Fragmentation of Homogenous Somali people.
Since independence many African countries have endured under wars between the states, the so-called civil wars or violent conflicts. This is sad, as well as incongruous, since the major objectives of most independent states was to rectify or correct the factious politics of colonial rule through the jointure or unification of all citizens in one nation.
Ironically, such politics appear to have contributed to a rather increased intra-state war elsewhere. European colonies divided Africa with borders crossing same ethnic group in to two or more independent states, and resulted prolonged conflicts between African states. For example Somali ethnic group, Europeans divided in to five regions with a different independent states in the horn of Africa.
Somali people are homogenous in terms of culture, language and religion, although there are some differences in originalities and accents or speech patterns of different geographical locations. Somali people are estimated in 20 Million whilst there is no actual census. Their economies greatly depends on livestock like Camel, cow, sheep and goat with some farming practices.
According to the I. M. Lewis in fact the clan stands as a center-pole of the pastoralist political systems that ties or clutch the kinship together, and this argument will be valid when you see separate units forming one major clan which is not based on blood or kin. These groups are named cities and hunting activities for example; Reer Baraawe which were Baraawe residents, Reer Banaadiri which were inhabitants of Banaadir region, Midgaan and Gabooye which are referred a hunters. There are also another categorization of Somali people as Jareer and Jileec which actually means hard-hair and soft-hair respectively.
Due to insufficient records on pre-colonial Somali society, Mukhtar (1996) opined the origin of the Somalis to be vague and surrounded by myth. This mythology stated that they stemmed from the Arabian Peninsula through the Islamic missionaries dispatched in 615 AD. It was, however, only in the nineteenth century that we began to have more detailed accounts, by European explorers, of Somali society and culture.
The advent of the European colonial powers in Africa saw a vicious scramble for Somalia by the forces of Britain, Italy and France who eventually rationed it among themselves (French Somaliland, British Somaliland [the British area known as the Northern Frontier District (NFD) indirectly ruled by Kenya], Italian Somaliland and Ethiopian-controlled parts of the Ogaden and Haud) after series of bilateral and multilateral treaties. After the peaceful negotiations of the Berlin Conference (1884–1885), Britain gained control of Northern Somalia, while Italy controlled the South. State-like administrative institutions were established by both colonial powers, making it the first of its kind in Somalia where anything resembling a state structure never existed (Pakenham 1991). From the above, one could garner that colonialism was the initial undoing of the Somali society; it sowed the seed of discord and planted alien political structures which soon fragmented the nation. Oliver and Atmore (2004) described the struggles that went on between Britain and Italy over the control of Somalia from 1941 till 1950. Oliver and Atmore argued that the feeling of unity felt by the Somalis during this period of struggle between the imperial powers engendered a pan-Somali identity. Ironically, at the same time, the introduction of state-like administrative structures further dichotomized the Somali nation. As a result political parties were formed in clan lines. The Marjeerteen clan of the Daarood clan-family established the first political party in 1943 called the Somali Youth Club renamed the Somali Youth League (SYL) in 1947; the Rahanweyn formed the Hisbia Digil Mirifle (HDM); the Isaaq clan-family created the Somali National League (SNL), while the Dir and Darood clans created the United Somali Party (USP) (Somalia Political History 2005).
Moreover, Osman (2007) asserted that shortly before independence, Italy (like other colonial powers in other parts of Africa) orchestrated the eventual collapse of independent Somalia. This was done by eroding the egalitarian system of pre-colonial Somalia, and creating an oppressive and exploitative class structure which made the nomadic clans of the Mudug and Majeerteenia regions dominate the entire Somali political and economic arena from independence. Laitin (1976) also argued that the ambitious unification of separately colonized Somali nations into a single “Great Somali State” by Italy undermined Somalia soon after independence.
This unification comprised of the Italian Somalia, the British Somaliland, Djibouti, the Ogaden province of Ethiopia and the North-Eastern part of Kenya. These are symbolically represented in the nation’s flag featuring a five pointed star (Farer 1979).
The Republic of Somalia was proclaimed on the 1st of July, 1960 with the establishment of an embryonic democracy, which resulted in the election of the first President, Aden Abdullah Osman Daar and Abdirasheed Ali Shermaake as the Prime Minister. Immediately after independence the seed of discord planted by colonialism began to manifest in obvious distinctions within the clans. Clan’s numerical strength became an issue of concern as the Isaaq clan-family gained more support in the North while the Daarod clan-family dominated the South; national elections of 1964, 1967, appointments of respective Prime Ministers, and the different ministerial nominations were all stiffly influenced by clannism (Somalia Political History 2005). Against this background of clan politics in Somalia, the military toppled the government in a coup d’e´tat on the 21st of October, 1969. Taking over government, Major General Mohammad Siad Barre suspended the constitution, disbanded the National Assembly and all political parties, and adopted a divide and rule policy to replace loyalty to clans (Fred and Molineux 1981)—making clannism a capital offence (Lewis 1994). Furthermore, in the bid to promote national unity and a community identification, Barre instituted a re-education program for civil servants and civilians; establishing a writing and standard form of Somali language. Then he renamed Somalia, the Somali Democratic Republic. These acts invariably rendered huge blows on Somalis who already found solace in their various clan families for fresh rounds of political mobilization (the Isaaqs at the north, Ogadenis at the south and Hawiyes at the centre) (Somalia Political History 2005). Upon the above policy decisions, Barre could not gain sufficient political legitimacy (Maria 2001). Lewis (1994) states that domestic opposition grew so stiff that the regime became more despotic, reverting to clannism—which was contrary to his initial position. He pitted groups against themselves to maintain his grip on power, pooling supports from Mareehaan, Ogadeni and Dulbahante sub-clans of the Darood clan-family (these three sub-clans were known to be Barre’s, his mother’s and his son-in-law’s).
About the Author;
Mr. Mousse Abdi Mohamoud, Senior Economist and commentator in Somali politics. Studied Master’s degree of Developmental Economics in Assosa University, Ethiopia.
Email: muuze438@yahoo.com
