Somaliland: Our African style politicians

In his famous book “laws of politics”, Morton Blackwell stated that “policy will not move until it’s accelerated by the politicians”. Then I asked myself what about if the politician himself is physically and mentally retarded unable to pull or push any single entity?

As in the case of this country we always turn wrong eyes to the matter, and the real circumstances. We always take an impossible decision without thinking deeply on the day-to-day changes of the political conditions and their stalemates.

As Somaliland citizens, we sometimes become slaves of politicians by taking seriously whatever political statements they put to persuade us something from nothing, while they are  hiding something of secretive to somewhere deep in their heart, something they went to quench their thirsty: VOTE.

Sometimes, in a madness situation we deliberately sit in front of a TV camera merely to defend in clannish system for a politician arrested for his corrupting actions and criminals he committed against this marginal impoverished community of Somaliland. To put them in the ladder that will enable them to reach the highest and the most influential post in the country: the presidential office, they always try to benefit from our natural weakness and pitfalls by acting as a wolf in a sheep’s wool.

What kind of weakness?

In psychological manner, in almighty ALLAH’s will as a creator, our brain has bi-polar edges: positive and negative edges. In the positive portion we take the advantage of creativity thinking of being constructive, gathering together, collaborating and behaving each other like a siblings born by a one father and mother to help one another in every aspect of life. Contrary, and unlike the negative section of our thinking is full of destructive characteristics of hatred, jealous, hypocrisy, emotion etc. in one’s auto measurement however, your personality depends largely on the imbalance use of your dual-edged grey matter: BRAIN!

In my point in here, the later-the negative section-is what made us hostages or more accurately hostages of though in the political arena. In many cases we witnessed so many political figures in this country debating argumentatively everyday situations by using frank-looking, well-decorated and discreetly prepared words and statements only to be approved by their audiences in a subtle manner. Those politicians cheatingly elevate our sense of emotion in a small but important way of thinking. Using historic means to commemorate the past old days…the days of collective punishment and massacre; the days of killing and torture; the days of clan prejudice committed by the Somali former regime infamously called “Afwayne” against this honest, light-hearted, and short-forgetful people of Somaliland.

Without the daring ability to convince that once in yesteryears no one after Afwayne’s jihad war has committed a crime against this vulnerable and fragile nation they blurred the reality in a thousand of meaningless words.  Jumping a dozens and half of historic chapters tasted practically by this society…histories that write itself in an inerasable red ink, he- tend to jump another pages of history written in a gold-ink believing that he included the latter precious pages and also believing that this will serve his self interest, pointing himself a hero, a freedom fighter, a war veteran, a real citizen and a more specially a MUJAHID!

The war against dictator ziad barre ended a success towards Somaliland people after they sacrificed and shed their precious blood and provide their privately owned property. However, they once again become victims of power hunger, selfish politicians who always specify the mass victory as their own using the pronoun “I” instead of “We”.

The historic chapters that our failed politicians are arrogantly sensitive to be remembered are the rich paragraphs which depicted in golden pages with bold letters for the difference between the triumphed politicians from the failed one! The historic days that separated the real citizen from the other. The lines of past history that diverted the golden personnel from the garbage personnel, which days? The days of gloomy, self-killing, and self-murdering. The days we become both the killers and the victims! But which however, unfortunately, we can’t reasonably indicate the why of our killing.

We failed-as Somalilanders-to build a monument to those who succeeded from their negative brain-parts and take the decision to put off the fire”. Those who kissed heartedly their fellow friends. Those group who stand up and patiently strive to put off the conflict and behaved as volunteer peace makers acting in elder way.

We likewise failed to isolate those who choose the “fighting” as an option.

In those days some play the role of mediators wisely and elderly, only to end the civil war. Others feel squeamish to look with naked eyes about the killings and fighting of among of their yesterday brothers whom together they shared with the same terraces fighting against one enemy: FAQASH!  The enemy who refused to live in their homes lavishly and freely. This group though they don’t mediate however they at least showed their sorry and sympathy by taking a self-exile decision. Today they are Diasporas or hardly talking they are refugees which the only way they got there are because they were fight-haters.

A third category, the group that we are talking about and we named after “the failures” were those who stand up and took a lion’s share to add the fuel to the fire of the civil war. This group pays their effort economically and personally to escalate the war.  Today they live among the society in a dark status but, in my surprise they have political ambition.

In a nutshell, all of the above mentioned groups (winners and losers); live today in the same country competing sometimes the yesterday focus civilians’ political support! And more surprisingly, in a condition that seems like the childhood hide and seek game the majority of the vote might go in the benefit of those who took the wrong path, while our past saviors are still waiting their chance patiently.

Another question just comes in to my mind saying: until how long our saviors can wait us to compensate the rights they still owing?

In my point of thinking, the circumstances will be in this turmoil until we set a rational standard scale and measurement of weighting the day-to-day conditions. A scale that will separate those who failed the past and those who successfully passed the past dark and gloomy days! A scale that will give every citizen in his own mass according of their status likewise of that the shopkeeper differentiates his own property’s prices according of their weight.

In conclusion, my dear, to the above paragraphs I give you only hints and neglected any personnel examples to appoint, for a reason not to condemn your natural innate of thinking and separation, and I am very confident-Mr. Reader-that you know best of each, and saying in may last message to you: “please take care as a citizen about the candidate you’re going to endorse your valuable choice in the day of election when you are in the ballot station”.

Thank you….

Faisal Jama Geelle “Al-qureyshi”

Hargeisa, Somaliland.