No Special Treatment For You, Mr. President

By Mohamud Tani

I defended the president for so long against people who are against him in a pathological way. I believe anybody who has got ' the me first' syndrome must be stopped right on his tracks. In Somaliland we have no time for people who claim special status and the right of entitlement for leadership or respect. I never respect those who call themselves Mujahiddin and thus believe that they should get the people's vote because they once fought against the Faqash. So what?.

Do you call Ismael Buubaa and many others with Abdillahi Yussuf the Mujahidiin? Well why not? They were also great SNM veterans. The relevant question is where do Mr. or Mrs. so and so stand now on the question of Somaliland and what contribution positive or negative he is making right now at this hour! I always make my point clear: There is nobody with special privileges in Somaliland, period. That is why I always defend President Rayale against the onslaught of those who think despite the peoples vote and verdict, it is them not him who should have wilded power in Somaliland.

Now it looks that the roles are being reversed. This time it is the President and his family who want to be treated as more than equals. As if they are special. As Privileged citizens who nobody dare write anything negative against them. That is total bull-shit. It is against the social contract that Somaliland is based on. Who am I to blast against the Kulmiye day in day out, when an independent newspaper can not publish allegations against the president and the first lady? Whether what they wrote was a lie or a fabrication or smear campaign or propaganda or nonsense is besides the point. If you are a public figure you are a legitimate target of the public. You, your wife, your sons, your in laws and everybody in the house hold is an open book to the public, and everything about you could be read in the press, true or false. It comes with the territory. It is part of being a public figure. If you can not take the heat of the spot light, then go home to your farm and evacuate the glare of the public scrutiny for somebody who have enough balls to take what it takes to be the president. We did not elect anybody to tender to cry babies within their family. If the first family wants to continue to lead this country, they better fasten their seat belts tighter. They better develop thicker skin. Politics in democratic society is a sport. Only someone who is sportive enough can play it.

In this case the President and his family are the plaintiffs. They are those who are complaining from the Haatuf Newspaper. How on earth is it possible that the plaintiff should have the right to put the defendant in prison. That is taking justice into your own hands, and worse also by using the public office and the taxpayers money. Here the plaintiff is his own judge and jury and is also asking the citizens to foot his legal bills and that of his family. I think that is completely unacceptable. The right course for the President was to hire a lawyer and sue the paper for libel and let justice take its course and accept whatever the fate holds for him.

I know from History that if you make a mistake and do not accept that you made a mistake and then correct it, you end up doing more mistakes trying to cover up your mistakes. This is what is going on in this case. No amount of jail or UDUB supporters masquerading as tribal elders or Government pundits trying to explain the case, will take away the truth that it was wrong to intimidate the Haatuf Newspaper because the President and his family did not like what it has written. No way. No special treatment for nobody.

I have a great faith in the leadership of Mr. Rayale. I congratulate him on the way he steered Somaliland from a fall out or getting immersed into the conflicts that are raging in the regions surrounding us. I applaud the recent great strides that his Government made in the foreign affairs. We succeeded in participating the Au meeting in Addis-Ababa. The fact that we are at last attracting a substantial amount of international aid through the efforts of our Government gave us great hope and pride. It is therefore saddening and disheartening that a great moment for Somaliland be spoiled by recklessness of the sort the president displayed in his dealings with the Haatuf Newspaper.

I am utterly flabbergasted!!!

mohamudtmohamud_t@yahoo.com

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