Somali Prime Minister: An Act of Betrayal, Venality, and
Incompetence!
Abdi
Ismail Samatar
University of Minnesota
This note
reflects on the quality of the Prime Minister’s leadership in
the context of the country’s political history and the demands
of the present.
Many Somalis
outside the warlord world and mercenary politics hoped and
prayed that Mr. Mohamed Ali Geedi’s appointment as Prime
Minister would be different from previous / current crop of
mindless leaders despite the fact that a warlord vacated the
seat in parliament for him to be appointed PM. The public’s wish
was that he would usher leadership anchored on integrity and
common cause since he was a veterinarian who was not implicated
in the sectarian violence of the past two decades. Most Somalis
were eager to support him, without personal gain, in any way
they could in order to boost his political and social base
provided he led by example. Unfortunately, the Prime Minister
never bothered to translate this goodwill into a national
movement. He even rejected the consul and labor of independent
minded professionals from his own region and has instead
endeared himself with corrupt partners and a regime of a
neighboring country. The PM’s contribution has been crass
rhetoric devoid of words and deeds that exude reconciliatory and
inclusive national agenda. Consequently, a precious opportunity
to turn Somali politics around in order to serve our grieved
people is being lost.
Mr. Geedi’s
leadership style contrasts sharply with an earlier statesmanship
in our country’s history which most young Somalis may not know
about and others may have forgotten. When Aden Abdulle Osman was
Somalia’ democratic president (1960-67) he pioneered a style of
leadership that is yet to be emulated. His motto was that
Somalia’s national interest was (is) distinct from the personal
concerns of a leader and consensus was the appropriate modus
operandi of government, particularly when fundamental national
issues were at stake. This meant that he had to be deliberative
in selecting premiers and then stay alert at the constitutional
switch. His respect for the division of powers and labor
enunciated in the constitution was unassailable. Finally, he
tried to appoint individuals to the premiership who had the
talent and courage to disagree with him when they had to do so
rather than appointing sycophants. Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke and
Abdirazak Haji Hussen were such premiers. No other Somali
national or regional leader has upheld these standards since
Aden and his Prime Minister, Abdirazak, left office in 1967. The
only loyalty they had was to the country, the oath of the
office, and to the constitution. Aden and the prime ministers
strove to live by that edict. Upholding the oath of Office
and leading by example has earned them the respect and
admiration of the vast majority of thinking and caring citizens.
It would have been impossible for either the president or his
prime ministers to make unilateral announcements that contravene
the Constitution and the laws of the Republic.
In addition to
their constitutional rectitude, Aden and his prime ministers
guarded their office’s integrity and personal dignity,
particularly when they dealt with foreign leaders. One instance,
which few people know about, demonstrates the high standards
Aden and his PMs set during their tenure. Haile Seilasse, the
late Ethiopian ruler, invited President Aden to travel with him
on his private plane to that year’s OAU conference. Aden, with
the consent of his prime minister, thanked Haile for the offer
but declined to take the ride as he recognized the political
trap behind the invitation and the irreparable damage his
acceptance would have done to the presidency’s luster and the
bond between the office and the public. Such thoughtful
considerations and practices are at odds with the attitudes of
currents leaders who relish and lust for such humiliating
“privileges.”
The signs of our
time are many (but I will only cite three at this moment) and at
variance with the aforementioned ethics and standards. First,
the deliberative approach to governing public affairs and this
regime are oxymoronic. This Prime Minister’s latest gaffe on the
northern region “Somaliland) and other issues is the most
egregious breach of the dignity of his office and a treasonable
violation of the charter. It is unimaginable for a sitting Prime
Minister to declare, on an international radio broadcast, a
policy statement that advocates the nation’s dismemberment. Such
a blunder reveals that he either does not comprehend the
significance of his public pronouncements as head of government
or worse that he has consciously decided to betray the cause of
the nation. Second, TFG leaders’ unwilling attitude to heed the
voice and sentiments of the Somali people, their enthusiasm to
accept demeaning personal “privileges” from the Ethiopian regime
that has openly engineered and continue to reinforce our
country’s disintegration, and the former’s practice of briefing
Addis Ababa [1] about
Somali agenda before anyone else is unparalleled in post
colonial history. Third, the PM’s habit of signing dubious
agreements and contracts with all types of suspect actors, and
without serious debates in parliament bodes ill for the
transition, the balance of power among the three branches of
government, and the country’s future.
Collectively, the
PM’s and his close colleagues’ behaviors and practices privilege
their personal fortune (power, wealth, and sectarian agenda)
above everything else including the fate and future of our
people and have turned ineptitude and betrayal into art. Bereft
of inclusive ideas and convictions that can resurrect Somali
ideals, the PM and his cohort has succumbed to the patronage of
the Ethiopian regime that lacks legitimacy from its own
population. Betrayal of the national interest, venality, and
incompetence which are the hallmarks of this regime distinguish
it from any national government –democratic or dictatorial-
Somalis have had in modern history.
A comment is
warranted about the Mogadishu based warlords lest this essay is
misconstrued as an endorsement of their stance. If the PM and
his cabal are incompetent, fraudulent, and disloyal, the
warlords of Mogadishu are the embodiment of avarice. Their
myopic, self-serving, and cruel gimmickry is exactly what has
exposed our country to Ethiopian exploits, and condemned the
Somali people to divisiveness, misery, and humiliation. They
are the strategic obstacle to the nation’s
cause.
Finally, the
absence of a committed and deliberative leadership at senior
levels, so central to the management of democratic and
progressive public affairs, has bedeviled our nation for nearly
three decades. Civic groups and individuals who claim to be
better than sectarian political entrepreneurs have not shown the
courage and commitment to a national vision that would cast
warlordism and venal politics to history’s refuse bin. As the
South African Liberation movement used to say “now is the time.”
If the transition is not to lead to a calamity worse than the
nightmare of the past, the civics must rise to the occasion and
create quality political organization that can earn the respect
and support of the population and insure the transition’s
success.
[1] The BBC Monitoring Service
reported that Mr. Geedi recently went to Addis Ababa after his
visit to the EU, and briefed the Ethiopian Prime Minister before
he saw the Somali President, his cabinet, and members of
parliament. This was done in secrecy.
N.B. The opinions
contained in this article are solely those of the writer, and it
does not represent the editorial opinions of
Buluugleey.com
