Creating The Necessary Conditions For Somaliweyn

By Dahir A. Jama, London, UK

In Somaliland politics, it has now become the norm in order to prove one's patriotism to accuse the opposing party of going to ‘Xamar' or being Somaliweyn. First, it was KULMIYE accusing Rayale and most of his administration of not being loyal to Somaliland; then it was UDUB and its cronies accusing KULMIYE, and especially Sillanyo of being Somaliweyn sympathizer. But politics aside, there are those who believe in the idea of greater Somalia and who actively pursue it. They have become political missionaries and you will find them in most East African Capitals, every time there is yet another 'Somali reconciliation Conference'. In the fifteen odd years since Somaliland reclaimed its sovereignty, these missionaries have failed to undermine its existence, time and again, in fact, if any thing, one can say that they have actually strengthened Somaliland's case for recognition, as they have demonstrated their impotence and lack of leadership.

However, unlike the old school Somaliweyn missionaries who campaigned and tried to undermine the Somaliland cause from foreign capitals, today's masters and missionaries are operating from within and having great successes. ‘ Somaliland wax Go lagu qaato ka weyn' might be the natural response of the ordinary Somalilander. True in every sense of the word, nonetheless, while it’s not up to the politicians to rejoin Somaliland with Somalia; it is up to the politicians to create the necessary environment for such a merger. They can and already seem to have created an environment conducive or receptive to their ideas.

There is an old Somali adage: ‘Qof tag lama yidhaahdee, wuxuu ku tagaa la tusaa'. In other words, you don't tell a person to just do something, but you give them incentives to do it. In other words or differently interpreted, although Somaliland remained without diplomatic recognition for more then fifteen years, yet the people and nation of Somaliland thrived and succeeded under severe and hard condition for one simple reason: HOPE. The people of Somaliland lived for Hope and Hope kept them going. This was reinforced and in part strengthened by the acknowledgment and praise of the international community in relation to its stability and democratic values. Today, both appear to be disappearing pretty fast or at risk.

The Somaliland of five years ago compared with the Somaliland of today is without a doubt not the same Somaliland. What has changed since then? A new administration and a new leader. The political beliefs and persuasion of an individual, in a healthy mind, must not blind it to reality. Since Messrs Rayale came to power in Somaliland, we have experienced the slow and gradual erosion of Somaliland's standing on the international arena. The peace and stability our people prided themselves and show cased to the world has been badly bruised. Worse yet, the hope and aspiration of our people is fading away.

After all else failed and the executive branch of government corrupted all departments of government. After all else failed and Messrs Rayale and Co refused to adhere to the law and rule of the land. An independent-self-appointed committee consisting of respectable and prominent religious leaders and poets tried to mediate between the President, opposition parties and the House of Representatives to resolve the constitutional crisis that engulfed the country. We all know how that mediation process ended; the opposition parties honoring their undertaking and agreements and the president failing to honor his undertaking and word.

Mr. Hadrawi, as the Chair of that group, today (11.10.07) discussed the mediation process and said: At the start of the process, we immediately discovered that the main problem and obstacle to progress was the President. It was not intentional on his part, Hadrawi added, but due to lack of knowledge and experience.

As a result of the last five years' mishaps and Hadrawi's latest observation, the people of Somaliland have lost hope, which was their driving force and Messrs Rayale, without physically ‘carrying Somaliland over to Somalia', some say, has created the necessary conditions for Somaliweyn in Somaliland! How and Why; we will discuss, in detail, in the next part.

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