It has been twenty long years since the collapse of the Somali state and structure of Somali society. Civil wars and societal upheavals are nothing new- they have existed since time memoriam-. Many nations around the globe have had their fair share of civil wars, but the majority of them have managed to end them by setting aside their differences and focusing on rebuilding and unifying their countries.  Unfortunately, this glorious aspect of “unification and nation building” has been more than fleeting in the unfortunate case of Somalia.  The civil war is now in its twentieth year with the death of thousands of people, displacement of millions (internally and externally), and the continuous and endless suffering of many others who are trapped with no means of escaping this maddening war.

Ask any Somali the solution to our problem and chances are they will tell you we are lacking exemplary leadership. Then the question becomes, what happened to our leaders? Are they not born yet?   Or is it possible that a nation of millions cannot produce a few men and women who can transcend their tribal, religious and personal interests?  I vehemently believe that we will never know the answer unless Somali men(1) have a sincere self examination to find out what key qualities they have in order to tackle the situation at hand- the Somali civil war-. All Somalia has ever needed and continues to lack is “a few good men” to enable it to get out of the decaying, monstrous quagmire that has defined it for the last two decades: endless war, ruthless killing, and nonstop mayhem.  Although our disenfranchised Somali brothers and sisters who are stuck in the war without any escape are looking up to us (those in the West) for leadership to end the war and restore peace to our fragmented state, we continue to fail them time and again.  Somali men in the West are far from restoring peace to the motherland if they do not get out of the three categories they seem to be “boxed” in.  Below is a full description of these categories with individuals(2) who embody these characteristics.    

Loquacious War Mongers:

Ahmed is unemployed father of seven.  He lives in a subsidized housing with his family in which he does not pay a single dime for rent.  He chose to be unemployed; Ahmed would rather spend every minute of his life hanging out in coffee shops, barber shops, or outside Somali malls chatting his life away about the misfortunes that are going on in Somalia than look for meaningful employment that can sustain him and his family.  Not only does he not pay for rent, but Ahmed has learnt all the nooks and crannies of milking the system, he does not also pay for food and groceries for his family, and all utilities are also taken care of thanks to his “generous” host country.  Ahmed portrays himself as the most devout, God fearing Muslim one will ever encounter, yet he lies through his teeth to obtain all the benefits he can get his hands on. 

As the saying goes: Birds of a feather flock together- and so do Ahmed and his unemployed buddies.  They usually begin their mornings in the coffee shops, at times even arriving earlier than the owner.  They discuss fiercely about the war and they update themselves with the latest news from back home with BBC and VOA.  They talk mercilessly and endlessly about the killings and mayhem in Mogadishu not to mention the suicide bombings ripping through graduations and market places.  They only break for the prayer and resume through lunch to pick up where they left off- who killed who today?  How many people died?  How many ships did the pirates hijack and which pirates obtained the highest ransom….

All the while Ahmed’s children keep asking their mum when is Aabe coming home to spend time with us.  His wife Halimo tries her best to calm the kids down promising them that Aabe will be coming home soon, but unfortunately Ahmed always comes late in the night when the children have already gone to bed.  And so the sad story of the absentee father continues to chronicle the many lives of Somali children as they continue to fail in schools without any support from home.  Mom is too busy taking care of children and doing all the household chores, and dad, beloved Aabe Ahmed is busy chatting his life away.  He is neither helping his family nor the people he talks about incessantly. No amount of yearning from Halimo and the children will enable Ahmed to stay home and spend some quality time with his family.  His shift will begin tomorrow morning; bright and early at his favorite coffee shop- Mogadishu Café-.

As sad as it is, Ahmed is the “typical” Somali men in the west.  I thus leave this section by asking you if you know any “Ahmed’s” and if you are a male reader, do you see any traits that “Ahmed” has that perhaps you might have.  Isn’t it time we stopped talking about the war and instead do something meaningful with our lives and help those who are still going through it on a daily basis?  No amount of talk, bickering, and yelling will help those are suffering. Let us stop the “culture of endless talk, and zero action.”

Incompetent Go-Getters:

Yahye is a father of twelve children and like Ahmed whom I have described above, he is also unemployed.  Unlike Ahmed though, he does not want to sit down idly all day talking about the strife filled Somali state, he actually believes he can bring “change” to his country by restoring peace and ushering a new era of responsibility and good leadership.  The one and only job that he dreams of having and would do anything to get it is becoming the Somali President.  He is not interested nor does he have any desire of any cabinet or any other positions- Yahye has his eyes on the big prize-.

Yahye has made several trips to Addis Ababa to showcase his deep loyalty to the Zenawi regime.  He understands profoundly that Ethiopia is the key holder to Somali politics and it is only with the blessing of the Zenawi government that Yahye can climb up the political ladder.  In Addis, Yahye usually stays at the upscale Sheraton Hotel with the tax return he collected from his family and children.  During the day, Yahye is too busy brokering deals to outsmart his main rivals to the presidency and creating a variety of ways to bid to the highest auction the biggest parcel on sale: Somalia.  In the evenings, he engages his fellow clansmen in Addis Ababa with fervent hope and unyielding belief that their time to lead Somalia (into another quagmire off course) has come.  Somali politics (Yahye believes) has always run on tribal and clan affiliation and Yahye does not shy away from capitalizing on this.  He knows how to play the game very well and proudly asks his clansmen to wire him money.

One has to admire Yahye’s unwavering tenacity.  Here is a man without any educational background, zero leadership skills, absolutely no history of ever holding any government position, yet he believes he is the man who the job needs.  How can a man who cannot lead his own family lead an entire nation?  Yahye’s true and deepest motivations are not to restore peace and order to our war-torn nation, but it is greed, power, and wealth coupled with the intention of continuing with the disorder and bloodshed.  Remember the song: KURSIGAAS BAAN CAASHAQAYEE MADAXWEYNE MADAXWEYNE KOL I DHAHAYEE. All in all, a man who has not held any job for the longest time is wishfully dreaming of being trusted with the most important duty and responsibility in Somalia. Are we going to let him as we have done in the past?   Isn’t it time for us to say enough is enough?

Furthermore, the sooner we challenge the “Yahye-likes” who are aimlessly wondering among us to create more havoc, the better we will be as society.

Competent Nay Sayers:

Hirsi Maxamed, a father of two children lives in Minneapolis in a suburb outside the city.  He obtained his Bachelor degree in Education at Lafoole University during the heyday of Somalia (free tuition, thanks to Somali government).  He graduated at the top of his class and was lucky enough to obtain a scholarship to continue with his education in the United States.  He was admitted to New York University in the mid 1980’s to complete his master’s degree in education and after completion of his degree, he decided to prolong his stay in the U.S. in order to get his doctorate. He was completely dedicated to the program and eagerly awaited for the day he would go back home to Somalia to put all the skills and knowledge he had gained to good use. Unfortunately, the civil war erupted in Somalia just as Hirsi completed his PhD program. 

Although Hirsi was miles, oceans, and continents apart from the chaos and disorder of the civil war, he took it close to heart and all the civilian unrest and mayhem of the war have in many ways traumatized him.  Hirsi is not only an avid reader who keeps up with current events, but he also understands deeply the geopolitics of the world. Unlike Yahye, he is a man who the job needs. He lives with his two children and wife in upper income neighborhood in the city. Hirse lives a city with sizable Somali populations, but he does not interact with the Somalis, call it class. If you ask Hirsi what is happening in Somalia, he will give you a lengthy lecture on the demise of the Somali state and blatantly inform you that all the men who are running Somalia are incompetent and power-hungry.  Unfortunately, if you ask him for alternatives to the status quo, or sacrifice he is willing to make to bring about the change he envisions, it would not be long time, before Hirsi becomes speechless.

Hirsi’s main focus is on his two children.  He has enrolled both of them in private schools and has big dreams for them to attend Ivy League school.  He decided not to teach them Somali or associate with other Somali children and has completely alienated from anything that has to do with Somali culture or history.  He does not see any rhyme or reason he should teach his children Somali language since he believes deeply it would do them no good. His thought process is rooted to the fact he speaks flawless Somali and can recite poetry by the great Somali poets and it has brought him no good and therefore, he does not want to waste his time teaching his children Somali. What good will it truly bring them anyway? His children refer to him as daddy and not Abe and as days turn to nights, nights to weeks, weeks to months and months to years, they continue to shed off completely any traces of their Somali identity.  Hirsi’s dream of going back to the motherland and rebuilding schools and giving Somali children the same educational opportunities his kids have seems to be fading away every moment and turning into a distant thing far, far away in the horizon.

Dear reader, what is the purpose of education? Is it to get a job or to better ones society? Why did you go to school? What was your aim? What is the responsibility of the educated class toward society? Do we have any? If yes, where are they? How much more suffering, do we have to incur before they wake up from their slumber?

The Somali Curse:  

Those who have the quality of leading nation are busy with the wife and the children. (Don’t get me wrong, I think it is an honorable thing to do, but men are expected to wear multiple hats i.e. good fathers, statesmen, sons, etc*).  Those who failed to run their own homes are competing fiercely to lead a nation that is not only hungry and thirsty for good leadership, but also “dying” for it.  The plight of the Somali nation is quite unfortunate that if we continue to linger in this decay and not evolve into a true, viable, independent, well functioning state, Somalia will be obliterated from the world map swallowed by her arch nemesis- Ethiopia-.  This is a well documented fact that is showing true on a daily basis.  Remember the 2006 invasion of Ethiopia into Mogadishu.  Although the Ethiopian army was ousted, they are still keen of wanting to take the bit and pieces of what is left of the Somali nation.  Unfortunately, the Somali curse is such that Somalia has shrunken into bits and pieces: Punt-land, Hiiraan-land, Mudug-land Somali-land, Al-Shabaab-land, and TFG controlled area… the list goes on.  My fellow Somalis, where is our unity and true sense of nationhood?  Why have we become so power hungry and driven by mindless, senseless wars that have not produced a single good thing.  When will we say enough? I believe it is long overdue, but it is never too late.

Omar Abdullahi Aden
Columbus, Ohio
E-Mail:Okabayare@gmail.com

(1) This paper is written in the view of Somali men in the West.  I am only focusing on the men and not women.

(2) The names used here are pseudonyms.  Any resemblance is accidental and unintentional.

Related Articles:

* The Inglorious Absentee Father in Contemporary Somali Politics A. Duale Sii'arag

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