Thursday, March 28, 2024
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HASSAN SHEIKH MOHAMUD: THE MAN WHO SCREWED UP HIS COUNTRY’S LAST CHANCE

By Ahmed Khalif

When,  “President” Hassan Sheikh Mohamud was selected on September 2012, Somalis everywhere were hopeful that he will be the savior of their country. People were optimistic about him, among others, for the following reasons: (a) he was the first Somali president elected in the Somali soil since 1967; (b) it was said that during the civil war, out of patriotism, he remained in Mogadishu; (c) it was erroneously believed that he did not involve himself in the civil war, but instead contributed in the education sector and taught at SIDAM institute; and (d) to his advantage, he was totally unknown to most Somalis – for he never held an office-political or technical, in government or in business corporations.

Somalia's President Mohamud speaks during an interview with Reuters in MogadishuHowever, like the proverbial ass in the lion’s skin that was betrayed by its bray, all that were said and hoped from “President Hassan” – as most of the Somalis contemptuously call him now by his first name – were belied by his first steps in his rule. He brought the spirit of 1990s clannish warlordism back into the current Somali politics, where pluralistic leadership is badly needed; he became a divisive figure to the extent that he is dubbed the Ali-Mahdi of the latter-day: a hotelier turned into warlord, soi-disant president of Somalia (1991-2001), who also wasted the best chance Somalia ever had to resurrect herself from the rubbles since the fall of Siyad Bare in 1991.

President Mohamud, as it is became known later, was nominated for the presidential candidate by a man called Farah Abdulqadir (aka Farah-Topaz or Farah-Sakiin ) – the head of his own cult of personality known as Damu Jaddid (New Blood) of which Mr Mohamud is a member. Moreover, his election, it is said, was funded by unnamed Qatari group through Farah – in other words, Mr. Mohamud was molded, out of nothing, by Farah; and in return, Mr. Mohamud became a loyal protégé of Farah of whom, for he is beholden to, without his approval he wouldn’t take a single step; he gave his allegiance to his sponsor over the whole nation and even over the constitution for which he swore to uphold; in other words, Mr Mohamud had privatized the executive arm of the government to Farah who thus became by de facto, ruler of Somalia.

It is not clear, on whose behalf the Qatari group has paid those funds, but some people are suspicious of Ethiopia, based on Farah’s Ethiopian citizenship and his intimate relationship with it.

President Hassan, so far, had sacked two prime ministers in less than twelve months, for the sake of Farah, who served in the cabinets of both the prime ministers; the last prime minister, after appointing Farah for a ministry of not his choice in a cabinet reshuffle, was discharged in a vote of no-confidence by the legislators; even though, this is unconstitutional, it is well known that those notorious grave-robbers in the parliament – known as call booths – vote for whoever bid them higher; and as usual Mr. President has the highest bid.

President Mohamud has recently nominated his third prime minister, Omar A. Sharmarke; even though, it is predictable that Mr. Sharmarke will not last that long, the end of Mr. Mohamud’s four years presidency term is drawing in and full election – one man one vote – was planned to be held in Somalia in the year of 2016; but, before that, a lot of things were supposed to be done by the government under Mohamud’s reign; less than two years of his term is remaining now, and not a single tangible thing of what were mandated for him is fulfilled yet. In the meantime, as the 2016 presidential election comes close, Farah – with the President in his armpit – is set out to win it; and it was for this reason that Mr. President had insisted that Farah has to preside over the Ministry of Justice so he will be able to rig the election for him.

President Mohamud, under the guidance of, to him, his infallible guarantor (Farah), is preoccupied with 2016 election; his primary concern, from the onset, became how he could hang on to the al-shabaab-infested Villa Somalia; he gives Farah a priority over the national issues, while seemingly Farah has his arriére to hold the country back, and let it pass up the only good recovery chance it had for a quarter of century.

President Mohamud’s situation has a resemblance with the Astrologer and the Snake folktale:

An astrologer, walking while gazing at the stars in the sky, stepped on a snake; the latter turned up with a venomous bite, and, when the astrologer died, told him in derision that it would be better for him to keep his mind on the earth and regard the danger is in his feet than that is in the heavens.

Mr. President should beware of the immediate existential dangers his country is facing than being lost in thought of the election that is far away. He should also know that only what good for his nation is good for him and his clan; as an age-old adage says, “what is good for the goose is good the gander”.

The light of hope that was glimpsed in the end of the tunnel is getting dimmer now; the people are now disillusioned about Hassan-Culusow – or as some people describe him now Gurguurte, Qoslahaye or even la vache qui rit – and it became clear to them that he is not only belonging to the clannish Somali politics, but he is in possession of unscrupulous unknown un-Somali gang – Dama’ Jaddid (New Desire) whose aim is to hijack Somalia to feu d’enfer; they also understood that their once hopeful liberator had long lost his own liberty.

However, a burning question here arises: who are these Sakiin-guys – Sharif-Sakiin , Farah-Sakiin, both from Ethiopia – that one after the other, hold this country at stranglehold; their primary task is to frequently disrupt the continuity of government, which rendered the Somali Government totally abortive; both are laden with purses full of money form unnamed groups; doesn’t this smell a rat? To me there is a foul play; the truth will be out.

The people that have seen the light of hope in the end of the tunnel yesterday now face the grim reality of their country submerging into a military occupation of their sworn enemies – Ethiopia and Kenya under AMISOM now as the proverbial wolf in sheep’s clothing; the people, however, have now become conscious that their country stands at watershed moment and is in need of a provident leader, who can carefully lead it away save the precipice ahead and wolves behind – al-shabaab and Ethiopia-Kenya alliance -that it is in between today.

Today Somalis serve for themselves as a living example of their age-old wisdom: “Walaalo is jecel waa xoolo bataan, walaalo is neceb waa xabaalo bataan” – (brothers who love each other prosper; but those who hate each other perish) – a Somali version of ‘united we stand; divided we perish’.

It is often said the darkest hour is always before the down; and the Somali awakening is near; the time for the Somalis to elect their own leader, visionary yet honest; the time to disavow a stalking-horse selected for them by Sakiins, or anyone else – IGAD, AU, EU, USA, not even UN; in 2016 presidential election, Somalis ought to decide their destiny.

President Hassan Sh. Mohamud – as well as the other Somali politicians – have to know that the history, and the future Somali generations – if this generation of Somalis is blinded and deafened by a poisonous mixture of ignorance, poverty, and tribalism – will judge them by their deeds in how they handle their country’s affairs today; Allah will judge them too by their deeds and intents; time will come when everyone will get their desserts; when virtue will be rewarded and vice will be punished. Let those greedy MPs know that man supposed not to live to eat, but eat to live for a bigger purpose; let them also know that – as glutton is for punishment – it’s their lives that are at stake.

Finally, President Hassan has to know that he will go down in the history records either as the man who screwed up the last chance of his country or as the man who saved his people from the ignominy of foreign oppression – the Daud (David) of Somalia; for now, whether it is by mistake or mindful, he looks like to be the former.

Ahmed Khalif
Email:[email protected]


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