Mohamed Yabarag, London , UK

Anyone who attended president Rayale’s press conference, or read its outcome on the national press must be scratching his/her head in bewilderment and asking: how on earth did we end up with this inept, inarticulate, insensitive and intolerant man? To say the president has failed to put across his message to both the ever loyal Somaliland people and the international community after a grueling but a fair contest is just an understatement. The president has simply lost it. As the president of this young nation, and in order to bolster up his flagging image and his party, he should have seized this great opportunity with both hands (even tough his party lost to the opposition parties) and delivered a well-articulated message in no uncertain terms to the stubborn international community. He should have elaborated our achievements thus far, our latest accomplishment in the election of parliament and our long struggle towards democracy with international audience in mind. The president failed to realize the audiences of his press release lie well beyond the confines of his well fortified presidential palace. Quite simply, the president has failed in a spectacular fashion to realize that more eyes than ever before are on him.

Instead, he spent almost the entire session lambasting and criticizing the two opposition leaders and what he perceived they might have in their sleeves following their joint victory over the party of government, UDUB. The guessing game has started for the president. After delivering his unfair and off the mark speech to a gasping audiences (the press), his barrage of attacks continued unabated in the question and answer session that followed the press release. In this session, it was obvious that the president was insensitive and intolerant towards their (the journalists) line of questioning. His disdain and indignation for the press was there to be seen by everyone who attended that session, or read it on the press. This is a man who has an utter contempt for the press and its values. The recent shutdown of Radio Borama whose programmes are limited to Somali songs and the manner in which he responded to Haatuf man’s question was an indication of that. Worst of all, the president has never, in this press release, asked the international community formally to recognize Somaliland for once. What a platform to sell the Somaliland cause to the international community!

It is no secret that this president cares his seat more than anything else, and perhaps that is why he wants to prolong his reign of corruption as long as possible and hang on to power to the bitter end. That fact that opposition parties have mustered more parliamentarians than the government’s party, UDUB, for the first time in the short history of Somaliland made Mr. Rayale more nervous and agitated than he has ever been before. In fact it sent shivers down Rayale’s spine. He is fully aware that there will be no more excuses and that if he fails to deliver the goods that he will be kicked out unceremoniously, thanks to the new MPs who would not be, hopefully, bribed into rubber stamping of whatever comes from the executive office. Thanks to the new parliamentarians, Somaliland is about to open a new chapter.

Contrary to Mr. Rayale’s believes, Somaliland people have voted for the opposition parties not to break up the government, but to curb the limitless power this president was enjoying for the past three years. They voted for the opposition parties simply to plant a system of check and balance in this government. The day of excessive presidential powers in Somaliland are about to come to an end and give way to the days of parliamentary democracy, accountability, openness and transparency. The days of status quo are over. It is a great day for the people of Somalia .

May Allah bless Somaliland .

Mohamed Yabarag, London , UK

myabarag@yahoo.co.uk

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