Welcome

“Every nation gets the government it deserves” Somalia presidential candidates. ILLUSTRATIONS | JOHN NYAGAH | NATION MEDIA GROUP In more than three trips to Somalia over the past five years, I’ve come to rewrite my own perception of where the country is headed and it doesn’t look promising because the future of Somalia looks gloomier than at any time in post-civil war era. Despite the positive tone of my past comments of the country and much of what I often write about Somalia, especially my belief that Somalia is on the mend to recover from its horrific collapse. Regrettably on my most recent trip, I did find myself tormenting more and more about the dismal record of current cadre of leadership who are in power, not to mention those others who are vying to run the country. Just when things seem as though they can’t get any worse in Somalia, the country finds itself much worse predicament that puts everyone else on the edge. The picture is not only disturbing but rathe...

When Somaliland and Somali joined, there were no archival data about Somali population. Consequently, this forced Somali people to measure the population of Somali clans on the bases of land they reside. This wrong population measurement completely ignores the power of population density. Indicative example is territorial and population comparison of Canada and Japan. Canada; the second largest country of the world has 9,093,507km2 with population of 37,164,201. This makes its population density 4.1 per km2. While Japan with 377,835km2 has a population 127,736,835km2 which makes its population density 338 per km2. Acting on this point the Somali political champion began 1960. It began as intra-Somali political rivalries. Intra-Somali political activities began as Somali clans’ strife for power and public assets. The southern Somali clans led by Darod and Hawiye tried to dominate northern Somali clans led by Dir particularly Issak. All of sudden, most privileged seats including t...

Mohamed Ali Arkow Thursday, July 14, 2016 In my attempt to shed light on the untenable situation of the Somali intellectual, I’m not going to delve into a discussion about the meaning of the word Intellectual. Philosopher Jean Amery tried to define it before he took his life, and Dr. Primo Levi tried to add something to Jean Amery’s definition. Levi himself committed suicide years later. They were both haunted by demons that followed them from concentration camps in Poland. An intellectual is not necessarily a university graduate. The founders of the Somali Youth League (SYL) were intellectuals. They definitely fit Goran Hyden’s definition as they were men “—with defined system of values and the capacity to command influence of the general trends in society by mastering oral or written means of persuasion”. However, my discussion is focused on the Somali men and women who have earned a university degree and their role in the NATION BUILDING PROJECT. Very few of this educated...