The Talking Points

Rhetoric aside, the new president is pinned to his “Politics of Patronage” and formed not a national government but his thanks-giving one only purported in the pretext of “Change”,

It is not my intention here to disgrace or belittle the wishful hope of SL people with this government as well as disdain their effort to show to the world that they manage their affairs in peace and differently from rest of Somalia. We should however emphasis caution on any high expectation we place on this thanks-giving government, which is evidently setup with ravenous appetite for revenge and to hawk up certain sectors among SL citizens dutifully working for their country, born after their political party had inherently succeeded to win the election by what the sociologists described as “The politics of Patronage”.

It is true that elections go hand in hand with rules of democracy. But as Paul Collier, in his book The Bottom Billion argued that “Democracy is not about elections. Indeed some of the rules of democracy are to determine how power is achieved, and that’s where election comes in. However, the abundance of resource rents alters how an electoral competition is conducted. Essentially, it lets in the politics of patronage”. Paul Collier also said that “Patronage could be cost effective if votes be bought wholesale by bribing opinion makers while, in comparison, the provision of public service is too expensive”. While the well known Sudanese Journalist Al Haj Warraq also wrote, “The patronage system in the center has a network of corruption”.

There is no truer situation than in Kulmiye election campaign platform ; slew of pledges and promises given to each and every clan and individual, which in all intend, fashioned only to inveigle votes from SL people that has greater affinity with tribal sentiment and naive ‘to believing the magic and the mundane.

It was a desperate act but it worked for Kulmiye to attain the presidency.

However, the announcement of who are in his cabinet of ministries and in other sectors of his new government attested to lack of truth and honesty in the gist of his campaign argument about the debacle in preserving the status quo and the inevitability of a progressive change. And eventually his promise that he will treat those who voted against him in the presidential election as equal as those who voted for him becomes unhallowed.

Mr. Silanyo, as the new president, in a balancing act should have nursed all fairness in treating those who voted against him as equal as those who voted for him, should have given every citizen, irrespective of his / her region, political affiliation, or clan, their right to serve his / her country in any field he / she deemed to be qualified for, protect the common interest should have been the effort that president Silanyo gets behind.

He is lauded by many as seasoned politician while he is being elected into position of power to improve things; it remains to be seen if he continuous though to pander his cronies’ interest and succumb to his coalition members’ demands or be able to foster channels for inclusiveness.

Many others and I may see this idea of including members who are new to SL clan political arena in his thanks-giving government cabinet of ministries an act of redemption and it is that uncertainty about how they would behave during their office term that did not take completely the lust away but has given them benefit of the doubt. These members have yet to win the hearts and the trust of the SL people. We may expect from these learned men and women good things rightfully so, but we may also have to remind ourselves that having a college degree does not automatically qualify anyone to be a good and honest administrator as is true to that all that glitters are not gold”.

Silanyo “Change” Theme - Unpropitious signs and a wayward result.

Change is inspiring but it is however important to know that sweeping changes made to any established and properly working sectors of the outgoing administration would have unintended consequences. As the late sociologist Robert K. Merton, in his brilliant exposition of why sweeping policy changes often have unintended consequences wrote that leaders get things wrong when their “paramount concern with foreseen immediate consequences excludes the consideration of further or other consequences of their proposals”.

With current discriminatory policy Silanyo and his thanks-giving government espoused so far, triggering massive layoffs, people in Awdal / Selel / Gabiley as well as UDUB members are grappled with the fact that Silanyo’s change theme is only devised to target those who have voted against him in the presidential election, resulting unpropitious start for his government image locally and regionally. Hence, the constant demonstrations that had been taking place in Hargeisa and Borama, the revival of insurgency by SL easterners and the deep and blunt incursion of Ethiopian troops into SL territory are all the indication of the intensity of how distasteful and unattractive his policy design is.

Though I have always had my own reservation about Kulmiye coalition having a smart political theme based on the inclusion of every hard working citizen of SL however, the on-going vendettas with hawk-eyed policy for revenge by this thanks –giving government vouches truth in UDUB and so many SL political analysis’s skepticism about Kulmiye campaign mantra of change during the election campaign that pointed out flaws, hidden intentions and a trap of deception only aimed to win votes.

The kitchen-sink realism of Silanyo contemporary policy has seemingly postulated both the deterioration of SL security and the distraught mood in the country, spawned the current untoward relations with neighboring countries, coarsened the local politics and soiled the trust, fostered by his predecessor, of the very few foreign countries, who are lending their support to SL cause for independence and recognition, have in SL.

I do not want to gawk at his condition but surely Silanyo is now feeling the heat fueled by his bad policy.

The Ziyad - Silanyo Comparisons Grow

Comparison between the Silanyo governing policy and the failed policy of Ziyad Regime are increasingly becoming similar. Silanyo shunning sectors among SL citizens, employing policies that preclude them from serving at their civil or army posts without a prove of incompetence and failure in their responsibilities and replaced them with unqualified kinship and cronies who have helped him financially and frauds at the polling stations to hold out his promise to them and to their clans was also the hallmark of Ziyad policy during his presidency to surround himself with culled loyal stooges.

In his earlier speeches, Ziyad was quick to condemn tribalism, professed to be a transformational president and pledged to level the field for all citizens of Somalia regardless of his / her region and clan only to be contradicted himself later by his governing policy. Silanyo, schooled in Ziyad political camp, likewise, in his inauguration speech and before nominations of his government, declared same pledges only to be proven inauspicious after his government nominations. It is proven in the political circles that the policy any government embarks upon defines the character of its leader.

Mr. Silanyo fooled by the seeming simplicity of his people, overlooked the fact that every Somaliland citizen is endowed with clan political ears, to his dismay, is now reaping a crop of complains and reactions however else.

VP - Abdurrahman “Zaylici” - Nin dabada jiidaya, awrkiisu hore uma socdo.

As a young, learned, often sided with his community in their struggle against injustice and well aware of the constrained policies by successive governments against his community, I expected Mr. Abdurrahman Zaylici to be cautious and fight vigorously against any more injustice to his community while he is at upper government echelon and caulk up any undercurrent conspiracy theories against them. However, if his actions so far are any guide, his recent derogatory and offensive accusation he leveled against his own community was not euphonious and needless to say it has given others the opportunity to spin and make it viral.

Mr. Abdurrahman was there in Borama to witness the Ethiopian wrath after the SNM furtively accused Awdal and Selel to be the training hub for Oromo Insurgents. To that end, Ethiopia had marshaled their troop guided by SNM militia and invaded Borama. Now that Mr. Abdurrahman seemed to be the vanguard of similar baseless accusations against his own community has compelled Ethiopian troops once again to venture inside Awdal and Selel only this time without causing any death.

We, the constituents in these regions, see the man at the helm now as that same man who plotted the fable then in his capacity as the leader of the SNM during that period.

I wish wholeheartedly you to succeed in your political endeavor but I would request you to see the handwriting on the president’s office wall.

Awdal / Selel / Gabiley -

Without dwelling either on the past or delving into details, I can only admonish you by saying to you: EVEN SILENCE HAS AN END, to subjugation, injustice or a constant government badgering and off-putting attitude.

Mowliid Magare - USA

Email: mmowliid@hotmail.com