SOMALILAND FELL INTO THE HANDS OF DISASTROUS PRESIDENT AND A CABINET OF MISFITS BY JAMA DHOOFA

It all started as an avalanche edging its mass towards the bottom with a force of awe, the mantra was change, change in variables, change in leadership, change in political fundamentals.

                   It was the time when somalilands’ presidential campaign was in full swing, and kulmiye party was the main protagonist of the circus throwing promises, fulfilment and greenery landscape amid the dust of despair. What we didn’t realised was the fragility of vision, the pompous standing against servitude to the nation on the part of kulmiye party, we all jumped in to the wagon to get rid-off the monotonous rigid udub party, I, included sang the songs of cataclysmic change.

After a long campaign exercised with threats, tribal solidarity and S.N.M name dropping in which the very foundations of Somaliland were corrupted and sacrificed for  a quick power- grab of evil consequences, kulmiye came to power led by the current president of Somaliland ahmed Mohamed mohamoed siiraanyo. The only memorable upshots of that election became the magnanimity of the former president of Somaliland Daahir Riyale by transferring power in such a fashion it elicited an admiration from the hard core opponents of his rule.

Shortly after his inauguration of power, the new president down-graded the quality of political relations among Somaliland tribes by hitching one tribe against its closest cousin in order to create alliances whose shield of protection was cousins apart will serve the leadership. In what was later became in the words of the president,” government of quality; he downsized the number of cabinet and filled it with an adventurous characters from the Diaspora.  Motivated  by a mixture of revenge and despise of opponents, president Siiraanyo turned himself the grand leader of his vote-contributing tribes and penalised those who supported the other parties by declining them any useful political representation of his government. An act that strangled the very concept of presidency of a nation.

The policy of cousins apart in frank wording to exemplify the mayhem quarantined the tribes of Isse- muse and ida- gale from significant cabinet positions and counter- balanced that with numerous representations of their close cousins like Sacad muse and Habar-yonis. To get bit civil in my opinion, supporters of Ucid and Udub including the tribal cousins of the former president were taken to the ghostly dark corners of the rejected.

Somaliland took a drastic transition from a society of well lubricated tribal relations run by a government that values the superlatives of unity into a  society of deep tribal rifts, run by a  half-baked intelligentsia of the old school.

By changing the code of conduct among political parties, an all out war was declared  against the opposition parties and the aim was to up-root their very existence, allegations of corruption was brought against the former government Udub members and the pressure disarrayed that party to this day it only exists as a shadow. Ucid led by Faysal Ali Waraabe found itself undefined civil war when moles inside the party launched a coup and claimed the leadership of Ucid party all to the astonishment of the respected Faysal Ali. Though faysal fought back in quality, the whole scenario left the party in tatters.

Somaliland of Siiranyo start heading a designated totalitarian system in which a knife-wielding characters chase around people inside the presidential palace, the quality cabinet took adventures of sheer blindness into the Somalia of the warlords and start rubbing shoulders with the likes of tribal chiefdoms such as faroole of puntland and yalaxow of the east mogadisho.

The aim was foreign policy of engagement that was framed to highlight the educational wealth of the new cabinet against that of the former government which they regarded as local operators. The new leaders with their flashy note-books and decorated certificates fail to ask, engagement to what?.

It all back fired in style when the whole load of media spin and run-around  ended inside the greasy palms of smiley sheikh sharif and the pirates of south, all to the evaporation of 20 years of  steady-fast, unblinking, determination of Somaliland apartness.

The tantalizing change kulmiye sought in their election campaign became in full gear and boqor buur madow is on the run in china, president siiraanyo dictates political presentations  of” uf uf baa lagu yidhi” connotations against faysal cali of Ucid, Yasin dahabshiil is gonne riot and confiscating public property with the help of shady contracts delivered on silver plates. In rough pussy-footing of the after-effects, tribes organise emergency meetings. Isse muse first, habaryonis next. The processed product is coming in to full picture, but before that, parallel meetings organised by the government has to be Donne, pure hostility in the making. Somaliland of kulmiye even set volunteers of active bouncers around my hang-outs in England whose job is to come down on you like a ton of bricks if your tongue gets bit critical against siiranyo government.

My little old flag that use to dangle in my car only delights the kulmiye supporters who magically developed a sense of possessiveness to the Somaliland flag recently. No flashing of the flag is an invitation of exclusion.

A painful feeling when xagla toosiye got his prisoners freed and dazzling his swagger along the streets of hargeisa like all that was a bad dream of the one-eyed man. Deploying back the Somaliland troops into the heart of Somaliland and leaving the borders to the vagaries of the restless tribes in the east.

Doing the same thing again and again and expecting different results is insanity of pure substances but this leadership of Somaliland seems to be satisfied with the status-qua. Stay on top, leave kulmiye party to the wrestling ring of muse biihi,distant president of distant generation and to hell with the so called Somaliland.

Even the new leadership of Ucid, the young educated Jamal Ali is under bombardment from the likes of hersi and websites of the clan. Undiplomatic in words and void from political manoeuvring,  siiraanyo’s government transformed the very concept of governance into a primitive marathon of tribal villagers, where allegiance of clan affiliation is heavier than a civilized patriotism of the country.

My Somaliland faded into the jaws of yesteryears and plays a tug of war over a dilapidated cement factory in berbera. My Somaliland  takes unsolicited trips to turkey in a tight ropes and returns with photograph opportunities of indispensible values to the recognition, my Somaliland became simply the joke of the century.

Its time for Somalilanders to rectify their mistakes and change the course that is surely leading us into the abyss, its time to save the Somaliland we invested so much from the franchised governance of divide ,profiteering, and politicised family enterprises.

This government of Ahmed  Mohamed mohamoed  siiraanyo polarised the country into multiple tribal powers in which cross over of votes among tribes is almost unthinkable, creating a psychology of mistrust, disharmony and disfiguration to our long fought integrity of sacrifice for all, a thinking that is now destroying the very fabric of Somaliland. This president and his cabinet represent a cataclysmic failure of our part by rewarding sensationalism and practices of the old system that brought us to our knees. Let us offer chances to the thousands of visionaries, young politicians whose success cries out loud in the international platforms.

The change you voted for set Somaliland  back into its early stages where water-tight segments of the society compete each other for power thus perpetuating the run of the siiranyo philosophy.

I am wondering if you heard the click ,or am I the only one who is got the knife-man from the presidential palace on his heels