by Osman Hassan
Thursday, April 16, 2020
The honourable Mohamed Abdi Yusuf, a former Prime Minister of Somalia, is a man distinguished by his probity and patriotism -rare qualities among Somalia’s contemporary corrupt political class. When political expediency dictates others to remain silent on the secession, Mohamed Abdi Yusuf by contrast has no qualms to speak for the nation, all the more as befits a former Prime Minister. He was therefore true to himself when the other day he gave a rare interview. Outspoken and forthright as usual, he stated among other things the inviolability of the union, the treachery of the former SNM rebels against the Somali State and the inadmissibility of the secession. This narrative, shared by millions of Somalis, is nonetheless heresy in the eyes of diehard secessionists and as expected he was orally lynched for crossing their redlines..
But what is galling about the uproar generated by Mohamed Abdi Yusuf’s interview is not so much it came from Hargeisa as that was predictable but from Mogadishu of all places, the capital of the country, and from parliamentarians, the presumed defenders of the union. And to be precise, they were none other than the separatist enclave’s representatives in the federal parliament. On occasions like this, when they feel the enclave is under fire from its external enemies, they gang up together, show their true colours as “Somalilanders” and pledge solidarity with their true motherland. Far from rallying to the defence of the former PM, or otherwise remaining silent, they instead denounced him and defended Somaliland as if was a sovereign country whose internal affairs are out of bounds for outsiders. Even Marwo Fowzia Yusuf Haji Adan waded into the furore to have the last word and lambasted him, not missing to mock his old age as if that was a blemish and not a blessing.
Hargeisa might shame them in public as turncoats who defected to Mogadishu but in private appreciates them as the enclave’s formidable caucus who utilise their voting clout to deter challenges from Mogadishu. Incurring Hargeisa’s displeasure has political costs just as indulging it has its rewards. Wily former president Hassan Sheikh Mohamoud courts them shrewdly as when he awarded them equal status with Somalia at the talks. It is an investment and the political dividends are awaited when the time comes. Farmaajo too is mindful of the stakes and that might explains why he did nothing to deal with the secession for all the time he has been in office. For Hargeisa, inaction against the secession is as good as giving them a pat on the back and that too could have its rewards. As such, discretion not to run Hargeisa’s gauntlet is the conventional wisdom among Somali leaders in power or aspiring to it in Mogadishu
The political class in Mogadishu have turned their back on the former PM. Of all those in the Somali parliament, the SSC members should have spoken up for once and defend him. Alas as always, they remained do-nothing dummies in permanent mute mode. In order to defend the stand of the former PM, it is necessary to briefly revisit British Somaliland’s colonial past, independence, the union, and its course thereafter. This recourse to history and the facts will debunk the secessionists’ cherished false history and claims
Somaliland’s colonial genesis
For a start, the name Somaliland is a common appellation applied historically to all the lands inhabited by Somalis in the Horn of Africa. What existed then were not specific territories or countries as the secessionists would claim but disparate borderless tribal settlements, identifiable by their clan name. It is against this background Britain acquired its portion of the Somali homeland not through military conquest but simple consent. It cleverly played on the hostility among perennially warring clans and offered each protection from its neighbouring foe.
Thus, between 1884 and 1886, all the clans except one signed such protection treaties with Britain .The land was her Majesty’s territory - not its Somali people who were merely her subjects, a slightly dignified status than slaves. Such colonial paradigm of possession, divide and rule and the maintenance of perpetual distrust among the clans ensured the absence of national consciousness and aspirations until close to independence. So much for Somaliland’s colonial past. These realities totally negate the secessionist claims that they used to be a separate country or nation. There was none before the birth of Somalia.
The advent of nationalism and Independence in British Somaliland
The first time there was a struggle against British presence in its Somali territory (and the last until shortly before independence) came with the birth of the Darwish liberation movement in 1899 under the leadership of Sayid Mohamed Abdullah Hassan which was finally defeated in 1920. The advent of Somali nationalism in Italian Somaliland after the Second World War under the guidance of S.Y.L, and the designation of the territory as UN Trusteeship to gain independence within ten years is what finally spawned similar Somali nationalism in the British colony.
In December 1959, the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted a resolution that Italian Somaliland should become independent on 1ST July 1960. This action sparked similar demand by all the clans in British Somaliland for independence, not for its own sake but in order to unite immediately with Italian Somaliland on its date of independence. That demand was channelled through their respective political parties and elected members in the Protectorate’s legislative council. Accordingly, on 6th April 1960, the Council unanimously adopted the following resolution:
“That it is the opinion of this House that practical steps should be taken forthwith for the immediate unification of the Protectorate and Somalia, That prompt action is essential to achieve this most cherished aim, and can be fully justified by the special importance which popular support in the country attaches to its early achievement, That the day of independence and unification with Somalia must be 1st July 1960, the date which Somalia will attain its full freedom”. (see Report of the Somaliland Protectorate Constitutional Conference held in London May 1960)
Following the adoption of this Motion, Mr Mohamed Ibrahim Egal, as leader of the Legislative Council led a delegation to London in May 1960 to seek the requested independence from the U.K. government in order to unite with Italian Somaliland. That demand was granted and so Somaliland Protectorate became independent on 26 June and united with Italian Somaliland on 1st July1960 in accordance with the resolution of the Legislative Council and in line with the wish of all the clans. No clan took others to this union as that was a collective decision. Similarly, no one clan can take others from the union other than force as happened.
The facts about the independence and union
· That, as the Report of the Somaliland Protectorate Constitutional Conference held in London May 1960 attests, the clans of British Somaliland collectively decided in April 1960, well before independence, to unite with Italian Somaliland and not after independence as secessionists falsely claim;
· That the independence sought from Britain was not an end itself but a means to an end – and solely to unite with Italian Somaliland;
· That Somaliland’s four days independence was merely a wok in progress meant to lead to the union of 1st July 1960;
· That, contrary to the secessionists’ claims, no country bothered to recognize a country that would only remain independent for only 4 days;