For President Abdullahi Yusuf,
the End Justifies the Means
Darajada ILAAHAY ninkii, doonayaa hela’e, Nin ka
duday distoorkiyo waxyiga, diinti ka carrowye,
Dugsi ma leh qabyaaladi waxay, dumiso mooyaane,
The doggerel of great poet,
Abdullahi Suldan Tima-Adde
Of all the allegations that Somalia’s Union of
Islamic Courts harbour terrorism and host
terrorist elements, at least none could be
proved. Besides, President Abdullahi Yusuf’s
recent claim that UIC attempted assassinating
him is either fallacious or deceptive.
Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, IUC’s President, who
recently talked to local media in Mogadishu,
denied fervidly to Yusuf’s finger pointing. But
Mr Yusuf maintains to feed faulty cant to the
world and neighboring countries in particular.
A childhood friend of Abdullahi Yusuf, who has
savoir-faire with Machiavellian philosophy, was
asked to comment on the personality of the
President, and summarized the whole truth among
him. He sounded like Bertrand Russell and
succinctly portrayed, “Abdullahi Yusuf doesn’t
need an adversary; his mouth is his main
opponent.”
It was five years ago when he conveyed a mock
message to the world that his previous makeshift
fiefdom of Puntland was a terrorist haven. On
December 2001, I was among Somali and American
journalists that examined his contention by
visiting Puntland. When we visited Shimbiraale,
the place that the President labeled a
‘terrorist sanctuary’ we have seen nothing at
all. It was an embarrassing moment for Abdullahi
Yusuf when I reported from the scene that there
were no birds in Shimbiraale, let alone
terrorists.
But Abdullahi Yusuf is eager to delude to the
United States by swaying them to meddle in a
dreadful clan politics of a fragmented Somali
population. Fortuitously, Washington remains
hitherto reluctant from his ploy. Yusuf is a
trained former military officer who was a rebel
for long time. He was locked-up in both Somalia
and Ethiopia. After his election from warlords,
he pledged to be a man of peace, but a man of
war could hardly be a man of peace. His vision
of Somalia and the world are rusty and over 30
years old. Indeed, Mr Yusuf is puzzled and
emerges to be using cold war text book for the
“war on terror.”.
According to Ken Menkhaus, an associate
professor at Davidson College, the accusation
that Somalia is a terrorist state is based on
deduction and supposition, not proven fact. The
US and Ethiopia "depend on deductive reasoning"
to conclude that Islamic states, failed states,
poor states or inaccessible states are likely
havens of terrorist groups. "By these criteria,
Somalia makes the short list,” said Professor
Menkhaus who is an expert on Somali politics.
For sure, Ethiopia is our neighbour and will
always be our neighbour. Ethiopia should feel
safe when Mogadishu is safe. Ethiopians are
often considered as a very tolerant and
multi-ethnic religious society, even though
there is a chronological Somali-Ethiopian
rancor. Ethiopia now entails not to have an
Islamic-phobia. With that in mind, Islamic
Courts, in contrast, should also ease their
anti-Ethiopian rhetoric. The problem is
Abdullahi Yusuf who is feeding the erroneous
message to Ethiopia and not the Ethiopians. It’s
the President, stupid!
Abdullahi Yusuf was sworn in to serve the Somali
people, but he appears to be serving Ethiopian
interest. He believes in earnest that he would
be a genuine President if Ethiopian forces
parachute him to Mogadishu. Had truth be told,
Machiavelli’s advice to the Prince is valid
here. A Prince that was installed by foreign
forces will not last for long. But for this
President, the end justifies the means. Yusuf
has enjoyed by the political philosophy that he
does anything to get what he wants, in this
context, the expense of the Somalis.
Gen Gama Mohamed Qalib, a former Somali Police
commander, has recently written an essay
entitled: The Baydoa Mysteries. He illuminated
that Abdullahi Yusuf wants power to govern
Somalia that may run counter to Ethiopia’s
geopolitical interests. In the words of Gen
Qalib, “Yusuf still needs the Ethiopians,
because he wants to impose his will and
authority on the Somali people under cover of
foreign forces instead of reconciliation and
compromises. The only feasibly available foreign
forces are the Ethiopians.”.
Being Somalis, although, we have always been
described as a complex, badly-divided society,
thus reality remains that we are homogenous
society – a point proven by the unity of the
Islamic Courts. Not surprisingly, this denies
that any strange element can inter-act such
intricate people who continuously have a sense
of resistance toward foreigners.
Palpable is that this President has failed
Somalis. Abdullahi Yusuf deserted to grasp the
civic responsibility which instructs him to
behave morally in order to achieve goodness for
his people. He went to the UN and AU
headquarters, demanding to lift the arms
embargo. That was immoral. Even the kids would
know that Somalia does not need more arms. It
desperately needs financial assistance. It needs
health and education. Most significant, Somalia
needs a real and a moral President.
All in all, no one is above the law. The
president is not above the law. The principle of
check and balance requires Parliamentarians to
hold the President accountable for his own
actions. Members of Parliament, as
representatives of the people, have
responsibility to act. It is their duty to
impeach the President.
What should be done now? The Speaker of the
Parliament is in Mogadishu, hosted by the
Islamic Courts who have verified that the
capital is secure. As a result, there is no need
to go to Khartoum or Nairobi. The
Parliamentarians should sit in Mogadishu.
Here is a well-meant word of advice for them:
they should impeach the President. Honorable
option for Mr Yusuf is to resign. The
Parliamentarians should instantaneously elect a
new President in Mogadishu, a president that
cares for his people and most importantly, a
president that trusts his people.
Mohamed Haji (Ingiriis) can
be reached at:
Ingiriis@yahoo.com
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