The key members of the elite of the Northeast State (NE) of Somalia, both inside the country and the diaspora abroad, watch with deep trepidations the existential threat that Somalia faces under the nefarious self-serving leadership of President Hassan Sheikh. His four years’ term, now coming to a close, has brought Somalia on the brink of the precipice. His unconstitutional amendment of the constitution to serve his own personal political ends without national consensus, and his establishment of his own front political parties to ensure his reelection and remaining president for life, all portend to worse things to come. Unless his reelection is stopped, it could once again usher the collapse of the Somali State and the breakup of Somalia under his watch.
More precisely, the damages President Hassan Sheikh is doing to Somalia are at two levels: first, at the national level, he has trampled upon the constitution and usurped the constitutional executive power of the prime minister. And additionally, through bribes and other corrupt manipulations, he turned the key organs of the State as his instruments to serve his agenda.
More ominously, he has transformed into a warlord, using federal forces meant to fight Al Shabaab terrorists, or defend the country from external threats, to attacking and bringing recalcitrant federal member states under his heels. The Southwest State is the latest victim, now occupied by his forces. Somalia is for all practical purposes under one-man dictatorship unacceptable to no one, only receptive to Somalia’s key international partners when they use their immense financial leverage over him. Rather than surrender to the whims of the president, those federal member States that are still unoccupied, like Jubaland and Puntland, could follow the example of Somaliland and declare their secession from Somalia. A Pandora box would be opened, making their exist the beginning of the end of Somalia.
President Hassan is also a threat to Somalia’s unity at another level, when it comes to northern Somalia (formerly British Somaliland). In the struggle between the unionist clans in the NE State, which are adamant to remain part of Somalia, and the separatist clan in the Northwest region (aka Somaliland) which wants to force all the northern clans to secede from Somalia. The president does everything to undermine the party to resist the secession being forced on them to defend the union, by excluding and starving it of funding from international donors aid, while vice versa pampering the party seceding and breaking up Somalia. The latest example is what happened this week when the NE State was once again excluded twice from sharing funding from international donors, all at the behest of the president. This is the price he’s paying in order to secure as quid pro quo the considerable votes that the secessionist clan wields in parliament.
As the bridge connecting northern and southern Somalia, the country would remain united so long as the NE is a federal member State of Somalia and treated as such and not one in name as the president’s patently discriminatory actions attest to. But the union would end if the president’s actions were to force the NE State to succumb to the secessionist clan. It would not end there but would set in motion another Pandora box in which other clans and their States would follow suit and also go their separate ways. Suffice it to say, the one-clan secession would have been ended long ago if President Hassan devoted his energy to undermine northern unionists to opposing the secession with equal determination. Outsiders might say that Somalia under him is its own worst enemy.
The president was at last forced this week to make amends to his dictatorial ways and made a token gesture to some of his critics calling themselves the “Consultative Group”. He called on them to join him for a dialogue on 10th May. Since they all belong to his clan, and excludes the rest of Somalia, his gesture will be seen as only a cosmetic tactical ploy to blunt the opposition to him.
In the light of the above observations, we would like to make the following calls on those they concern:
1) That we support all those calling for fundamental leadership change in order to save Somalia and its unity;
2) That a free and transparent elections be held both for MPs and the presidency, preferably under UN auspices;
3) That international donors ensure that their funds are distributed equitably and without discrimination among all the States of Somalia;
4) That to the extent that foreign aid donors acquiesce to the discriminatory dispersement of their aid they would be considered as consenting to those practices and therefore equally acceptable to their detrimental consequences;
5) That we call on the people of NE State to persevere and never surrender to president HSM treacherous backstabbing, and to rely as in the past on themselves alone until such time as Somalia has the leadership it deserves;
6) That, rather than serving the egregious political agenda of HSM, the NE State should prioritize fulfilling the aspirations of its own people, ensuring that all SSC clan lands are under its control and its rule extends to all parts of the territory;
7) Finally, we call on the NE diaspora to once again come to the aid of their people and sustain them in the meantime.
The statement is issued by:
1) Bashir (Jamal) Haji Ali, former president of Khaatumo
2)Dr Mohamed Abdi (shiine) forner vice president of SSC- khaatumo
3)Amb. Abdihakim Haji Abdullahi Haji Omar Amay, former vice president of Puntland
4) Mohamed Yusuf Hassan (Guray), former minister SSC-Khaatumo
5)Abdisataar Sheikh Osman former minister SSC-Khaatumo
6)Abdirasak Mohamed (Sanwayne)
7) Dr Abdullahi Hassan (Spanish)
8) Osman Hassan (Badawi) Retired UN official
9) Ali H. Egeh, former Sr advisor to SSC-Khaatumo
10)Mohamed Suleiman Bootaan
11)Mohamoud Ibrahim
12) Engineer Mohamed Ali Mire
13) Mohamed Omar Egal (Tacabbir)
14) Osman Haji Yusuf, former General Manager Somalia Commercial
15) Osman Abdi Yusuf
16) Egal Hassan Jama
17) Ahned Mohamed Hassan
18)Prof Mohamoud Ali Jama
19) Abdirarasaak Ibrahim (Ataash)
