TFG Leadership is the
bane of Somali People
The current predicament and
appalling situation in
Somalia is dynamic, fluid
and fraught with
uncertainties. Such
unpredictable and unpleasant
quandary makes all of us
wonder where we are heading
and what the future holds
for an ordinary Somali
yearning for better, secure
and stable country. TFG
leaders, indeed, pursued
perilous policy path that
could lead us to fiasco and
a recipe for further
disaster.
The invasion of Ethiopian
troops to our homeland is
arguably the greatest of all
the maladies that bedevil
Somali nation. It was very
clear from the outset that
Ethiopian intervention and
invasion was imminent and
the election of Abdillahi
Yusuf as interim president
heralded the current
situation of our country
occupied by Ethiopian
troops. It was incident
waiting to happen and a
golden opportunity knocked
their door when an Islamic
Court Union group emerged
and regrettably took hasty
decisions that resulted in
their demise. It was a
matter of time and TFG
wasted not a minute to call
their protector and patron
and this reminds me about
our Somali saying
"Meel aan rabey roob ma igu
Eryey."
I never thought, in my
wildest dreams, that I'd
ever see Ethiopians not only
occupying and flexing their
military muscle mercilessly
and vigorously to our people
but are also running the
country and putting in place
an insidious plan to achieve
their lifetime goal.
Americans and Ethiopians are
in cahoots working together
to undertake common
strategic mission.
Consequently, the Ethiopians
have received the license to
kill and it is like an open
season for hunting.
As tragic as it sounds for
majority of Somalis with
some sense of nationalism
and patriotism, it is
unfortunately a triumph and
victory for few supporters
of this moribund TFG
government that are driven
by clannish politics.
Hitherto, I have been
refraining myself from
plunging into foray of
Somali politics while I am
living at the heart of Nugal
Valley gracefully tending my
herd of camel that are far
and away from clear and
present danger facing my
other brothers at lower
Jubba Region. However, I am
coming around this time to
divulging the full extent of
my feeling of vexation and
frustration directed towards
the Transitional Federal
Government (TFG) leading
team in general and in
particular to the president.
It is my personal and naïve
opinion that the interim
president has been, is and
will be the bane of the
Somali People and I would
like to substantiate my
claim in the following few
assertions that are based on
factual statements. However,
I should point out in
crystal clear that it is not
my intention to taint the
reputation of elected
transitional government
leaders but it is an honest
and sobering assessment of
those leaders by
re-examining some of their
recent political remarks,
actions and moves that are
nationally and morally
repugnant to say the least.
Our Interim president has
set precedence in our nation
as being the first
Somali political dissident
who sought alliance from our
century old foe and
established launching base
in Ethiopia and attacked
nowhere else other than his
home base of Mudug and not
the heart of the Siad Barre
Regime. It is hard to
swallow and trust someone
whose personal lust of power
could even drive him to kill
his own sons and brothers.
Our President is a man
well-known for his
proclivities toward military
interventions and use of
coercive force can not
stabilize our country.
Ethiopian presence is
definitely driving wedge
against the Somali people.
Again, our Interim president
will go into the history of
our beleaguered
nation as the first puppet,
stooge and spineless
president elected and
protected by Ethiopian
regime. Sadly, the use of
Ethiopian troops is viewed
by President Yusuf as a
linchpin of securing and
saving his presidency and
indeed he cannot
live and rule without them
at least in his mindset.
Our leader is one of the
wolves that plunged our
country into abyss, anarchy
and anguish and turned our
beautiful country into a
living hell. Arguably, Mr
Yusuf is part and parcel of
the warlord syndrome in our
country and was instrumental
in spearheading and
establishing SSRC group
responsible for the total
collapse of previous
transitional national
government. The re-emergence
of the warlords, though
incapacitated, is still
indicative of his
association with these
wolves.
Other leaders of the TFG are
characterized by ineptitude,
incompetence and inability
to govern and forge policy
of reconstruction and
reconciliation to
resuscitate the shattered
state. The current PM had no
prior political experience
and looked clean but he was
a wolf in sheep's clothing.
The impulsive and sporadic
utterance and remarks of
somewhat mentally retarded
son of late warlord is
beyond the pale. The
controversial foreign
minister with his tendencies
towards venality is
worrisome. Quite recently,
he has made
incongruent remarks
regarding the C-130 bombing
of Lower Jubba region
conflicting with earlier
statement of his president
who stated naively his lack
of knowledge of the air
assault to his country and
his people. Even
worse, adding insult to an
injury, both of them stated
their support and
justified the American air
attack notwithstanding the
loss of innocent lives of
our people and their
livestock.
To put my perspective in a
nutshell, lack of leadership
has been and is
still at the core of myriad
of problems facing our
country. We are betrayed by
our leaders who appear to
have narrow vision mystified
by petty considerations.
Presently, we cannot afford
to let those with shallow
insight and short memory to
put our country into further
perils and problems. *I hope
the president calls quit and
resigns as soon as possible
before our nomads accuse him
for treason or crime against
his own people.
Mohamed A Samatar (Geeljire)
from Nugaal Gudan,
Laascaanood.
msamatar@gmail.com
