May 16, 2008

“Ali Jirde’s Humanity and Silanyo’s Shameless Greed” By Warsame Ali Abshir (Dhimbiil)

Greed Defined 1: Greedy individuals are often believed to be harmful to society as their motives often appear to disregard the welfare of others: if one person is to increase in wealth, somebody else must be decreasing in wealth. If he is greedy and a Leader it is the society that suffers.

Greed reared its ugly head on April the 22nd. Appearing before a Hargeisa Civil Court, Ahmed Mohamed Silanyo, and the Leader of Somaliland’s Official Opposition Party and his wife Weris, testified in front of a Judge that Engineer Ali Sheikh Mohamed (Ali Jirde) is unfit to manage his own finances, and that they should become the official sole custodians of his Estate.

The petty extortion doesn’t stop there, though. Weris and her husband are on a salivating crusade, not only to label Ali as too senile to handle his own cash but to deny Ali’s own three children, albeit adopted children, their inheritance. Weris and Silanyo’s argument is that because the children are not biologically related to Ali, they are automatically exempt from ever becoming the heirs of his wealth. Obviously, this is a ludicrous line of reasoning and everyone can clearly see that biological or not, kinship is determined by affinity not by blood. To counter this naked larceny at the expense of three young Somali children, protesters outside the court house chanted that Mr. Silanyo previously looted million of dollars from Ali to finance his failed 2003 election campaign for President.

The Judge reprimanded Silanyo and his wife for their unabashed attempt to hijack the wealth of an elderly relative at the expense of his three children and ruled that Engineer Ali Jirde is in possession of his full faculty and therefore is in a position to write his Will as he finds fit.

The encroachment on Engineer Ali Jirde’s rights did not stop there. Against his wishes and that of his children, Weris, Silanyo’s wife, moved Ali from his Hargeisa spacious house to a two bedroom shanty bungalow in a run-down district of the capital. Immediately after she converted the spacious house to a Hotel and rented it to foreign NGOs staff.

In contrast to Silanyo’s disgraceful behaviour, Engineer Ali Sheikh Mohamed (Ali Jirde) is known as an icon in humanity and empathy to others. At a time when adoption was rare in Somali society, Ali and his late beloved wife, Mariam, adopted in sequence three orphaned children, raised and educated them as their own. Today these children are successful adults who are continuing Ali’s traditions of kindness and compassion.

Another episode which was relayed to me by an eyewitness illustrates the glaring contrast between Ali and Silaanyo. In 1991 when Engineer Ali sheikh moved from Mogadishu and traveled through the Mudug region his truck and personal belongings were looted by Mareehan nomads. Mr. Silanyo traveled from Burco to meet Ali Sheikh in Las-Anod. Immediately upon arrival Mr. Silanyo instead of praising Allah for the safe arrival of his brother-in-law and his family, dwelled primordially on the looted truck and personal belongings of Engineer Ali sheikh Mohamed. He uttered an oath that he will avenge and will never forget what the Mareehan nomads did to Ali. However, Engineer Ali sheikh calmly told Mr. Silanyo that my personal property will not be source of conflict and bloodshed among Somalis. Engineer Ali sheikh told Silanyo get another source of conflict if your ultimate goal is to start a war among brothers. Then Silanyo got shocked and remained silent for a moment until conversation changed to another subject.

Finally, it seems Silanyo, an omnipresent in Somalia’s modern political scene, would do anything to secure the tools and the material means to succeed in his unending but illusive quest for the Presidency of Somaliland. He even went as far as naming his party, Kulmiye, after his son. There is nothing wrong with the ideal of pursuing an ambition but, as a public figure claiming to serve society, Silanyo should have led by example. He should not have attempted to disinherit and steal from the children of his own brother-in-law and, therefore, trigger society’s suspicion who would be inclined to ask: if Silanyo is capable of stooping to this level how can we trust him with the public purse as a wannabe President? They will also be inclined to question his judgment and ask whether a person who would start a tribal war over a stolen truck is fit to lead Somaliland, a country in dire need of peace after years of civil war, death and destruction.