Declaration of the Somalia Labour Party Establishment
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A Glance into Somalia’s Future! ::
Wars in particular, whether intranational or international, have taught human beings inescapable lessons, because of what wars and their by-products produce: horrendous deaths and destruction. As a result, out of the tragedy, which wars heaped on nations, came great metamorphosis.
The United States of America as it is known today, for instance, though a product out of a Revolutionary War was largely transformed by its civil war. The US Civil War lasted for about 5 years only, from 1861 to 1865. There were about 4 million who enlisted from both sides, the North and the South. It killed, by a direct battle or disease (mostly by disease), more than 600,000 Americans.
Yet from the lesson of that misery, a nation was catapulted into the realm of expansive advancements in freedoms and capital. The institution of slavery was abolished. The dominant agrarian industry of the South took the backseat, and a great industrial revolution was launched.
The nexus between war and evolution of learning from it was not lost on ancient writers either, as the Greek Aristophanes declared: “Yet, certainly, the wise learn many things from their enemies; for caution preserves all things. From a friend you could not learn this, but your foe immediately obliges you to learn it. For example, the states have learned from enemies, and not from friends, to build lofty walls, and to possess ships of war. And this lesson preserves children, house, and possessions."
Somalia’s self-war continues, despite the much welcomed glimpse of hope from Al-Shabaab’s forced devolution in Mogadishu notwithstanding. Yet, this war will, sooner or later, come to a complete screeching halt, for there is no such a thing as an endless war!
And so, when all the guns finally go silent in Somalia and the death and destruction directly caused by them or, because of them, by famine are overthrown, what would we Somalis have learnt from a long tragedy of our-own-making? The answer must be that no less than a complete transformation of Somali society, all be it gradual, would be adequate. Otherwise, it would have been all for nothing if 20 plus years of self-abasement had not taught us a great lesson!
What was not born in Somali minds then, in sound vision and a roadmap for the better, before the onset of firing the first shots to plunge a nation into a self-war, now must take hold by the plain lessons of carnage achieved!
Etched by necessity in their desperately ready-to-learn collective minds, from their long heartbreak, it has to be impossible, therefore, for the Somalis to miss the stark lessons.
I put forward that two decades of utter disasters have been a costly experiment, not by design but by default. Somalis, even those who instigated the violent-agitation to bring down a functioning government, never set out to destroy their country. But destroy, they did!
Anecdotal evidences, I would submit, of Somalis learning from their misfortune are clearly evident. This is tentative, however, whose fruition is only contingent on Somali leaders, now and in the future, who must guide their people onto a transforming journey to greatness.
“Necessity is the mother of invention,” a wise person once quipped! The long Somali civil war, aside from its costly obliteration of multiple dimensions, has exposed both weaknesses and vast potentials of the Somali people.
The dragged-on inability of this people to organize themselves against extended brute-chaos is perhaps the biggest flaw. It is a riddle why the Somali people have not produced on their own, in 20 years, a credible leadership or movement to counteract the self-annihilation. To this day, it is still taking foreigners, namely AMISOM Troops, to help Somalis stop themselves from same old, same all!
How could a 10,000 year-old society, with tried and tested, indigenous institutions could not have at some point—in 2 decades— stood up and reversed course?
By the Somali clan-system, this cannot be explained, for clan wars do not last beyond weeks. There is a built-in Somali societal mechanism to intervene successfully. Nor did the Somali ancestors allow, even in their disorganized clan standings, other neighboring ethnic groups, like the Oromo or the Gala, to gain on them. How could Somalis, centuries ago, before any unitary system or overarching national identity, marshal unity in purpose and action in the face of foreigners, yet be frozen in place against self-mutilation for 20 years?
The civil war has also exposed the great potential of the Somali people. Perhaps nothing is more indicative of where Somalis will end up in the future, beyond the dismal status quo, than their newly-found enthusiasm for education. Today, every major city has or is about to build its university and colleges. There is a great commotion going on, besides gunfire, especially in war-torn South of Somalia, to establish education learning-centers. Many of these centers may not even be adequately functioning yet, but the efforts and intentions with which these centers are being erected tells a lot about what is in store for Somalis in the future. Civil-war racked Somalia may even have today more universities than many stable countries in Sub-Saharan Africa (List of universities in Somalia)!
In addition, Somalis have shown great strides in business entrepreneurships against formidable odds. Whether under gunfire in Mad-Max reality of their home country or (because of it) in migration to the four corners of the globe, Somalis have displayed amble talents in money-making, from global money transfer companies (Dahabshiil and others), malls, restaurants to telecommunication ventures, which have put a cell phone in every camel-boy’s hand in Somali wilderness.
So, what are the evidences of Somalis learning, for the better, from the 2 decades plus of their miserable odyssey? In searching for tangible evidences of this, one must look for them in the general Somali Public, on one hand, and in their leaders on the other hand.
As far as the Somali populous is concerned, they never signed up for this 20 year deadly fiasco to begin with. The public, nevertheless, is a malleable commodity, without its participation even its own downfall would not have been possible. In other words, human multitudes could be easily misled to vote against their own interest or even for their eventual destruction. Hitler’s Germany is a clear case for the latter, where the German public was whipped into frenzy, believing it was their birth-right to subjugate the rest of Humanity. Of course, Germany then was the most advanced country in the world, with a history of democracy and rule of law. They were not some clan-based, third-world poor country like Somalia.
The Somali people have somewhat learned from their own mistakes in participating their own misfortune. One, which is heart-warming, is how the Somali Diaspora has been touched by the famine in their homeland. The responses in charitable giving to their fellow famine-victims have been exemplary. The same Somali Diaspora were, in a decade ago, in sitting-mode conflicts with itself on clan-lines with usual verbal jabs, which at times lead to fist-fights in cafes in North America and elsewhere. This was a clear symptom in a direct correlation to the useless clan-based conflicts or rather politics back home. As the Somali Public in Somalia finally realized the futility of clan dissection, by harsh reality, so has the Somali Diaspora.
Another sign, by the Somali Public, of maturity by hardship is their willingness to support any leader whom they deem as a guardian of common interest based on Somalism and sound governance. Case in point was the people in Mogadishu rising up for Premier Mohammed Farmajo few months ago. These people were not of his clan or affiliates. They were the opposite, by the Somali clan metrics, of Farmajo’s, yet they saw something in him beyond clan nonsense which they yearn for!
While one can accurately state that the Somali Public is ready to precede on common interest agenda, they are still prone, I am afraid, to cleaver divisionary tactics with new twists. Regionalism is the headache to watch out for. If this gold-rush to regionalism is done correctly, it could be of great benefit to all Somalis. This could spur a healthy, independent competition on governance and progress. Chances are, however, this is what has destroyed Somalia by another name. I see this, and I pray I am wrong on this, as new knives to carve up territory, at village and town levels, for clan identity.
All in all, the Somali general public has gotten the message, by their horrific experiences of two decades long, of common brother and sisterhood and a one clan identity, as it should be, of Soomaalinimo (Somalism). This brings me to whether the would-be Somali leaders, the politicians, have learned this lesson.
Again, on this, I would also argue there are fewer lessons learned by Somali leaders of the old guard. If one looks the timeline of series of events, from the overthrow of Mohammed Siyad’s rule to the current presidency of Sheikh Sharif, one would notice mistakes and some attempts to correct them by successive Somali leaders.
Forcibly driven out of Villa Somalia, Mohammed Siyad Barre was taught a lesson by General Aideed and others; that the days of one-man rule are over. General Aideed, Abdullahi Yusuf and their ilk were also taught a lesson; that they were not fit to lead a flock of Geese, let alone human beings! Other warlords would also suffer the same fate at the hands, of all people, mullahs. The mullahs are still fighting, those who were not willing to ensue for peace that is. But, they too are losing ground!
As difficult as Somalia’s situation still is, one should take into account that the Somali people are entering a new era in which those who will lead this nation are of “what do they know, rather than who do they know.” The fact that the last 3 governments of the TFG, led by 3 prime ministers from Somali Diaspora, were of men and women of Solid educational background says it all about where Somalia will end up in the future.
More than that, this is also a clear indication of who the Somali people would not want to be as their leaders anymore. Military men leaders, from Mohammed Siyad, General Aideed to Abdullahi Yusuf, were rejected at the end one after another. After this current president, The Wadaad will not be acceptable either. Forget about the ignorant, clan-agitating former warlords too.
Needless to say, a good leadership is the only hope for a better country and people of Somalia. The challenges which face the Somali people, even if the war is to cease completely tomorrow, are astronomical. Post war, to mention few of the challenges, there is a country to rebuild block by block; a whole generation who knows nothing other than war to rehabilitate; a country to navigate through the minefield of regionalism, which could be a recipe for mini Somali intra and inter-regional wars.
If the Somali people are blessed with good leaders from now on, one should not be surprised about how quickly Somalia rebuilds, for the Somali people are bursting with potential energy. They are very industrious people, of whom history is yet to record how bright they could be. There could be untold natural resources in their country too, which could bring the world at their door steps.
I believe there is a reason for everything which takes place in life. 20 odd years of Somalis put through a torment of hell here on earth would not have been without something great roaring out of it at the end in Somali society remake and complete transformation. Why, for instance, God scattered Somalis in the hundreds of thousands in the four corners of this Earth? Why, among many others, Somali-American, Somali-Australian Somali-British, Somali-Canadian Somali-Dutch, Somali-Finn, Somali German, Somali-Irish or Somali-Swede? Hold on to your hats, for great change is coming for Somali Maryooley! The seeds are planted!
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