In response to Prof. Nuruddin Farah's Aricle

by Mohamed Abdi Mohamed
Tuesday, October 22, 2013

 

I have read the recent article by Nuruddin Farah “Somalia’s Leader: Look past the Hype” and wish to respond to parts of his article.

 “One can’t talk about recent news from

Somalia — the deadly attack by Shabaab militants on a U.N. compound in June, the decision in August by Doctors Without Borders to pull out of the country, the massacre last month at a shopping mall in Kenya, for which Al Shabaab took responsibility — without in some way speaking about Somalia’s president, Hassan Sheik Mohamud”.

RESPONSE

“The presumption that the President is SOMEHOW a common factor of these three incidents is grossly unfair. The common factor of these incidents is Al Shabaab. They were the perpetrators of all three attacks in which innocent non-combatant persons were killed”.

“But when I last visited Somalia, in April, my friends thought that Mr. Mohamud didn’t have the determination to lead the country, nor the hardiness to stand up to clan elders who have contributed so much to the two-decade-plus civil war and still dominate the country. A former prime minister, Ali Mohamed Gedi, has called him an incompetent novice”.

RESPONSE

The opinion of a former Government leader does not in itself lend credulity to the assertion. Previous leaders always cast doubt as to the mistakes of the current leadership while current leaders always blame the previous leadership for current problems. This is the nature of politics.

“What’s appalling is that the killer was identified: Ahmed Salad Farey, himself a former Doctors without Borders worker. He was convicted last year and sentenced to 30 years in prison. But mysteriously, a panel of appellate judges ordered his release after he’d served about three months. A government source whom I trust told me that the government did not open a public inquiry or even an internal investigation”.

RESPONSE

If this is true, then I would have to admit that this is truly disturbing.  

“My source also told me that Mr. Farey has lived openly in Guriel, his hometown in central Somalia, since his release, although the president of the Supreme Court has signed a new warrant for his arrest”.

RESPONSE

This is hearsay. We need to respond to verifiable facts

“A United Nations monitoring group has accused associates of his of fleecing the central bank. To refute these explosive charges — which could lead to the loss of billions of dollars in foreign aid — Mr. Mohamud hired British and American consultants. But these consultants were hardly objective: According to The Financial Times, the British consultants were linked to a potential oil exploration deal, while the American ones had been hired by the Somali Government to recover overseas assets”.

RESPONSE

It is an open secret that bureaucratic corruption has existed in Somalia for quite sometime. The absence of a credible Public finance System presents irresistible opportunities for mischief. Unless and until this is given the priority it deserves, in all probability, some level of corruption will take place.

“In a country torn by decades of war, the number of political panhandlers scavenging for scraps on which to feed their ambitions is too great to count. Online news sites and radio stations serve up a daily fare of vitriol and abuse, with contributors propagating their clan’s agendas. Of the no-holds-barred allegations that have been made, I would point out two. Ahmed Ismail Samatar, a political scientist at Macalester College who ran for president last year, has blamed his defeat on vote rigging and vote buying. Even more troubling, Ali Khalif Gallaydh, a member of Parliament and a former prime minister, has alleged (citing unnamed British and American intelligence sources) that Mr. Mohamud has contacts with Al Shabaab, the Islamist affiliate of Al Qaeda in East Africa”.

RESPONSE

Using the writer’s own words “It is impossible to tell whether these allegations are true”.

The writer is highly regarded for his literary skills. He is not known to have any prior political experience and like many of us, is tempted to resort to hearsay and innuendo. I am somewhat surprised that Prof. Farah would be motivated to publish an article based on so much hearsay. I would advise the learned Professor to stay true to his area of expertise and not lend his good name to slander and biased opinions.

CONCLUSION

However, the mere existence of this article raises several issues.

First, Somali intellectuals, particularly those of the diaspora, are challenged to display a much higher level of objectivity by putting forward realistic solutions to current challenges.

Second, the interests of Somalia are not served by adhering to a national propensity to criticize. Somalis tend to indulge in criticism as some form of national pastime. For the past twenty years we have wallowed in this type of behavior with no beneficial result in sight. Now is the time to put country first and use free speech to reconstruct a new Somalia.

Third, Somali intellectuals need to address and agitate for important national issues such as Public Financial Management reform, establishment of a Truth & Reconciliation Commission, Anti -Corruption Legislation etc.

Fourth, all Somalis have a responsibility to lay foundations that solidify those national characteristics that make us unique as Somalis.

It is my view that there are more things that unite rather than divide us.

Mohamed Abdi Mohamedmmfaracadde2@gmail.com