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President Hassan Sh. Mohamoud: Beckoning Back Partition

By WardheerNews

It was about two years ago when WardheerNews editorialized the selection of the then new president of Somalia, Mr. Hassan Sheikh Mahmoud and the great hope that dawned on the Somali people across the globe. We had great hope that President Hassan would help resuscitate Somalia, deal with its status as a country that has become synonymous with the reference of a failed state, of chaos, piracy and of Al Shabab’s destructive militancy. We were of the assumption that he would set a vision for strong public service institutions and job creation in a country where the unemployment rate stands at over 60%; we had high hopes that he would rejuvenate the education sector and public health in a country where  63% of the population is under 24. We also expected he would expeditiously build a national army to safeguard the security and integrity of the nation.

Hassan Sheik UlusowThe fragmented citizens of this nation felt a sigh of relief upon the swearing of President Hassan Sheikh Mohamoud. But that hope and desire was short lived. Rather than setting a broader vision for the nation by addressing vexing issues, including bringing together the nation’s stakeholders and instituting a national reconciliation, to the contrary, President Hassan has become a polarizing figure that beckoned disastrous corruptions, mismanagement and clannish policies of division that has taken the country and its people back to the civil war era of the 1990s. It’s mindboggling that the very man who swore by the Holy Qur’an to strive to unite the nation and usher in an atmosphere of peace and tranquility, has suddenly taken a perilous road that is recipe for corruption, division, and nepotism.

With his enthronement, Somalia has experienced drastic rise in civil unrest, fundamentalism, warlordism, and proliferation of arms. Moreover, under the watch of President Hassan, AMISOM soldiers, the very African Union military arm that was mandated to bring a semblance of peace to the country in the absence of over sight and litigation, have resorted to raping innocent Somali women and underage girls.

With the plummeting of the president’s political ranking and the nation’s general condition and overall social life, many citizens, seeing the sad state of the national affairs, chose to flee and seek refuge in places where they are unwelcome and unwanted, while those that remain in the country, are under the wrath of suicide bombers, targeted killings, starvation and rape.

Somalia’s administrative and governing style beats logic. The current president is fond of creating political bickering even before his handpicked Prime Ministers finish their official mandates. In a span of two years, contrary to his promise of “no more controversy between the president and the Prime Minister”, Mr. Mohamoud ousted not only one prime minister, but the second one is on the verge of being expelled from office . It was a year ago when he ousted Abdi Farah Shirdoon (Saa’id) for flimsy political altercations that would have been resolved amicably and it’s a matter of time when the current PM Abdwali is removed.

Leaders can have political differences, but not to an extent where the nation is thrown into turmoil as is happening in Somalia at the present time. The president is well aware that what has been and is crippling the Somali nation result from clannism, nepotism, greed, corruption, fragmentation, and extremism, and that it is all these evil ills that he has failed to tackle and put to rest. The president is  in fact at the forefront of adding fuel to the aforementioned political, economic, and social malaise.

Xasan-sheekh-iyo-JawaariWardheerNews is not here to support or side with the current PM Abdiwali Sheikh, as there are many shortcomings and failure in his administration, but we are against the abuse of power by the president and the complete disregard for the Somali constitution and the rule of law.

What is currently happening in Villa Somalia and the Somali parliament is a bitter pill to swallow. There are reports of illegal lobbying, bribery, abuse of power and secret dealings, while the speaker of the house is sleeping at the switch. In preparation for the parliamentary motion slated to oust Abdiweli Sheikh, the current Prime minister, members of Parliament are allegedly soliciting bribes and expect to grab significant cash.

The incompetency of the speaker has encouraged some members of parliament to openly solicit bribes and put their votes for sale to the highest bidder. It is unfortunate that the speaker and the ethics subcommittee, if there is one, so far failed to denounce such actions and put forward clear guidance against corruptions and abuse of power and also put those members on notice through thorough investigations and possible expulsion from the parliament if they commit to bribery. This will in fact, curb the open and illegal lobbying of votes for sale.

Parliament also should expeditiously review the constitution, particularly Article 90, Sect. d, which stipulates under the Responsibilities and Powers of the president of the Federal Republic of Somalia: Appoint the Prime Minister, and to dissolve the Federal Government if it does not get the required vote of confidence from the House of the People of the Federal Parliament by a simple majority (50% +1). This simple majority should be amended to 2/3 majority to discourage any power brawl between the president and prime minster by simple majority vote.

Somali parliament fightThe president’s poor leadership style, has caused the executive arm of the nation to be rendered politically schizophrenic and paranoid, the judicial sector remains on life support, and the legislature is outrageously and preposterously a political den for a band of unregenerate and languorous political misfits driven by greed and putrescence.

Those faceless “scavengers” who are knocking on the president’s back door soliciting PM’s office seeking self-gratification, should reflect on how previous prime ministers were expelled through the use of bribes and illegal means. By agreeing to the terms of the president, it sends a green light to the president and his cronies that the constitution doesn’t matter and the president’s wishes would always prevail.

It’s critical that the president recognize that he is worthy of his position and the duties of his office as spelled out in the constitution of Somalia and stay within the limits of his power and govern the country accordingly, without intervening and carrying out the duties of the PM. The president has to mend his ways and stop using public property for personal and family use.

WardheerNews
Email: [email protected]


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