Somaliland's Unruly And Disruptive Ministers
| Front Page |
By Ibrahim S. Yusuf-Bulay, Portland, Oregon
Over the last view years our country's unruly ministers have been uncontrollable. Their disruptive behavior cuts across wide ranges of socio-politics and international relations. Reports coming from Somaliland are quite disturbing. It's apparent that misconducts of Somaliland ministers are on the rise. We are in an era of social and political change, an era of hope and self-determination, an era where our people all over the world are reaching out tirelessly by the mass to show the world that we are a nation, and a good one that deserves to be recognized. We have done three major elections successfully, democratized our institutions, and called foreign observers to witness our success. I want to thank our government for the success of these huge elections. Over the 14 years we have done a lot. We built our country from the ashes with no international help.
It feels though that our untamed and unruly ministers are doing more damage than we can achieve. We are in the midst of a huge blunder: the expulsion of the EU reprehensive to Somaliland. I understand sometimes decisions must be made despite ambiguity, and many times in the face of conflicting evidence or opinions, but there are diplomatic procedures and international standers when dealing with foreign entities. And from what we know there was little if any or no explanation from the government.
This is not the first incident. It was not long ago when the Minister of Interior expelled French scholar Roland Marchal. The expulsion of Mr. Marchel was shame, disgrace and unnecessary. There has been numerous articles and editorial pages published in this incident, but my point Is if Somaliland is to talk and walk the game of statehood it must stop these rampant international blunders and curb the behavior of its unruly ministers. The opposition parties, civil society and the diasporas cannot run damage control for the government.
I believe - and I am sure most people would concur - that our image as country is as good as our government and our leaders deal with international entities. We are showing the world pretty pictures with no proof of statehood on the ground. In essence, we are projecting conflicting messages locally and internationally. The world wants results, international diplomatic standers, and sound public relations over pretty pictures. We have to proof to the word that we are conducting business like a nation on the ground and in the international arena.
Speaking of unruly ministers, I myself witnessed one in SOPRI's Firs Somaliland Convention in Los Angels. SOPRI organized and allotted time for government representatives, namely Foreign Minister Dr. Edna and Information Minister Mr. Dualle to inform the public and take questions from the audiences. Dr. Edna was diplomatic, courteous and friendly in all her answers. On the other hand, Mr. Dualle who is rarely at loss for words was speechless. He was shaking and sweating.... You could see anger on his face so as to intimidate audiences. In one particular question regarding government's tight control in the media, the minister stood up huffed and puffed, threw his right hand up on the air and said "Ma Ogolin", we refuse!!! Soon afterwards, the session ended as the crowd grew inpatient with him. He acted as undiplomatic diplomat, very much in line with the behavior of Somaliland's unruly ministers. I did not mean to dwell on this particular incident, but it was an eyewitness and unpleasant incident.
In conclusions, it's clearly erroneous and boldly ridiculous for anyone to ignore the realities on the ground. It's our interest especially now that we as a nations aught to show statehood, political maturity, and diplomatic savvy. We need to recognize the magnitude of these blunders and the damage we incur. We should also address the problem of our unruly and wild ministers, urgently.