I focused on the external reasons that triggered the calamities suffered and the adversities faced by the Somali Nation in all parts of the Somali homeland, the tyrannized Ogaden, the peremptorily detached Djibouti, the arbitrarily cut off Somali province of Kenya, and the mainland Somalia which was plunged in a 18 years long civil war.
Many have focused on the existing internal reasons of the Somali strife, identifying in forms of tribalism a critical reason for Somalia´s present disarray. This analysis is correct but can bring only small – relatively speaking – results. It mainly helps focus on the details of the current developments in every social cell of the beleaguered nation; it offers pertinent conclusions when the target is to denounce to local wrongdoers.
The Limits of the Anti-tribalist Analysis
The limits of the anti-tribalist analysis are delineated by the fact that the prevalence of the tribal and personal interests in the minds of the corrupt warlords is not the original reason that stands behind the still ongoing fratricidal conflict of Somalia. The rivalries among the numerous – wealthy and well-armed (notice this!) – warlords, gang heads, and sub-tribal chieftains are not an event that started by its own; these enmities did not ensue from the local socioeconomic dynamics. As trait of Somali socio-economic life, these rivalries and clashes do not represent any historical trend throughout the long Islamic ages of the glorious and resplendent Somali sultanates.
This does not mean, on the other hand, that there had never been a tribal rivalry in Somalia; there were many points of conflict and a long series of clashes – that´s true. However, they were always contained and their importance never reached at a national level, threatening the entire Somali Nation.
If the extent of the tribal clashes has been over-magnified over the past 18 years, it´s because these minor tribal conflicts have been maliciously exacerbated and artificially aggravated through many different ways. The malignant actor of the extraordinary deterioration of the pre-existing (but always adroitly contained) tribal clashes and rivalries was the colonial elite of England and France.
For this reason, today´s Somalis will never achieve peace and unity without clearly identifying the authentic perpetrator of the Crime committed against Somalia 1991 – 2009. It is certainly good for every Somali to deploy an effort and attribute to the national Somali interest the due and undisputed prevalence over the personal / tribal gain. It is certainly great for every Somali to denounce the tribalisms practiced here and there throughout Somalia.
But it would be determinant for Somalia´s ultimate pacification and rehabilitation to unite against the foreign colonial enemy, isolate the English and the French diplomacies from any development taking place in Somalia, reject their fallacies and trickeries, and leave their local puppets irreversibly exposed and irrevocably tarnished in front of all the Somalis.
Only when the least important act of the last minor Somali warlord will be viewed by all the Somalis as service offered to the colonial gangsters of the Somali Nation, the Somali tribal Mafia lords will be met with a major setback. This will be the beginning of their end.
I republish here a brief but insightful analysis elaborated by a shrewd Somali commentator, Mr. Nasr Ibn Othman. Patriotic Somali intellectual with very wide interests, Mr. Nasr Ibn Othman, 33, was born in East Africa, grew in North Africa, and was educated in England (Engineering & Mining Industry). Among his cultural interests, the top position is reserved for the Central Asiatic Islamic Art – which represents a perfect reminiscence of the historical Afro-Asiatic interaction and a modern reflection of the socioeconomic – cultural interconnectedness of Eastern Africa and Asia through the land, sea, and desert routes of the Silk, Perfumes and Spices Trade.
In his ´Somalia and the Corrupt 4.5 Formula´, Mr. Nasr Ibn Othman analyzes and castigates the tribal skidding of some of his compatriots. I therefore reproduce it integrally.
Somalia and the Corrupt 4.5 Formula
The purpose of a state is to provide material benefits to the people living under its authority. The state, in order to exist as an independent entity, amongst other things, must possess the ability to enforce its right to security. Any entity that calls itself a government must demonstrate this ability before it can be considered as a legitimate entity. The monstrous TFG of Somalia cannot demonstrate, in any way, that it is the legitimate government of Somalia. Furthermore, the so-called Transitional Federal Charter is an abomination that is wholly inspired by non-Somali actors. The TFG of Somalia, as a concept, represents an affront to Somali culture, and it must never be respected by the people of Somalia.
The TFG of Somalia is a tool, manipulated by the shadowy enemies of the Somali people, for the social fragmentation of the Somali nation along clan lines. The diabolical Transitional Federal Charter states that all Somali political offices must be divided in accordance with the vile 4.5 formula. It is truly astonishing that grown men can seriously entertain the idea of executing state business on such a basis. The disgraceful 4.5 formula is nothing less than an assault upon the dignity of the Somali nation. This dishonourable concept only exists to serve the base interest of the many loathsome clan chauvinists of Somalia, and the Somali people must never succumb to such divisive schemes.
It is clear to me that the clan lineage of any Somali politician is simply irrelevant when one is asked to evaluate the political competence of the individual in question. The clan lineage of a particular Somali politician is about as important as that individual's height or weight with respect to the ability to perform a specific political duty. How has it come to pass that certain people, who claim to be serving the best interests of the Somali nation, can entertain the dreadful idea sharing political power in accordance with the 4.5 formula? The 4.5 formula—if adopted by the people of Somalia—shall surely lead to the dismemberment of the Somali nation.
The Somali nation, like any other nation, cannot afford to prostitute the nature of its national politics by indulging in the promotion of shameful pursuit like political fragmentation along clan lines. The folly of blindly following the wicked men who promote divisive agendas—such as the futile attempt to give legitimacy to the flawed TFG of Somalia by way of foreign military assistance—must be resisted by all Somali people. The TFG of Somalia represents, quite simply, a stain upon the honour of the Somali nation. Over 20,000 helpless Somali civilians have been killed as a result of the illegitimate claims of the TFG of Somalia. And, over 3 million Somali civilians have either been forcibly displaced, within the Somali national territory, or are in acute danger of starving to death as a direct result of the genocidal military aggression launched in the name of the TFG of Somalia.
We, of the honourable Somali nation, must never entertain the idea of supporting a criminal entity, such as the TFG of Somalia, in its quest for political legitimacy. How can the Somali people ever recognise the legitimacy of the TFG after a brutal Ethiopian military intervention has failed to win political legitimacy for the TFG of Somalia? The TFG of Somalia is unable enforce its declared claim to rule the people of Somalia, and everybody is aware of this fact. Therefore, this particularly dishonourable political aberration—the TFG of Somalia—must not be permitted sully the good name of the Somali nation any longer. In statecraft, there can never be such a thing as legitimacy without might, and the TFG of Somalia enjoys neither might nor political legitimacy.
Nasr Ibn Othman can be contacted here: yann1@live.co.uk
Website: sommusings.blogspot.com
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