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Inside Sanaag and its environs, General Ilka-Jir is revered for his celestial principles. He is also associated with unprecedented high-level of experience as an Army Commander and the head of the Directorate of Operations of the Somali National Army (SNA). He is also trained in the field of Management and Accounting at Bryan & Stratton College at Rochester, NY. When he was running for Presidency in Puntland, he had obtained enough political backing behind the patriotic fervor and generous spirit of his people. Former retired military generals volunteered for him and spoke on his behalf burnishing further his credentials as an honest and courageous man who can pull Puntland out of its woeful state. A rara avis who believes in prosperity through industriousness and fortitude! Of course, on his arrival of Bosasso, the commercial city of Puntland, he was received by his constituency with euphoria and stratospheric expectation of him that culminated into a tremendous turnout from town to town. Before he headed to the regions of Sanaag, western Bari and Haylaan (SWBH), the stronghold territory of his broad constituency, Gen. Ilka-jir was very successful and worked in close liaison between Sanaag and its environs and the Great Diaspora who hail from this region. He had received royal receptions and people rallied behind him with unyielding hope and support, confident that with him clinging on the political leadership, they will clobber and start an arduous long journey of struggle for a political independence from the clan-entities that claim their regions. Nothing is more useful to grasp how essential it's to stir up the collective energy of a supportive society into a mapped out political strategy assuming their energy, collaboration and loyal support can be steered to bring out concrete results. Gen. Ilka-jir knew this and he capitalized on it, but he missed a great opportunity. Any social and political structure that has evolved into a functional and recognizable form came through the efforts of the people who believed in their collective capacity and had held a burning desire to elevate the position from which they are seen by others. With that in mind, one with known leadership qualities would therefore understand how equally momentous the occasion would be to begin or aid an organizational project of self-governance assuming the energy directed on such noble endeavor would beget and multiply a similar and more efficient ones until it reaches its expected goal. However, Gen. Ilka-jir utterly failed to preside over our political decline, seize the opportunity, and wean SWBH off Puntland following the unfair selection of a highly corrupt individual. Farole's records are well kept for all to retrieve and see as he raided the parliament leading to the deaths of dozens or so people during Ade Muse's tenure. Therefore, It's no longer a guarded secret that Puntland demands for a continued submission to its three sinister policies of nepotism, land expansion and exploitation. Those individuals who made the case that Ilka-jir would lay himself open to accusations that he used his clan as an instrument of power in luau of challenging the status quo in order to effect an improvement of his lot are actually calling for submission and silence. There are some plausible reasons and the General does not lack the dynamism and charisma of a great leader, but he chose to avoid the risks and adventurism of politics, a scenario which would undermine the political rights of his masses. For instance, the people who had invested Ilka-jir with huge emotional resources such that the golden trust they bestowed on his capacity to lead and properly manage the complexity of their political environment were extremely disappointed and their unity shattered. Thus Ilka-jir opted for expedience than real change when Sultan Said Sultan Abdisallan and other prominent Garaads in the region endorsed him to be their political leader and thus gave him the Overriding Power. Consequently, this political decision by Gen. Abdullah Jama to work with Puntland very much reflects the dismal political leadership and controversies that are palpable within our regions' lack of institutions. For instance, the prevailing attitude of Maakhir folks including politicians, former civil servants, businesses, and reputed elders can be classified into two camps, each with a pair of policy prescriptions. The first camp is best seen as collaborationist of the status quo. This camp constitutes the old guard. Some of them have a long civil and military career but majority are made up of the traditional council of elders, business interest groups, and directors of local NGOs. Their philosophy of governance is that the interest of Sanaag, western Bari and Hayland and that of Puntland is of symbiosis and non-negotiable. This political alliance, they aver, is indispensable to the ongoing preservation of our phalanx and common values. But this entails a huge cost of its own such as politically directed projects, lack of consensus on priorities and capacity building, disorganization, and alienation. Furthermore, the decentralized aid programs of the U.N will keep on getting diverted as no country or legal body formally recognizes our leadership and clout to enter treaties, memorandum of understanding, security pact or other relations with international bodies and the developed world thus failing, in international legal parlance, to protect our land from foreign-owned corporations’ direct exploitation. Conflicts triggered by Africa Oil and Range Resources in Majihan, Bari are examples to note. By Mohamed A. Elmi _______________________________________________________________________________ We welcome the submission of all articles for possible publication on WardheerNews.com So please email your article today Opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of WardheerNews |
