What Kind Of A State Somaliland Will Be If Democracy dies In The Hands Of The Two Colonels?
Crisis, conflicts, clashes, and crushing anexieties give us different perspectives. We get distracted by a thousand things. A rock along the road can become a mountain we cannot move. What sometimes comes necessary is to have helping hands that can lift the rock up. That sums up how humans get things done together when there is a mood of goodwill and a motto of unity as well.
Somaliland gets not only disturbed by unrestrained political corruption, but gets distracted by the illusion to move this country from the era of democracy to the dominance of autocracy.
In the last decade Somaliland saw the reigns of two Kulmiye presidents ill-equiped for the task of government. Critics defined Siilaanyo as an idle leader and Colonel Muse Biix as incompetent.
This episode, in which Somaliland people never sought to solve the problem of an idle president, has been justifiably called the reign of robber barons and rule of theives.
Time can only tell whether critics will call Muse Biix’s episodic presidency as the reign of ignorance or incompetency. Nowadays we cann’t see any two public figures and/or two political leaders agree on anything. All government officials reject those who advise them to follow the righteous path and embrace those who encourage them to pursue their selfish goals.
Autocratic governance is toxic, for its consequences are more evident than its causes. What makes the consequences defective is that the checks and balances to prevent everyone from wrongdoing ceases to work well. The spirit of democracy then loses its shine, and when the light of democracy starts to fade away all of sudden, all lovely hearts with living consciences that cannot accept anything get shrinked.
The new dawn then looks like an occasion in which abuse of power simply outstrips the laws of the land. All finer things fall apart and intimidations and arbitrary arrests of those who speak their minds begin to occur in a regular way. And this is what the beginning of the end of democracy looks like.
As we see today, the head of the current executive administrative branch leads this nation according to his own outlook. He has not shown the required readiness to listen to anybody when national issues that need consultative and crucial ideas arise.
The house of elders is transformed into an institution just standing for the chances to extend the duration of their own mandate with the authority of one man show. The legislative body is not doing its job to check and challenge what the government is doing.
As an example, the duty of the legislative body is to monitor how the major branches of the government are dealing with the issues at the moment – how they are performing in the “accountability” key responsibility areas?
The weakness of the state institutions in such a context allows the head of the executive body and his entourage to use state resources at their own discretion. This sets the example of what typically happened in Siilaanyo administration.
Democracy works and delivers the needed attributes and amenities of modern life when those who are in power base government plans and policies on national interests and refrain every government official from taking the power in their hands. The beauty of political democracy starts to die when it is characterised by tribalism, nepotism, cronyism, and corruption, which is what the system that has been existing for the last ten years and still continues to work officially in Somaliland is truly characterized.
In fact among the problems that slow Somaliland progress include the leadership’s inability to create long term national sharing plans meant to design the direction to which this country has to move to reach the right destination. The true vision Somaliland needs could simply be found by forming a think-tank that is committed to invest time and energy in where Somaliland future realistically lies.
Democracy depends on the building of character, which in turn depends on adult supervision, education, individual capacity, and institutions that demand, instill, support, and recognize it. If we embody such traits as honesty, respect, self-sacrifice, compassion, responsibility, and fairness, it may be enough to hope that citizens will acquire them and politicians will exhibit them.
The moral development of all citizens and the moral behavior of institutions must be an ongoing project to which we devote sufficient care. The problem holding Somaliland people back is that we have not yet seen any legal institution that showed its willingness to tackle this noble deed meant to uplift the capacities of Somaliland people anywhere in Somaliland.
It is by developing such attitudes that we can once again draw near and gain the lost unity of this country. Our opportunities are great, but if power outstrips the ability, we will fall on evil days, because the illusion of power is laggard and blind.
We need to proceed in a methodical and organised way. Sustained commitment is required. Organized life comes from wisdom. Excellence comes from exercising moral responsibility and also being accountable.
Leading a nation with the mission of “I-take-it-and-you-take-it attutude” is a slave mentality that will steer Somaliland to nowhere. A country can only survive when it is nurtured by undivided society that is truely committed to invest time and energy not in what has been, but in what can be, in a way that covers every aspect of their life.
Working together, we will redeem the promise of Somaliland dream for every family, advancing progress for every community.
Cause and common voice have their adherents, but the polarization which swings imminent failure is increasingly the gab between vision and visionless, deception and decency, rather than disturbances and distractions.
From the moment Somaliland is given awareness about some different picture or mission, it must have complete focus on how to nurture democracy to get to the right right destination.
By : Jama Falaag
Hargeisa, Somaliland
