By Adam Musse Jibril

Various positive descriptions and adjectives, such as the following, have been attributed to Somaliland: “Africa’s untold success story’, ‘Oasis of peace and democracy, ‘The healthiest democracy between Israel and Tanzania’, etc. All these positive attributes reflect the progress made by this country. They signify achievements that are appreciated and welcomed worldwide, which are based on attestations by scholars with human hearts and representatives of democratic consciousness of our time.

However, these positive reactions, responses and admirations from democratic minded world personalities should not take Somalilanders to the far edge of optimism and self-complacency. Life is a continuous process and the need to realize more progressive and profound successes is ‘essential today than it was yesterday’. Therefore, the need to continue endeavoring on the same path and to stay on course is more imperative today than ever. The way to move in the right direction is to reflect on the experiences of the courageous and definitive efforts made by the Somaliland people and government and the sacrifices made for the peace-building and democratization that earned them international appreciation. Indeed, there are clear signs of shortcomings that need to be reviewed and reconsidered, with the aim of coming up with strategies for new solutions and remedies.

The recent political predicament and its frustrating effect on Somaliland’s ambition to hoisting the banner of the first multiparty democracy in a Somali soil, followed by amicable agreement based on consensus, has uncovered conflicting aspects and tendencies in the political process by revealing both strong points and weaknesses of the system. This contradictory thesis poses questions that need to be addressed in order to elevate the experience gained to a higher level of awareness.

These conflicting tendencies do not denote retreat or relapse, but apparently they reflect the progress achieved as well as the downsides of the process of the transition to democracy. Moreover, it is an affirmation that multiparty democracy is a historical choice dictated by universally accepted truth. This also confirms the need to react to challenges ahead and to seize attainable opportunities. It is also an expression of the eminent aims and objectives of the people and leadership to be part of a world in which conflicting but increasingly interdependent interests become basic norms of daily life. Consequently, to speak the language of the 21^st century, that reality of co-existence and interdependency is seen as imperative for a better and balanced integration into the global economy and culture of Contemporary Civilization of mankind.

However, ambitions are something and actual realities independent of man’s willingness and his desires are quite something else. The socio-economic and political conditions that we intend to change can not be done overnight. It would require time and effort, particularly if the aim is to bridge the gap between two historically different ideals and value systems; conventional pre-industrial types and contemporary patterns.

This is where Somaliland was trying to combine these two systems in one main stream. And although a lot have been achieved, the disparities between the two lay far beyond the possibilities of one generation to accomplish such tasks, taking the historical complexities and implications into consideration, irrespective of the high expectations involved in realizing democracy and modernity all-at-once.

However, the temptation to move in that direction was unavoidable, but it signaled an attempt on our part to bridge the gap between Nomadic-Pastoralist mores of Customary Law, an unwritten Code of Conduct, and globally accepted one-man-one-vote ideals based on Jean Jacques Rousseau, John Locke, Kant and David Hume ideas about ‘Social Contract’. This marriage of two distinctively different ideologies gave Somaliland’s political system a unique feature.

What went wrong is convincingly related to the weaknesses and downsides of the democratization process, not as an idea, but as the way people have practically behaved. Whether these weaknesses represent structural drawbacks or are simply warning signs about difficulties caused by the transition from nascent to more mature phase in the democratization process is a question that needs to be answered. In my view, they are true to both. Structural because of the dynamics at work in the underdeveloped realities we live in, and transitional because of the problems induced by the move from traditional system of governance (Shir-Beeleed) to multiparty democracy.

Therefore, the source of these difficulties, although generally related to these objective realities, still reflect internal constraints in the political system embodied mainly in the existing political parties, their essence and forms, and the complexity of their tasks.

Where transformations are needed most

Somaliland institutions, like any other post civil war situations, are still fragile and need to be fostered and nurtured like an infant, which is an important reason why an early warning and timely actions are required as key to institutional renovation. To sort out and identify the sources of difficulties as well as the means and ways to adjusting them, in order to avoid repeating them, constitutes a critical responsibility. Awareness to this responsibility would open the way to renovation in the area of democratization and institutional building.

Political parties in the modern nation-state societies are the brain and central axis of the political system. Experience of the post-colonial African political history confirms that the degree of success of democracy depends on the extent of maturity and sophistication of the political elite. In this regard, the idea of party building takes in to account the fact that political party is a living organ whose life begins as a baby and whose growth passes through different stages of development. Party should be built, not only by investing effort and money, but through knowledge and by studying other experiences, in order to learn from mistakes made by others rather than your own. Requisite conditions to realizing democracy also depend on the degree of leadership qualities, vis-à-vis honesty, integrity and wisdom.

“Without developed political parties, democratization would look like an attempt in building a castle at the sky”. This is an established fact of life. One cannot expect from a party which itself does not practice democracy to bring about democratic order. The Arabic proverb “One can not deliver what himself is lacking” is very much in point here.

With regard to Somaliland, the following areas would be the issues where party building policy should take into account or consideration:

●Avoid confusion between clan and party, a matter that creates party identity crisis and contradictory allegiances and loyalties, and as a result leads to puzzlement of choice between partisanship and kinship.

●Give appropriate attention to the realization of internal party democracy. This is central to the existence of a party as a popular and grass-root institution.

●Party structural organizations need to be esteemed and strengthened and their independence respected, regionally and at the district level. This would help promoting self-motivation and strengthen their initiatives and decisions as party institutions.

●Parties should be connected to the people, not only through clans and sub-clans, but through the creation of true party alliances through organizations, such as women, youth, trade unions and businesses etc.

●Parties should give confidence to their constituencies that they are consciously committed to protecting and promoting their interests.

●Avoid confusion between strategy and tactics, general and specific, national and regional, clan and nation.

●Minimize the role of the individual in the party leadership in order to promote a culture of collective leadership, and to educate young generations with democratic consciousness. The party should not be a battle for power struggle only, but should act as a school of thought and forum for ideas.

●Define the ways and means to democratic changes required (through violence or peaceful means?).

Most of the political mistakes committed by political parties in Africa are based on confusion in relation to forms and instruments of democratic change. Worthy to mention here is that in this juncture of history, democratic changes are acceptable only through peaceful means. Bloodshed or even bloodless military coup d’etats should be ruled out.

●Develop clear, pragmatic and credible foreign policy based on equality of all nations and their interdependency of interests.

Conclusion:

Next year, on 26 June, Somaliland will be celebrating the 50^th anniversary of its independence from Britain. This important event will signify a national landmark in the history of this country, its achievements as well as the setbacks and holdups experienced by its people throughout these years. However, the wisdom that “history has been made in the way people have acted” is very much in point here. Our mistakes and successes have contributed in making this history. The best way to honor this historical anniversary would be to highlight the lessons learned and to address the most pressing and relevant questions, particularly in light of the outcome of the most recent experiences.

In the short term, in order to build a national consensus, it is of paramount importance to carry out a free and fair presidential election. This is a small step towards a one thousand miles long journey and a tough evolutionary transformation to the modernization of the country. The key to this missionary task is to engage in a real battle, an all-out war against all negative phenomena that emerge on the way.

The issue of who should lead the strategic mission of democratization and modernization has also an outmost importance, and needs to be taken seriously. The fact that the ruling party is the one who was given mandate by the voters, and whose credibility and legitimacy in the eyes of the people is always at stake, everywhere in the world, dictates that the process of creating an environment of tolerance and maintaining national consensus rests wit it. The opposition parties have no lesser responsibility in taking up their part of the national task of creating constructive approaches and attitudes necessary to playing the political game in a civilized manner.

The central point of my argument is that there are a number of detrimental tendencies that are enough to destroy the achievements gained since 1991, and which are able to generate serious obstructions and stumbling blocks against progress. We must face these challenges seriously and with determination, because remaking the history of this country depends on the extent of our awareness and sensitivity to the transformations that are necessary for overhauling the political system of Somaliland. This will necessitate a concerted effort on the part of the political parties to make Somaliland’s fledgling democracy a success, while at the same time maintaining the traditional mechanism of conflict resolution and crisis management of the Guurti.

Adam Musse Jibril can be reached: adamjibril@hotmail.com

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