By: Naasir Saacadaale, Nairobi
On the 20th of last month (January) I submitted an article titled “Umadyahay Talaa Kaa Gadmane Wax Isu Gaygayso” to some of the websites widely read by the Somalilanders. Some of them refused to post the articles for understandable reasons; while others posted it for their readers to review. The centerpiece of that article was to caution against the temptation of dismissing existing institutions as a failure but to build on what has been achieved so far while at the same time learning from the past mistakes. That was another way to say, if necessary we can implement peaceful regime change in the country without tearing down the country’s institutions.
However, the article elicited uproar from many circles who read it, considering the flood of emails I received to date. Some understood it for the intellectual discourse and the analysis that it was meant to be; others wandered what my problem is and why I am not endorsing Kulmiye as a viable alternative. In short, my problem is that I am not seeing the alternatives and the change that some are talking about. To me Kulmiye is nothing but the third episode of the opera called UDUB that corrupted this country. UDUB Part One was Egal’s, Riyale’s is UDUBII; now Sillanyo is selling us the third episode with a little change, the name, this time it is called Kulmiye (UDUBIII) with the usual logo “It is My Turn to Eat”. We are recycling the same thugs and calling it change when they use different name, is that not madness? The country is in leadership crises, this is my thesis.
Truth said the incumbent government seems disoriented and out of new ideas. it looks exhausted at any political standards; but neither are the other key “politicians”— Siilanyo and Faysal, etc — doing nor saying any thing to suggest that they are engaged in a search for radical solutions to the country’s socio-economic and political problems. An example from recent past, at a highly publicized speech by Siilanyo in Nairobi in January this year, the essence was the virtues of international recognition and how things will change if we secure recognition from the international community, making the point that we shall excavate the rich minerals underneath and be all fine. Plenty of stuff for comic relief, but in terms of new paradigms or providing a new road map for the country, there was nothing to cheer.
As regards the development problem in Somaliland, the conventional wisdom of our politicians attributes the crisis to the Lack of international recognition. This is not correct, in my view; the root of the problem in Somaliland is the absence of serious political debate about what is ailing the country and the possible solutions. Honestly, do we need international recognition to tackle the corruption that is slowly gnawing at the social fabric of our society? Will the world put in place for us a system that will curb the infinite greed of our politicians who are steeling from the coffers of the poor lot they rule? The problem is the widespread impunity. What is lacking is accountability and transparency, to make the political class accountable to the electorate. This cannot be imposed by any foreign power, it must come from within. Otherwise, can someone tell me how the Breton wood Institutions are going to do this for us?
Right now, the easiest route to the moral high ground is to lament loudly how Somaliland is ruled by the remnants of Siyad Barre’s regime, and how a second libration is needed. But no political party wants to discuss nor have explanation to why the vast majority of the people living in Somaliland are sliding into abject poverty when we are remitting millions of dollars across the border to Ethiopia to buy narcotics like the Qat. In Hargeisa now, the places where the Qat is sold are more than the combination of all the hotels, restaurants, schools, hospitals and almost every other business. This costs us hard currency, which would have otherwise been used for investment and creation of employment. Just imagine if we were investing “10-15 million dollars” on new business ventures every year the last 15years, where would we have been today? That is the money we spend on Qat and give to Ethiopia every year. What troubles me truly is not this money, but how we get that money (remittance from the somalilanders in Diaspora), how do we spend it (on narcotics); and what do we get in return for that from Ethiopia? Do they really buy anything from us, be it salt, fish, just anything that is Somaliland? Could someone update me on our trade relations with Ethiopia?
On the other hand, my friends at BAT (British American Tobacco Co.), smiling their way to the bank, now openly brag about their astronomical profits in the Somaliland market. The company now produces all its cigarettes in Kenya to bring the product closer to the consumers (the teenagers in Somaliland). Yes, it does not make economic sense to produce your products in a place six thousand miles (in Europe and America) far from your customer base and incur huge transportation costs only to be consumed in Somaliland; thus they produce it in the nighboring Kenya to be responsive to the ever-expanding customer base in Somaliland. Hallo, does any one really care about the hundreds of thousands of Somaliland youth who are smoking their lungs out. Do our politicians care about the financial and the health implication of this evil in the long run? Sure, Rayaale’s UDUB failed to address these, I agree, but where does Siilanyo’s UDUB (Kulmiye) and the others stand in this matter?
Actually, where we have problems are not limited to the trade sector only. Look at our education system. Not withstanding the absence of quality and the critical need to over haul the entire system, education in Somaliland became a luxury that very few people can afford-- Do you hear our political elite talk about a pro-poor education as a part of their party agenda--Why should they care when they can steal with impunity from the public coffers and send their children to Europe and America….Our health institutions are in tatters, amoral doctors are bargaining over dying patients…, Infrastructure,.., police are taking bribe in the open…. Take your pick and tell me which institution is functioning. Unfortunately, our political elite have agreed that there is alternative to corruption that is why Siilanyo’s UDUB has no detailed plan to tackle the vice. They are no fools, they know what they are up to when they capture the seat!
Surely, the country is facing political crises, economic stagnation, high inflation, rising unemployment, and serious social inequalities. But to be precise, it is not because of the absence of the much hyped international recognition but a corrupt and dysfunctional political system and elite whose fight has degenerated into open “It is my turn to steal”. Why I am calling Kulmiye UDUB (III) is because I am seeing the same thugs, who were once the central members of power clique around Rayaale and Cigaal now calling themselves Kulmiye. In yesteryears, they were willing cheer leaders who were executing the heinous crimes against the non-conformists and the free press. Many of those in the “opposition” who are condemning Rayaale of systematic looting and corruption have exactly benefitted from the same. Now they want Rayaale removed merely because he became obstacle in their way to realizing easy riches. If there is one thing that is even more serious than the grave political, social and economic situation in the country, it is the lack of new political views and intellectuals. We are just recycling the same old thugs and expecting them to behave differently.
On the part of the electorate, the greatest mistake is the prescription of solutions before one knows and understands the problem, this is the reason why you chant like puppets “regime change, regime change, regime……” and dance to the tune of the same thugs who robbed the country blind when they change their name. In this respect you all sound like the Bush Jr. who left the world in a bigger mess. And in this respect I beg to differ with you. I am in my own league!
(Saaco6@yahoo.com)
 

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