SOMALILAND: Company Or A Country?

By:Jama Falaag
There is a visible sense of crisis in the present Somaliland situation. The crisis is not just about economic decline, inflation unchecked and corruption rampant — which affects everyone — but also about the political ignorance that divides Somaliland people into factions and foes  — a delusion in the present leadership whose visionless political strategy is to draw the superior to what they wish.

The true picture of Somaliland tells us that Somaliland has been, and still continues to be in a political desert that cannot become the gateways for a new beginning to the right direction. Our incapacity to comprehend our own mistakes and problems stems from our insistence on measuring everything in tribal lines.

If we as Somalilanders want to move in the right direction, as a nation, what needs to change? What is it that will get Somaliland to the right direction?

It’s not only moving that makes us walk along the right path. It is the choice between when and which direction we intend to take. Moving the nation to the right direction takes a subtle shift in perspective, an opening of the mind, an intentional revolution, a new approach to re-imagine the future.

Wise sages tell us to learn from past lessons. Politics, that clever art, suggests a brilliant variation — learn from the mistakes and inherent problems that lag you behind.

The question is where to begin, where we are wrong, what needs to correct, what is wrong with us and with our notions of how we see Somaliland as a sovereign state?

We always cherish the proud notion of a sovereign and independent Republic, which imposes upon us the obligation of evincing to the world that we are worthy to be recognized. How could this proud notion be achieved?

The recognition of Somaliland could be achieved when we recognize ourselves as a nation and understand what Somaliland is. When all of us come to the sense of how Somaliland country has been formed and how it has been fostered in Somaliland citizens.

What is the Somaliland that we want? We want Somaliland that is free from negative tribalism. Great! How can we produce people who are not tribal oriented?

By educating and raising masses, negative tribalism can be less effective, and thus alone a nation is possible.

We want Somaliland that is nationally and politically united. How can we create the ambition and the ideology that can unite Somaliland?

We need to understand that we as citizens in every community throughout this country have no more important than to educate those who are going to represent us.

We want Somaliland that is free of corruption. How can we produce leadership that is not corrupt?

The best proper way to fight corruption is to enforce the law that must hold all government officials accountable for their actions without fail. Accountability is where the right answer and accurate audited information are.

We want Somaliland that is free of poverty. How can we create people who have the skills to wage war against poverty? Education helps a nation find innovative solutions to some of its biggest problems in life.

Is Somaliland a company? Or is it a country?  Who owns Somaliland country?

Somaliland country is owned by Somaliland nationals. If Somaliland is a country and not a company and owned by Somaliland nationals, what is this rainbow coalition that passes Somaliland presidency onto one another, as if the concept of a ruling constitution is a relay race? What are the reasons behind rainbow coalition formation? Who formed the rainbow coalition and why did they form it?

The rainbow coalition consists of two clans united by a delusion about their fear and by common hatred of their neighbors. It is formed by the two Colonels, Muse Biixi and Mohamed Kahin, and many others who share the views that Somaliland political power rotation is only between two clans and other clans be isolated from rising to power.

This brings us to the questions “Is it constitutional or unconstitutional to form alliances not based on genuine political ideology in a country that is devoid of any social discrimination by definition during the presidential election? How long can a country that is built on almost equal tribal lines survive when two specific tribes deliberately desire to grab the power.”

The only way in which Somaliland can survive is when each tribe respects the interests of all other tribes and creates the courage to accustom to the reality that the concept of the wholeness of life and harmony is just based on give-and-take.

Above all, what we need most of all tomorrow is true political will, the courage to decide what we want in our life and the determination to take one step after another towards the direction that matters most to us. And the right path is how we arrange our ideas and imagine the future.

In the face of rising challenges, it may be hard to imagine now what is the Somaliland that we want when some of us are engaged in what divides us instead of what unites us, but he who will embody unity all the more, and in future years can serve as an example of integrity and loyalty to the country will rise to the top.

Strength is basically the direct result of Unity. Unity is required everywhere, as it strengthens the will and power to make things happen.

Collective moral strength would emerge a powerful Somaliland; a nation would be built through the home. Politics based on collusion will constantly search fresh pastures to divide, creating repetitive clashes that break structures both at the head and the bottom level, while sagacity of shared space will propel the unity that can promise prosperity.

Abdirahman Ahmed Ali liberated us from Siyad Barre regime, Mohamed Ibrahim Egal made law and order prevail, Dahir Riyaale kept the country intact, and Siilaanyo divided the nation and destroyed the system. Is that too neat to be correct?

We are as responsible for the evil we commit as for the evil we invite. Justice is what basically and prudently unites all people. No vital sign of justice is as of yet seen from the rainbow coalition administration.

By:Jama Falaag
Hargeisa, Somaliland

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