Hiiraan Online

by Sakawdin Mustafa Mohamed
Wednesday, February 18, 2009

The elimination of tribalism, ignorance, injustice and the raise of clan-based terrorist groups in Somalia should be the newly elected popular Somali president Sheikh Sharif’s top priorities and overriding goal for the US and the world community.  Collective public effort among the Somali populations as well as presidential support are essential to eliminating the raising threat of fundamentalists, especially in the Southern Somalia, where systematic human rights abuses have being cited against the defenseless and peace-loving clans of Brava, Merka, and Kismayo.  Collective condemnation and support from the world powers and justice-loving Somalis is critical for putting end to these systemic atrocities and its threat to the region.  I believe Somali people should be educated about these threats and its consequential impact to the stability of the nation for generations to come.

Paradoxically, one of the most serious problems facing the country’s parliament and religious leaders is a shortage of educated and nationalist individuals that the newly elected president needs.  Because there is no any policy or regulation in the Somali constitution that requires education as a prerequisite for getting appointed into the Somali parliament or as a religious clan leader.  Do you wonder why the Somali parliament has no credibility at all? And why do they fail in enforcing the constitution, and bring or support the president to be in line? Why do the religious leaders legitimize terror or kill innocents in the name of Allah? Not surprising that many of the 500+ parliamentarians lack the skills they need to get a job other than what they are currently doing. Frustrating for both the Somali people and the international community, the UN officials constantly report the lack of honesty and sense of national pride as well as common sense among Somali leadership.

Unlike president Shariff, most educated Somalis have been reluctant to introduce serious reforms and changes in the Somali leadership for fear they might be seen as pro-westerners, and anti-traditionalists. Worst of all, many Somali intellectuals lack initiative and they are themselves culturally programmed to take orders from the ignorant tribal/religious elders.  The Somali diaspora are similarly well placed to create a revolutionary and more grassroots transformation in the nation that they once called motherland.

Indeed, the diaspora have already lent a hand to facilitate the building of unjust parliament and the appointment of corrupt parliamentarians. Privately, they have financially sponsored and supported most of the illiterate and unpatriotic members of various Somali regimes without making education a priority for a support.  As if anyone would qualify for advocating education and for the educated they would have come from the diaspora, especially those in North America and Europe.

As I have written so many times, the building of a nation such Somalia is not a onetime or short-term effort.  It is a commitment that Somalians, especially the educated make that encompasses their entire lifestyle and is life-long. This is true because all that we have – our time, the gift of life itself, our talent, the abilities we have been blessed with, and, our treasure, the money we earn by using our time and our talent - are gifts from our God. It takes conversion – a change of heart – and continuous education for the intellectuals to truly accept education as a way of life for Somalis and way out of the mess that we are in today.

I want to commend fellow Somalis, the educated and the newly elected president for having the foresight and vision to look into the future for what the country needs in regards to a peace and change in leadership, especially parliamentarian level.  However, peace and change do not come only with vision and a wishful thinking.  Somalia needs steward, a care-taker, someone who is going to care from long years of dishonesty, corruption, tribalism, injustice, exploitations, horrific killings, starvations, foreign aggressions, and oppressions. For this to happen, the educated have to raise above tribal differences, and forget scoring one for the tribe, but score half (.5) for the nation.  As it is easy for the educated mind to scarcely forgone tribalism and its associated costs.  For Somali leadership to thrive in the current situation and parliament, parliamentarians must hear and read about it as often as possible the Somali constitution. I encourage the parliamentarians to refer to the Koran and the Somali constitution, which all parties agreed and signed numerous times over the past; and willfully support the new Somali leadership for the bad or the worst.  There are literally hundreds of reasons to hate someone, but let’s consider the nation and something which is bigger than us as well as the unity of the people.

In addition of fair-minded/honest leader,  I only see one way that Somalia can get out of the mess that we are in now.  Only way to peace and reconciliation – is through rigorous education.  We need to transform within every stand fadhi ku dirar into engineering, science and liberal education power houses, a higher education institutions.  Recruit every Chinese and Indian engineers and scientists in exchange of natural resources that Somalia has in abundance.  Please lend supporting hand the newly elected president Sheikh Sharif as it was once said “dawlad xun ayaa dawlad la,aan dhaanta”.  We certainly have good leader so far, we have to support him for bad or worst; or just to avoid anarchy.

Sakawdin Mustafa Mohamed, MS, CHES
E-mail: [email protected]