Somalia came under the rule of Siad Barre in 1969, in a bloodless coup. The declared goals of his regime included: To end tribalism, nepotism, corruption and misrule. However, during the course of his rule, he did the following:
He manipulated clans, civil servants attended military science classes, special courts were created outside the judicial system, he overhauled the regional local government and created smaller local government units, ostensibly, to bring governments closer to the people, the Ministry of Information and National Guidance was created to send correct messages to the people. Clanism was condemned although practiced.
Siad Barre cultivated a personality cult. However, when he invaded and overran the Ogaden Region of Ethiopia, the Soviet Union changed sides and supported and supplied arms and advisers to Ethiopia. He later became an ally of the West, especially USA.
Somali troops left Ogaden in bad shape. The local government units he created made different clans and sub-clans owe allegiance to him directly. As his regime grew more unpopular, he unleashed the Red Berets who spread terror and fear among the cowed populace.
Factionalism based on clans took root and his inner circles ossified around his brother, his son and his first wife who had built her own circle of influence through patronage. After the fall of Siad Barre, Somalia fell apart and various attempts to bring peace to the country have not worked.
The most notable one was by the UN peace keepers where USA soldiers were killed in Mogadishu thus forcing a quick withdrawal. The Somalis, like any other proud but disjointed nation, hate foreign forces.
The best example was the Tanzania Peoples’ Defence Force who, in 1979, were given a warm welcome by Ugandans during and after the overthrow of Amin. However, a few months later they were hated. Mwalimu Julius Nyerere, then Tanzanian President, withdrew his forces and left Ugandans to sort out their problems.
Somalia has a land mass of 637,000 Sq Km, a population of about nine million, a coastline of more than 3,300 Kilometres, and temperatures of between 30 and 40 degrees. It has semi-arid and desert areas and is sparely populated. Where people are faced with seemingly insurmountable problems, they become easy prey for religious-manipulating persons, tribalism or clanism and fortune-seekers, promising easy way out of misery and poverty, other than through sweat and hard work.
This brings me to the question, should Ugandan troops be in Somalia? There is nothing wrong in one brother or sister assisting another in time of trouble. However, first of all, find out what caused that trouble.
Second, ensure that before you help, you won’t bring the problem to your own family.
Somalia is not the only country in Africa that is in bad shape. We have Ivory Coast, DR Congo and now Guinea after the death of Gen. Conteh.
Third, ensure that you are assisting out of your own conviction and not at someone else’s behest. Fourth, that you have support of your own people. Remember; when people come to power, objective conditions make them adjust. NRM/A was viewed as a Marxist revolutionary organisation tuned to the then East, but where is it today?
Frelimo was openly Marxist. It tried to overwhelm Renamo but they were wise enough to change course and accommodate Renamo. Now Mozambique is at peace and an investment destination. The African National Congress and Nelson Mandela were viewed as communist terrorists that would throw the last white man over the Cape into the ocean. Compare the above with the situation in Afghanistan when USSR invaded it, and now Nato, the most lethal force in all manner, weaponry and propaganda. What about Iraq, the claims of weapons of mass destruction, and the coalition of the willing?
Compare the policy on Rwanda where Rwandan forces sorted it out, with some assistance, with DR Congo where attempts to overrun Kinshasa were halted near the mineral-rich Mbuji Mai by Angola and Zimbabwe forces.
If it is an African Union (AU) force, let it be AU in outlook, composition and back-up support. There was an old saying of Rwogamungabo, meaning when you are at war to prove what a brave fighter you are, you move out of the formation and confront the enemy alone. The old wise Baganda, Luo etc sayings, never completed such sayings; leaving it to you to see the obvious. Let us concentrate on training the Somalis to be their own liberators.
Let the Somalis take charge. Let us support a government in Somalia that is on the ground and all over the country and popular, or at least, covers sufficient territory and support from which it can expand.
It may take time but it will work.
Above all, let us do all that is possible to ensure that what befell Somalia does not happen elsewhere. Prevention is better than cure.
Mr Mushega is former Secretary General of the East African Community
Source: Daily Monitor
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