Gadabursi greatness is at the gate

by. Farah Barkhad

The four pulling factors, which hold back Gadabursi in Somali political life, are bad numerical image, bad territorial image, abuse of the common ancestor, and the suppression of Colonial powers. When the images of certain people went down beneath layers of misconception, which piled up on their perception about their life they become subjects that took what other people libel on them as reality of their existence. Really, most Gadabursi people are prisoners of imaginary smallness they had from their number. 

They thought that their number is small and that what put them this unprivileged position is that. Standing a different perspective I turned to the legendary and historical pages of my mind and the greatness of our number told me different story, which gave me a persistent curiosity to find the most accurate number of our people. With presence of brutal consensus exaggerations done by any ruling clan in any period whether it’s in Somaliland, Somalia, Djibouti, and Zone five I knew that we are the second most populous clan in Dir, which is the most populous tribe in Somalia. We are the only community that has the highest population density with 48.4 individuals per km. While the reality is that, the inconsistency of our tribal image and the reality of our number is a part of what put us this underprivileged position.

Another factor that holds back Gadabursi upward mobility is the bad image they had from their territory. When Borama, Lafise, Zaila, and Dambal armchair-speculators are talking about the Gadabursi territory you see the image they mostly have from their land is like “Navajo reservation” while the reality is different from that desperate view. In the east-west direction, Gadabursi land extends from the vicinities of Bulahar to a place 23kms away from Diridhaba. In the north-south direction, it extends from Gabiley to the border of Djibouti. This land encompasses farmlands for both irrigated and rain-fed ones and highly yielding grazing lands. There are also water abundance mostly from the powerful streams and easily gained ground water from the wills. The abundance of water and high soil fertility increased the growth of huge pasture and trees, which in turn increased the number of rearing domestic animals and the production of cereals and cash crops, which increased the food availability for the inhabitants. 

There are also treacherous minerals and great natural oil reserves in the territory. The desert like area near Hemal is the largest reservoir of the natural oil in Somalilnad. The abundance of water and the fertility of the soil promoted the population growth in Gadabursi territory and made the land of their residence “Mega City” like settlement, which has the highest recorded population density in all Somali territory. Contrary to that, the reality is that some numerically smaller clans have larger portions of land then we have and the Somali people used to measure the population of the clans on the bases of land size. This unwise measurement completely ignored the power of population density. Mind your head, Canada, the largest country in the world, has 9,093,507 km2 with population of 37,164,201, which makes its population density 4.1 per kilometer square while Japan with 377,835km2 has population of 127,736,249, which makes its population density 388 per kilometer square. This unsophisticated measurement led Gadabursi to lose a power share in Somali politics and later convinced most of their people to believe that they deserve this marginal position.

Equally important, the tribal orientation and arrangement of Somali people reckon the descent and transmit names and properties through the line of father. The ancestral chains of Somali people develop branches along the passage of time. In each level in the recorded Somali, ancestral chain the person who fathered many sons was taken as common father of numerically dominant branches in the ancestral arrangement. While the branches that numerically lag behind stay on their original father as a common ancestor. Although the smaller branches themselves have sub-divisions they stay away to claim the names of that inner divisions.

They keep united to sustain the original name, to have common defense, and together pay the Mag, compensation paid when a member of clan kill another person of another clan. On the other hand, the hugely multiplied branches take different names in the lower levels of the ancestral chains. Their loyalty, possession of common defense, and financial insurance moves from the ancestor they shared with the other numerically smaller clans in the upper level of the ancestral chain. This incidence always happen different levels of tribe arrangements and in the ancestral chains. For instance our clan Gadabursi encountered this incidence several levels in its tribal arrangement. It happened in the fifth father after Somale. 

We list like this. Somale—Irir—Dir--Madalug--Daud--Seid (Gadabursi). In the fifth level of the ancestral chain, the name of Seid appeared and Gadabursi was the surname of Seid. This surname Gadabursi consist of two Somali words that each one makes separate meaning itself. Gada means tactics. Consider the song sung by the popular Somali singer Khadra Dahir which says (Adigoo gayooboo dumarkaba ka gaabsaday waataan ku gada baray) this means that “while you were shy and scare to have a date with girls, it was me who taught you the tactics of courtship” in the same way Bursi is Somali word. Look the suffix of this Somali word in this bracket (Sad-Bursi) which means to take the majority of something.

The combination of those two Somali words (Gada) and (Bursi) made the surname of Seid, our common ancestor. When these two words are added together, Gadabursi means predominant taker of tactics. Seid (Gadabursi) is the genuine common ancestor of six sons including

Seid (Gadabursi)

Gobe Jibrir (Jibrain) Ali (Ali Ganun) Ismail (Hebjire) Dirirod Samaron

Through the passage of time with continually changing multiplications of families, sub-clans, and clans, the hugely multiplied son, Samaron, divided himself into four branches. The four sons of Samaron are Issa, Yesuf, Suber, and Makador. The four sons of Samaron moved their loyalty and name from Said (Gadabursi) to Samaron and tried to impose this new common ancestor on their other numerically and territorially smaller brothers. As the centuries wore off, Seid (Gadabursi), who was the real common ancestor of all Gadabursi people became out of the minds of his grand children. As the centuries vanished behind a partial brainwash happened to the four sons of Samaron that prone to delete their uncles from their minds apart from one uncle who still in their flash memory. This uncle is Gobe. Because the four sons of Samaron regard Gobe as their paternal uncle and disregard the other four uncles including Jibrain Seid, Dirirod Seid, Ali Seid, and Ismail Seid. This is not the only case but a blueprint case is nearly to happen in the lower levels of Samaron branch. Consider the four sons of Yonis Muse, the predominant sub-clan of Muse Makahil, including Jibril Yonis, Nur Yonis, Adan Yonis, Ali Yonis regard Makayldhere as their only paternal uncle and disregard Afgudud and Basanayo as same as Samaron sons did in the upper level of the tribal arrangement. Because of ignorance and lack of recorded history, the sons of Samaron still continue to force the offspring of their uncles to take the name of Samaron as the common ancestor of all Gadabursi community.

The anger brought by this illegal enforcement obliged some Seid sons to claim that they are not belonging to Gadabursi tribe. The illusive claim of Sheikhashis by Ismail Seid (Hebjire) and the impossible claim of Ali Seid (Aliganun) by Absame clan were caused by this innocent absorption, which Samarons inflicted to their numerically smaller brothers. While things were like that, Samaron offspring outnumbered one another. 

The massively multiplied branch, Makadores, divided themselves into Makahilites and Mahadasans. This caused the other sub-clans of Samaron Essa, Yesuf, and Suber and the other remained five clans of Seid (Gadabursi) to reunite under the name of Habarafan. This historic move in which the five sons of Seid (Gadabursi) and the three sons of Samaron become united under the legal agreement of Habarafan was initiated by the sacred offspring of Suber, the youngest son of Samaron. This morally right move brought a partial solution for the anger, which is apt to disintegrate the oneness of Gadabursi. Elimination of this injustice that reached a degree we tried to force our uncles to take the name of their brother as the name of their father will enable us to overcome the chronic attention deficit syndrome. To red off the misuse of the common ancestor, Seid (Gadabursi) should be considered the common ancestor of our people. The demolished and deserted Maqam of Samaron should be changed into Maqam of Seid (Gadabursi ) and we also should make (Siyaro) a sacred visit for him. If this is done, the mist of confusion and the backwardness would evaporate automatically.

The most horrible move that turned our life to a muddy road was the lack of conscience to catch up with the colonial era. The dawn of African colonialism was the turning point that some Somali clans adjust the new system to their life while others become odds that could not catch up with the new life. For sure, the arrival of those well-established people disturbed the lucky of Somali people. Before the arrival of the European aliens, Somali people were pacing relatively equal and sharing same accesses of the available resources. 

The intrusion of those strangers confined some tribes underprivileged positions while it gave others endless opportunities. The Colonial powers settled Somaliland and came up with territorial, economic, political, and employment disparities to the Somali tribes. Like the Isaq of Hargiesa and the Essa of Djibouti, colonial powers took certain existing villages as their headquarters. Those headquarters became the heart of rule and power. The clans who found the lucky colonial powers to position headquarters in their villages got incomparable opportunities, which the other clans had not. The chosen clans got predominant share of the available employment opportunities, administrative experience, and life-facilitating materials. The nomadic people had animals as their major economic resource mostly Camel, Cattle, Sheep and Goats. The numerical disparities about the possession of those animals were individual merit and had no tribal base. The animal possession and their numerical difference could not lead Somali tribes to outpace one another in the power.

It also could not make some tribes more dependent than the others because the base of their economy was same. Another important factor that created a great gulf of power among Somali clans was that colonial powers brought modern weapons on the ground. Before their arrival, the weapons of Somali people were sword, spear, shield, and few manual guns. Somali clans received those weapons in disproportionate amounts. The Somali clans whom the colonial powers sat headquarters in their territories found inestimable amounts of those weapons. The possession of those modern weapons enabled clans who were the pets of the colonial powers to have the upper hand in any tribal fighting and to expand their per-colonial territories, and to force neighboring clans to vacate great portions of their land. The new territorial, economic, and weaponry imbalance brought by the colonial powers dismantled the interdependence among Somali clans and sub-clans and it damaged the equilibrium of the power equation. In this case, Gadagursi is classified as the clans who did not benefited from the rule of the colonial powers.

Both Britain and France saw them stubborn for their rule and in reaction to this stubbornness; they sabotaged them to lessen the Gadabursi resistance. Britain and France refused to enlist Gadabursi individuals for the military and the civil servant personals. This in turn minimized Gadabursi individuals in the paid labor force who able to buy land for farming and to pay yearly land fees. Due to these financial disabilities, a large sum of land went away from Gadabursi hands. Gabilay and Djibouti are cases in point. Neither Issa nor Isaq held summit and agree to displace Gadaboursi but it was related to those neighboring clans caught up with the change and made use of it and we failed to do so. As those clans got the largest share of the civil servants and the military personnel of the colonial autonomy, the trained servants in each sector occupied all administrative and political seats and served as the successors of the colonial rulers. As those Somali rulers from those mentioned and many other Somali clans who caught up with colonial rules succeeded the rule they occupied the seats of Somali governments. The successors from those particular Somali clans became the gatekeepers of political and administrative seats that led many numerous individuals in the same generations of theirs and a lot of people in the succeeding generations to occupy the most advantageous positions in each sector and the later Somali governments followed the footprints of the colonial powers.

The Somali political Olympics began in 1960 in a playground with no goals, no half-sides, no corner lines, no central lines, no referees, and no rules at all. The fans were sitting behind partially transparent sheet in which the shadows of the players were seen only. The competing teams were Hargiese Hyneas, Borama Sheep, Bosaso Tigers, Gado Lions, Dusomareb Foxes, Mugdisho Deers, Baydabo Goats, Wajid Rabbits. The individuals from clans who had strong bonds of tribal-hood help one another, which in turn help them to beat the other rival clans. In the ex-British Somaliland there were movements led by Mohamed Ibrahim Egal. Egal erected SNL (Somali National league) party to further the interest of his clan while Hartis erected United Somali Party (USP) to play their role. However, the Gadaboursi failed to appear in the political screen. Instead, to create their own party, which could increase their popularity and their share in this violent playground, they joined USP as subordinates. 

The uncertainty of British political wishes and the fear of Ethiopian desire to get more Somali settlements coerced Somali people not to bargain and solve their internal difference before the unification. When the very first Somali government was built the tribalism outweighed the nationalism and the clans who had strong bonds of tribalism like Darod took all the privileged seats in the Somali governments from 1960-1991.

consequently, the most disadvantaged clan that Somali governments from 1960-1991 served against its interest was Gadabursi because they have only one military general while Dhulbahante had more than 12 generals in the armed forces and Arabs who are not Somali nationals had 5 generals. 

The Gadabursi also had one minister while smaller clans had several key ministers. Borama, which is considered to be among the four largest cities in Somalia, was totally neglected. There were no town plan, no water pipelines, no governmental buildings except few hired from the British rule, and no electricity. In addition to that, the first Somali banker murdered by the Bare's regime was Gadabursi. 

When an overwhelming number of Borama students proved that Amoud secondary school is not sufficient for their number and Borama residents asked for the government to built new secondary school the answer of the government was negative. For that reason, Borama residents began to build Sh: Ali Jawhar secondary school without any governmental help. 

The helpless women who carried heavy stones for the school building suffered dangerous miscarriages. When the reconciliation of Darod was started, the Somali road project that continues around Kalabayd was illegally shifted to Garowe-Bosaso road project to appease Majertens. If there was no road project shifting, the life of Awdal region would be better and Zaila and Lughaya would not be victims trapped behind Golis Mountains. Another atrocity inflicted to the Awdalites was the ruthless assassination of Colonel Farah Awale Bustale who behaved with the ruling clan as an equal citizen and used to stand up for the rights of his people. Harsher atrocity was committed by Bashirdhere.

This man was an arrogant antiaircraft artillery commander who did many unforgivable crimes in Awdal region. Bashirdhere neglected his responsibility to protect the city from Ethiopian air raid because of his negligence the gunners of antiaircraft artillery went to the downtown to have a morning Khat chewing secession known (Jabane) when the Ethiopian bombers raided Borama elementary school and the city as whole. That raid left the largest human causalities Somali city ever encountered. Bashirdere who did this great mistake got no punishment instead he was promoted and encouraged. I disgust when I heard the song dedicated for the Borama causalities. The song said, “There are catastrophes in the middle east and the center of Kabul” this means that the damage is normal and that Boroma shares the problem with Afghanistan and Middle East. 

Were Kabul and Middle East in the Somali territory? No, this is a sarcastic remarks from a composer who see the problem as somebody else one. At the same time, the government began fabrications to mislead the consent of the awdalites about the damage. They began a campaign to dislocate the capital of Awdal region from Borama to Baki in order to divide the unitary responses from Awdalites. The strongest point, which verifies that Somali government, disliked Gadabursi as much as Isaqs was that Bare's regime did a deliberate positioning of Absame to our region. We had three great refugee camps in our region.

One was in Darbihore near Harirad, another was in Daraymaine near Borama, and other one was in Dila. With the help of the government, those refugees began to argue the ownership of farms and grazing lands with locals and they also quickened the deforestation and desertification. Opposite to Gadabursi passiveness, the aware clans who knew that the government was not serving for their interest realized this dominance could endanger the future of their life and maintained animosity towards the government and the ruling clan. But this grudge was in hibernation. They waited a chance to free their people.

Moreover, three years after Somali-Ethiopian war when the government became vulnerable militarily and economically they created SNM (Somali National Movement) for either to destroy this unfair government or to further their tribal interest. When the Isaqs declared their opposition, they encountered harsh damages from the government. They kept fighting knowing that giving in will have harsher and longer bad consequence then fighting. When the government saw the intensity of their resistance, the government employed new strategy. This new strategy was to use Gadabursi militia as cheap force against SNM. To make this the government should create tension between Gadabursi and Isaqs. They deploy division number one (Gaas kuubaad) of Somali military army which Gadabursi occupy 60% of its military personal and resides in Halimale, Lughaya, Harirad, and Lowyado. It was undeniable right for Gadabursi to get a region or more in Somalia but the government ignored that right until it was seen a tension promoter between Isaq and Gadabursi.

To deepen the tension the military of Somalia with help of National Security Service began to kill innocent civilians of both sides in the tension rural areas disputed by Baki and Gabilay districts. Gadabursi supported neither SNM nor the government and that decision was right. Nevertheless, the colossal mistake was that they did not do any move against the government's libelous propaganda. This libelous propaganda was to convince SNM that Gadabursi were the devoted warriors of the government. Time after time, the government manipulated hostility between Isaq and Gadabursi increased until it forced Gadabursi to make ill-orchestrated militias. 

These militias went toe-to-toe with SNM militia in more than 14 frontiers and help the government to relieve huge loses of economic, lives, and reputation. Although Gadabursi became insuperable defenders, the role of the government was grave hypocrisy because they were pretending to support Gadabursi and were very hard to depend on them and give those efficient weapons, artillery and enough amounts of the gunfires. Contrary to that, SNM militia used heavy artillery and tanks against Gadabursi militia, which was supposed to be the side of the government. Is that possible? “The tanks of SNM crashed dozens of my friends in serous fighting around Wajale and I saw several crashed corpses of my relatives while several others including my paternal uncle were being chasing by the tank. To our helpless eyes we had neither tanks nor antitank and Lorries to transport rations and the injured militia men because the government could not rely on us” One of the Gadabursi militiamen recalled. At that time large amounts of heavy artillery, tanks, Lorries were in the hands of the vastly decaying government, which it is civil, and military sectors fall in disorder. Simultaneously Gadabursi militiamen mostly from the Gadabursi corners found compulsory to sell their life-stocks in exchange of tracks and arms. At that time Hasan Abdilahi from JBB ( Jabhada Buuralayda Badacas) could not tolerate the hypocrisy of the government and took heroic move to pledge seven tracks from FAI (Fundo Auto Itailiano) this act helped many segments of the Gadabursi warring militia.

Furthermore, the Gadabursi merchants were piece of shits who could not accept to lend some food for the consumption of the militias who defending their assets. At the same moment the Gadabursi Businessmen were highly audacious to accept any government officer who request food and any material at any cost in exchange of cheques that their banks already bankrupted while the lean and hungry-look Gadabursi militia were starving in the war fronts.

With regard of the acute bewilderment, any falling state might come up with, at first the cause of Gadabursi was right because they faced to choose between bad and worse. To escape a massive destruction from the hugely armed government Gadabursi had chosen to be neutral this was the bad choose because the conflict was between the government which was serving against their interest and was killing people whom they share kinship. The worse one was to support SNM forces and encounter massive destruction. Taking the bad choose of being neutral about the conflict was morally justifiable. Nevertheless, the colossal mistake was the lack of senses to feel that the government was using them as antibiotics against Isaqs and the powerlessness to withdraw from a political system or Somalism, which was not serving its people equally. 

They also remained obedient servants for the government while the government was losing ground time after time. Gadabursi military officers, politicians, and educators failed to use the decay of the government as an opportunity to further their interest because at that time, the government was extremely vulnerable and it was more likely to accept any wish they might request.

The role of Gadabursi Diasporas was very impotent because they started the first round of the dance type struggle named SDA (Somali Democratic Alliance). SDA was a retarded organization because it had no well-coordinated organs that could mobilize the Gadabursi militias, which continued haphazard resistance against SNM. This ill-equipped front had no information about the facts of the war situation. They also had no realistic relationship with separately fighting tribal militias in the front lines. 

They also did not create relationship with SNM to minimize the level of the hostility and to keep the line of communication open. The movement also failed to defend Gadabursi morale position to prevent from the local fighting militia against SNM and government abuses. SDA were very excellent how to prepare night-parties but unable to raise fund for their suffocated militia. For the same reason the government was gradually losing ground and the seizure of SNM force in many strategic areas was progressive. This led the government to lose Berbera, the canal for export and import.

When Berbera became in the hands of SNM forces, Gadabursi also lost the only breezing nostril for economic activities. There were no other alternatives for export and import activities because Djibouti and landlocked Ethiopia were clear supporters of SNM. All of sudden the prices of the foodstuff, the fuel, and all the facilities reached to unacceptable levels. Amid that wondering, Siyad Bare fled from Mogadishu January 26, 1991. When the president escaped, the desperate Somali soldiers, their families, and all civilians from Hargaisa and Gabiley rushed to Awdal region and numerous number of non-Gadabursi people gathered in Borama. Gadabursi military officers had eye cataract to see the bad consequences this flood-tide people might bring to their defense strategy. It was proved that SNM intelligence and remarkable militiamen hided in the hardly identifiable fleeing people. Four days before the hidden SNM agents in the city provided for SNM the information about the Gadabursi confusions and their lack of organization. Another Gadabursi mistake was that they morally dependent to the government. The government gave Gadabursi extremely little or no military assistance during the past, long, and hard years of fighting with SNM. Despite the lack of assistance from the government, Gadabursi people and their warring militia became desperate when Siyad Bare escaped from Mogadishu.

The Gadabursi militia who previously showed SNM force an insuperable resistance without government help failed to resist only one day and February 4,1991 Borama city, the core of the resistance, fall in the hands of SNM. The SNM's attack on Borama could not be based animosity and hatred, which Isaqs maintained for Gadabursi because we know that they attacked Hargiesa, Buroa, and Berbera before. Who lives in those cities? The truth is that the SNM parents, wives, and children lives in those cities and the bullets fired by both SNM and the government were killing the civilians. In the same case, they attacked Borama as last battleground to fight with the government but they did not encounter mentionable resistance and the toll was high. Large number of civilians was killed during the dozen hours SNM forces were in the city.

These massive killings could provoke suspicion that SNM forces were killing Borama people deliberately. Approximately, you were 18 hours in Borama without any resistance from the locals and the casualties were higher than expected cannot we say you were killing the civilians deliberately? I asked a senior SNM military officer. “No, the reasons that claimed large number of Borama residents were that the pity government created severe hostility between Gadabursi and Isaq. If there were no that hostility and the suspicion between Gadabursi and Isaq, Borama residents would not come out of their houses during the massive hours of firing done by the extremely suspicious SNM militia who saw the easy capture of Borama as deadly war assassination.

The huge amounts of firing from both light and heavy weapons and the exposure of the civilians claimed large number of people. But the higher officers of SNM were very upset about the toll and told us to retreat from the city in order to reduce the tension and to show Awdalites that we did not want war any more. More to the point, he said that they rapidly began to return all the identifiable assets looted during siege. The returned assets were mostly Lorries and tracks. The money, food, and many other valuable materials are not returned to their owners because they are not easily identifiable” Answered by the officer. Although he answered like this the reality was that SNM itself was not pure. There were some prejudiced individuals in it.

Despite the massive destruction and the dangerous hostilities created by Bare's regime among Somaliland people, Somaliland, elders, educators, politicians, and military officers agreed to break away from impulsively built Somali Republic and its independence was announced at Buroa in May 18, 1991. Soon after the independence declaration, some cracks appeared. Due to these deficiencies, it was decided to hold reconciliation conference in Borama. Numerous delegations from all Somaliland people attended Borama conference. When Borama conference ended, a complete government, which consists of five legal regions was built with executive headed by Mohamed Ibrahim Egal, bicameral House of Representatives, and judiciary house.

Although the government was built, Gadabursi did not receive the political share they deserved. To understand this, consider the following short table depicting the political shares for Somaliland clans on the bases of land and population.

IDENTICATION ISAQ GADABURSI HARTI Land (5) regions at the time of independence 2.65/5 = 53% 1.1/5 = 22% 1.25/5 = 25% Population averages from numbers in all S/L five elections approximated to 521,748 270,609/521748= 52% 163,742/521748= 31% 87,397/521748= 17% Average 52.50% 26.50% 21.00% In reference of this percentage, Gadabursi gets 21 seats in the lower house and another 21 seats in the upper house of Somaliland parliament and 7 ministers in the executive department.

Whatever, Gadabursi gained the second most powerful seat. Glorious, confident, and decisive man is attributed to this historic gain. This man was also the only man who dared to challenge the superiority claimed by his counterpart from the ruling clan in Bare's regime. With regard of trickery assassinations from both Somali government and puppet Gadabursi military officers, he remained prime leader in SNM.

His presence in SNM reduced the animosity between Gadabursi and Isaq which otherwise rise to irreversible level. He also became the strongest pillar that strengthened Somaliland peace because he was the most vivid actor who eradicated the remnants of prejudices, grudges, and cynicism between the two clans. Ever since, Abdi Rahman Aw-Ali Farah, the ex-vice president of Somaliland, remained the strongest glue that holds Hargeisa and Borama together. He was also the chainsaw that cleared the path for his Gadabursi successor to reach the highest level Gadabursi ever reached in Somali politics. In 2002 the death of wise president, the father of Somaliland, Mohamed Ibrahim Egal gave his vice president legal succession of Somaliland presidency.

The man was Dahir Rayale Kahin, The bravo with radiant goodness and likeable personality. Rayale showed a behavior different from the Gadabursi politicians who addicted to mediocrity and cowardice. Instead of vacating presidency to a candidate from Isaq he dared to execute his wish through a countless pessimistic and desperate consultations from Gadabursi military officers and civil ones who accustomed to serve as guest workers while equals from the ruling clan abusing their own clan and the public assets. With presence of those pieces of shit advices, he dared to compete with Mohamed Mahmoud Silanyo, one of the most influential leaders of SNM. The election proved the victory of the president Rayale. This victory freed the mentality of Gadabursi youth and elevated their ambitions and self-worth. With limiting constraints soon after the election, he took steps to elevate Gadabursi political rank.

At the time he came to the power Gadabursi had two ministers’ one minister for Mahadase and the other for Habarafan. The Makahilites had no full minister. Qasim, the successor of Qurab was serving as Estate Minister. More to the point, the ministers were not key ones. There were also no mentionable officers in the armed forces. When president Rayale came in the power Qasim was promoted to full minister; the ministry of water and mineral was nominated to him. Ahmed Haji Dahir also took the ministry of planning while Abdi Hasan Bouni, a senior politician was nominated to the ministry of Somaliland houses coordination. The prudent president also nominated two national officers for national intelligence agencies, Dahir Qumbor for the head of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and Hansharar for the Somaliland intelligence agency (SIA). He also nominated Adbdi Guray for the head of law enforcing police. President Rayale had willingness to do a gradual move to correct the political inequalities among Somaliland clans. For sure, if he was elected another term for the presidency, 90% of the political inequality would be corrected.

In addition to that, he restored the claim of Gabiley residence that most of its Gadabursi inhabitants ceased to claim. Remember, Rayale was the president who added Ali Gabiley to UDUB party candidates in Marodijeh region. This historic enlistment provoked Habarawal political support and led Rayale to lose a political ground but president Rayale never compromised that right in exchange of more than 68,000 votes. Another graceful deed Rayale stood up the right of his own people was the creation of Zalel region.

There was stiff struggle Djibouti and several influential businesspersons were packing strategy to provide region for Essa clan. The government of Djibouti showed Rayale a signal of huge money and personal interest. President Rayale neither took easy decision of acceptance nor hast refusal. When Djibouti saw that Rayale was not ready to implement their plan and that he did not want to put down his own people in exchange of his personal interest, they started a secret plan to support Kulmiye party to let the strategy go forward. This deadly strategy was to split Awdal into two regions. The border of the newly creating region for Essa was planned to start from Harirad to Eilahelay. The plan was also to put Abdigedi, Eilsheikh, and many other villages under the newly creating region for Gabiley. If this happened, it would make Awdal region reservation like area. When president Rayale found hints about the strategy, he started proactive moves to abort it. He implemented the strategy with different format which still serving the greatness of Awdalites. He created Zalel region and cut Awdal region in triangular form in which Gadabursi dominated both regions.

He empowered hugely populated Borama and Baki to Lughaya that made Awdal 98% Gadabursi. He also empowered Garbadadar and Boon to Zaila that made Zalel 92% Gadabursi. Further, the president promoted the economic sectors of the region. Dependable source told me that president Rayale was the one who proposed the advice to bring the very first polite water project in Borama. That well-done project attracted the second face of the project. The effects of these projects were that Borama gained highly efficient pipelines and abundant water supply. He also dared to provide the largest paved irrigation stream for Awdal. This project was implemented in Baki and Daryadhere. This project increased the production of cash crops supply.

The president also encouraged the import of fuels and many other materials from Lugaya and Zaila to create opportunities in those cities and to let Gadabursi people stay there. On the other hand, he showed courage and confidence during his term. Many obstacles appeared in his time. The remarkable ones were the Constitution based argument led by Dr. Gabose and Eng. Hashi; Eilbardale, the land conflict between Baki and Gabiley; the ruthless bombing of the presidential palace. In all those critical moments, he did not showed debasement and cowardice. His courage heightened Gadabursi reputation that did not appear in the summit of state before. The intellectually gifted president, Rayale, kept ruling the country with careful political handle and at last, he legally vacated the presidency at a time Somaliland people enjoy to learn from his golden deeds and legacy.

Although we have still extremely smaller portion of what we deserved in Somaliland, we met better fate in Somaliland then we met in Somalia before. We achieved the top of Somaliland government. President Rayale won the presidency in 2013. The most effective water project in somaliland was implemented in Borama and this project promoted the livelihood of the locals. The deceased president Mohamed Ibrahim Egal eagerly supported the initiative that Awdalites want to start Amoud University, the very first University in Somaliland. This University promoted the educational and economic achievements of the region. Would Somalia allow and support University headquartered in Borama? Even the donkey would answer no.

The roads that Somali government stole were restarted and Borama-Dila road project was the top priorities of the government. Three hundred IDP (Internally Displaced People) houses were planned to build near Borama airport. Once deserted cemeteries like city with no able electricity, no medical centers, and no economic activities changed now the heaven that accommodates thousands of university students from all parts of Somaliland and Somalia. Borama also became the center of reliable hospitals that attract patients from all Somali settlements. There are also growing private business companies and well-ventilated hotels.

When certain people receive smaller share then they deserve and they unconsciously believe this small portion is equitable to their size, stiff competition to gain the greatest part of that small political representation begins in the internal sub-clans. When each sub-clan found insufficient portion the regression is expressed as hyperactive challenges among them. Then these hyperactive challenges weaken the unity bonds and hostilities takes U-turn inwardly. When the president Silanyo came in the power, he decided to down size the government in order to increase the efficiency of the government. Because of this downsizing, Gadabursi who already had a minimal portion of what they deserved accepted to lose one seat. It became apparent that Gadabursi received smaller share then what they had in Rayale's period. While things were like that, the power share decrease in Silanyo's government could not bring unity for Gadabursi. Instead, to challenge the loss of political ground the internal rivalry increased dramatically.

The Mahadasans began to support for the government to contempt the Makahilites. In the same case, the Makahilites started extreme opposition and demonstrations. However, these oppositions were not intended to fight against the power share decrease but they were jealousy driven ones that targeted the Mahadsanas who came in the power. There is no doubt that Makahilites would accept as substitute of Mahadasans without any increase of the power share. For instance, the Makahilites would be jubilant if president Silanyo accommodate the house of Jama Alel instead of Haji Misan's one. Shortly after Rayale vacated the presidency, fussy-headed Diasporas started the second round of the dance type struggle. This dance type struggle was Awdal state, self-proclaimed political autonomy.

They claimed that Gadabursi do not have the deserved share in Somaliland. They said that they wanted private political autonomy for Gadabursi. The fact that exposed that they did not want greater political share from Somaliland and elsewhere was blind support of Somalia while the Sh:Sharif government in Mogdisho gave Gadabursi, the second most powerful sub-clan in Dir, a worthless state minister. This blind support of Somalia proved that those Diasporas hate Isaq but not the political deficiency. If they hate Somaliland because of its Gadabursi marginal share, they would hate Somalia more than Somaliland because the political share in Somalia is radically smaller then what we have in Somaliland. Other foolish moves could lead Gadabursi to face three enemies in different fronts at one time. The coincidence of demonstrations equipped with the blue flag and the creation of Awdal state could make Gadabursi and Somaliland incompatible to each other. The reactive movements to restore the Ugasdom and bring the Gadabursi Ugas in Zaila could worsen Gadabursi-Esa with Djibouti relationship. The vivid campaign Gadabursi to seek region in Zone five could endanger the Gadabursi-Ogaden relationship. The simultaneous start of these three dimensional hostility was bad strategy that could make Gadabursi the odd one and the odd one always gets out.

It is real that no tribe can be subjugated and exploited unless they compromise their tribal worth. Standing up your worth serves as deterrent of potential aggressions. The most effective prevention of aggression is to have capability and credibility to respond same as the aggressor. When its come apparent for the others that you could harm as brutal as they could and reward as kind as they could its sure that you are treated equal. Another case which verified that Gadabursi people are in defensive position ( Haduu naftayda igu soo doonto waan iska celin) while neighboring clans are in aggressive position( dhulkaan ladhici) is the 2013 local election. When the day of the election came in Somaliland people voted freely. The votes of all Somaliland districts were counted. All the districts of the country were stable despite small complaints.

When Gadabursi won the majority of Zaila seats with undiluted majority in the other three districts of the region, Essa began grave complaints about the voting result. They argued that Gadabursi were illegal aliens and had no right to occupy the seat of the Mayor. They claimed that they were the only clan who had the right to rule Zaila while the reality of Somaliland elections simply disproved that claim. Recall, the parliamentary election in 2005. It was only six days to the Election Day when Essa sultans and politicians declared that they had no ability to take their share from the election. They said that they wanted free seats from the government.

The government ignored that ridiculous request. When the voting occurred, Essa got 5,139 votes out of 133,742-votes, which is equivalent 3.8%. In addition to that, Gadabursi won the majority of 2013 local election and got the seat of the Mayor. Essa reacted an awkward way which made all the mediations useless. Contrast to that, Gadabursi were ready to provide the deputy Mayors of Zaila and Lughaya for Essa while they had the governor of the of region. Essa and Isaq are our closest clans in Somali community and they are not bad people but they are in line with the current Somali political behavior. 

They have the predatory political attitude and mentality that most of Somali people have. Blind supremacy, aggressiveness, tribal based selfishness, arrogance, and ceaseless wants are workable in East Africa. However, we are in an offline mode from Somali political life and we have a deviant subculture full of compromise, tribal based selflessness, sacrifice, and love Somalism. In East Africa, tribes equipped with the former characteristics remain successful predators in any political match while tribes equipped with later characteristics remain soft preys. The later ideal characteristics are not workable in East Africa if you are highly obsessive to these ideal characteristics; take your territory to Europe. The matches of Somali politics did not end. More complicated ones are coming. The playgrounds could be Somaliland, Djibouti, Zone five, and Somalia. Our promise is to join the next Somali political Olympics as well-coordinated, ruthless predators “the wolves of Borama”

Overall, while all those tricks were happening in the Somali politics we were in a RIM sleep full of dreadful nightmares and illusive achievements. Now, we just have had a wakeup call, a call, which is repeatedly saying admit your faults, amend them, and accelerate forward

Farah Barkhad Nour Prudent writer Borama, Somaliland

Email:xamargure@hotmail.com 

Tell: +0634455642