy, Somalia will need a lot of
support from the international community, especially Kenya. But
reflecting much more deeply, one reality of Somalia is unique. It is one
of the most homogenous societies in the world with a common language,
culture and religion.
But it has been
in difficulties since 1990 when the dictator Siad Barre was deposed,
without a viable alternative capable of holding Somalia together,
especially because of clan rivalry. The Somali people tend to identify
themselves along these clans, and as the saying goes, to a Somali the
family and the clan come first versus the rest.
Kenya
too has challenges of ethnic configurations of about 44 different
groups but the country has largely remained a united multiparty
democratic state. It has strong and well defined institutional
frameworks under the doctrine of separation of powers where the
Executive, Judiciary and Legislature coexist harmoniously and
Constitutionally.
Geographically,
Kenya covers 582,000 and Somalia 637,000 square kilometres with
respective coastal lines of 490 and 3,333km. Kenya has a population of
close to 49 million while Somalia has roughly 20 million. However,
Somalia is unique in the sense that it is highly globalised. A lot of
its citizens live in the Horn of Africa, Yemen, the Gulf States, Western
Europe and US and Canada — but Kenya and Yemen have most of the Somali
refugees. By their nature Somali people are very enterprising,
hardworking and those that have been exposed are highly educated. Kenya
has a large population of ethnic Somalis, who mostly live in the north
eastern region. They occupy key positions in the national and county
governments and are integrated like any other ethnic community of Kenya.
TERRITORIAL INTEGRITY
Why then wouldn’t there be a Kenya Somalia
Federation despite Somalis usually associating with the Middle East
while their natural ally should be Kenya? If the two Nations were to
federate on matters defence, law and order, foreign affairs,
agriculture, education, health, territorial integrity and coast guards
they will constitute a formidable force and their combined resources
both human and natural would make this Eastern Africa Federation an
attractive investment destination.
This
would enable us to exploit maritime resource along the combined 3,800km
long coastline with incredible exclusive economic zone and territorial
waters.
We shall have a combined
population of close to 70 million plus and this will create a formidable
market opening up a new frontier.
As
for the constitutional construct, we can come up with governance
structures where Somalia will be producing a Deputy President while
Kenya produces a President within a transition period after which any
national of Kenya and Somalia can contest for the presidency. However,
the issue of a new constitutional dispensation can be debated and agreed
upon while overreaching beneficial value of the federation should focus
on synergy and creation of a climate where peoples of these two
countries can freely take advantage of vast opportunities.
This will ultimately have value in harnessing greater peace and tranquillity.
The
model being proposed here can have application across Africa in
creating several federations because if we have to trade and negotiate
with other nations outside of the continent the current geographical
dispensations of small population-wise states cannot give us leverage.
Above all, these federations will help us chart forward with development
of common languages.
This advocacy
is intended to address the future of Africa in the context of globalised
world with less perpetual dependency by changing the paradigm to
greater production of economies of scale with larger populations/market
and hence capabilities for greater research and development.