Tragedy of a Music Icon and the Shame of a Nation by Bashir Goth

ADDUUNYADA NIN DHOOFIYO

 

Adduunyada nin dhoofiyo

Ninkii deggan dhulkii hooyo

Nin dhergiyo nin dhawr qaday

Aan dheef hayan

Dheddig iyo laboodbaa

Hawli kama dhammaatee

Qof waliba wixii dhibay

Dhafoorkay ku taallaa

            ***

(Whether you be a migrant

Or you stay back at home

Whether you live in affluence

Or you sleep on empty stomach for days

Whether you are a male or a female

The world never spares anyone of suffering

And everyone’s own misery and hardship

Can be noticed easily on one’s temples…

Widely known as the Somali King of Melody, Maxamad Saleeban Tubeec’s unique, modulate and soaring voice spoke prophetically of the fate that would befall the Somali nation and with it Somali culture of which music is its crown jewel.

After more than half a century of fame during which Tubeec has entertained, mesmerized, and moved the passions of the Somali people with his magical and inimitable voice in defiance of the ugly tyranny of the Somali people against his rights as a human being and a native citizen, he is now lying in a hospital bed far from home.  He said the doctors in Germany where has been taken for treatment confirmed to him that he needs a surgical operation, an operation that he cannot financially afford. The painful news came through a desperate appeal he made through a Somali TV channel, asking Somali people and the Somali government to assist him in meeting the hospital expenses so he can undergo this life giving surgery.

In any world, other than this surrealistic situation of Somalia, Tubeec would have been not only a source of national pride for his contribution to Somalia’s music heritage but also a wealthy man from the copyright and sales of his works. But is it no wonder that within the Somali context where there is no copyright and no respect for intellectual property that artists, no matter how significantly they contribute to the collective national memory of the people, would remain on the lowest rung of the economic ladder.

As a person who grew up in the heyday of Somali music and literature in the 1960s and 70s when music rocked people’s passions with its magical melody, its powerful poetry, and its appeal to the ambitions and dreams of the young Somali nation, I could never have envisioned the day when the whole nation would collapse and Somali musical icons would suffer and die of negligence and anonymity in their old age.  

Hearing Tubeec’s pathetic condition, I travelled down memory lane and with the help of like minded people who preserved his music on YouTube, tried to relive the golden age of his music when he breathed the beauty of life into the hearts and souls of people who loved his music but wouldn’t otherwise treat him as an equal human being due to his clan. The days when his melodies symbolized everything beautiful in life and through it we all felt to be immortal. 

It was ironic that I encountered his famous lyrics which Somalis have through decades sang and may continue to sing even centuries to come to ring in every New Year. As we stand at the beginning of a New Year, 2014, it is painful and somewhat apocalyptic to hear Tubeec singing the powerful words of Hussein Aw Farah:

KII NOO HAGAAGEE NOQO LOO HANWEYNYAHAY

Waan heesayaayee

Sannad waliba hoodiyo

Hawl iyo dhibaatiyo

Wuxu hadimo leeyahay

Waa laga helaayoo

Hadhaw lagu xusuustaa

Kii noo hagaagee

Noqo loo hanweynyahay…

            ***

(I am going to sing

That every year

Brings with it what  

It has to offer

In affluence and in misery

And it is remembered

In what it gives

O New Year

Be one that brings us

Good tidings

To earn our admiration…

One couldn’t miss, however, and might even remember it with a nostalgic feeling how Tubeec spoke to our hearts and made us live life to the full with his song Waqti (Time) in which he admonished Time to stay away from him and let him enjoy his youthful days.

WAQTI

Hawshiyo dhibaatada

Dhallinyaro intaan ahay

Ha ii soo dhaweynine

Waxan ii dhammaynayn

Sharaftayda dhawrooo…

***

(While I enjoy my youthful days

O Time

Spare me  

From your miseries and sufferings

Let me enjoy my youthfulness to the full

Dare you not harm my dignity...)

Well indeed, Tubeec had a productive and beautiful youth as one of the most loved singers of his generation and a man crowned by the Somali people as the King of Melody. Tubeec was a born singer in every genre he under took. But there is no doubt that he first captured the heart and minds of the Somali people all over the Somali peninsula with his patriotic songs at the time of independence. It was Tubeec’s lyrics that dominated the airwaves during the celebrations for Independence anniversaries. I can recall how the feeling of the people soared with the hearing of Tubeec’s “Dharaartaan waxyeeladay Dhaqdhaqeen” (The Day I Cleansed Myself of Shame) which had become one of the indelible symbols of Somali independence:

DHARAARTAAN WAXYEELADII DHAQDHAQAY         

                    

Dhaaxaan gunimiyo

Dhibaato mutoo

Dhomaha la iga saaray

Dhinacyada ee

Dharaartaan waxyeeladii

Dhaqdhaqnee

Calanka dhidbay

Sow ma soo dhicin…”

***

The Day I Cleansed Myself of Shame Day

(“Many a time, I had suffered

Ignominy and harshness

And have been loaded

On both sides

Like a beast of burden

O hasn’t the day

Has come

When I cleansed myself of shame

And I hoisted the flag…”)

I can only imagine how much the words of this song rang bells in Tubeec’s inner soul for while he was passionately singing about the removal of the yoke of colonialism and oppression, he knew in the deepest parts of his heart that he and his family were still carrying the yoke of centuries old societal heinous discrimination and oppression that his voice couldn’t erase. But he still sang for the promise of the day with a great degree of patriotism and optimism. 

Another of his unforgettable independence songs was “Way Ahaataye Maaanta” (Yes, today we have done it”, a song with lyrics talking about the need for collaboration and cohesiveness in decision making between the leaders and the people, a message that has lost its way to the heart of the Somali people.

WAY AHAATAYE MAANTA

Hadba kii arrin keena

Ka kale aqbalaayaa

Ilaahii ina siiyey

Isagaa ku abaale

Way ahaataye maanta

Si wanaagsan u iida

***

YES, TODAY WE HAVE DONE IT

He, whoever initiates an idea

And the one who listens and supports it

O Thanks to Almighty

Who bestowed on us such harmony

And unity of purpose

Yes, today we have done it

And we must celebrate it

With peace and gracefulness…”

Apart from his patriotic songs, Tubeec’s fame came from his dignified and serene voice, coupled with the pure classical Somali music that represented the era before Somali music was adulterated with foreign styles which is adopted wholesale by modern singers. 

Among the most famous of his plethora of love songs was “Dhool Da’ay La Moodyeey” ( O You whose beauty resembles that of a day after rain”

DHOOL DA’AY LA MOODYEEY

Dhool da’ay la moodeeyey

Waan kugu dhadhabayaayey

Dharaartaynu kullanaa

Dhulku ila wareegeey

Dhimasho iyo nolol

Ayaan kala dhex joogaa

***

“O You whose beauty resembles that of a day after rain

Since the day I met you

The earth seems to be spinning around me  

And I stand between death and life…”

Yet another one of his memorable love songs is “Nayruus” (Nowruz) which he performs with Magool, known also as the Queen of Melody, thus making them a heaven-made duet, and arguably the best two voices of Somali music of all time.

NAYRUUS

Weligay kumaan nicin

Naagana kuma ag dhigin

Ka nixina ismaan odhan naruuroy

Ka nixina ismaan odhan nasteexooy…

***

“I never have ceased to love you

I never have compared you with other women

Never have it occurred to me to let you down

O my gracious deliverance

Never have it occurred to me to let you down

 O my precious darling.

It was in Lagos in 1977 that Tubeec and Magool mesmerized the African audience with their magical, authentic Somali voices. And one of the highlights of the night was“ “MINANKAYGII HADDAAD TIMI’  which I recommend every reader of this piece to watch and enjoy these two artists’ stellar music and regal performance.

The precious archives of Tubeec’s music is priceless and deserve more than a book to cover it, but to throw a couple of more lines into the memory trove, I cannot miss to recall “Hanqaaro” (Urge)

NAFTAYDA ADAA HANQAAROO

Naftaydaa adaa hanqaaroo

Hablihii kale waan ka hadhayee

Anigu kaa helay hubaalee

Adigu mayla haysaa…

***

“O you have caused the urge in me

And I let go of all other women

My admiration for you is absolute

I wonder if have yours in return ..”

Definitely the list continues and includes Cimrigiiba Jacayl, AMAANADA ILAAHAY, Malyuun Hibo, and of course the great song of Hooyo (mother).

This is not a eulogy as Tubeec is very much alive and I wish him quick recovery but it is an attempt to remind the Somali people and the Somali government that our cultural icons and music legends like Tubeec and Cabdi Tahliil who is also ill and in need of treatment should never have been allowed to meet this fate. 

It is almost a crime that we had the music of Tubeec and Tahliil to enjoy and took pride in the legacy they left for us and then let them suffer and face life alone in their twilight years. Undeniably the tragedy that befell Tubeec and other artists like him reflects the tragedy of a nation whose country, heritage, and collective memory are all in ruins, but the Somali governments, no matter what, are duty bound to give these artists the status and financial pension that they rightly deserve. 

Finally, I would like to urge the Somali people and particularly the Somali government to extend their support and welfare to Tubeec and Tahliil who unlike other artists cannot seek clan support and who despite historical injustices always count the Somali people as a whole as their Tol.

It will only be befitting to end this peace with Tubeec’s following heart-wrenching song:

AMAANADA ILAAHAY

Ma ogtahay ayaantii

Ilmadu kaa da’aysee

Indhahaaga qoysaan

Inan yahay xasuustoo

Uurkaan ka ooyoo

Waan kaa ashahaatee

***

“O darling, don’t you know the day

When tears rolled down

And soaked your eyes

O darling, I do remember it well

As I cried my heart out

And felt great empathy for you…”

Somalia & Somaliland : The Year 2013 in Review

By Bashir Goth

The most heartwarming initiative that happened in Mogadishu in 2013 was the start of an inspirational reconstruction momentum thanks to the city’s energetic and ambitious mayor Mohamud Ahmed Nur Tarsan.  If he continuous with this vigor and commitment aimed at restoring the beauty and glory of Mogadishu, Tarsan will be the person to watch in 2014.

It is encouraging also to see the vital role played by the diaspora returnees who are investing heavily in rebuilding the city not only in the form of pouring money into business but also in bringing back creative ideas and breathing a new life into the morale of the people. There is no doubt that the Somalis with their renowned entrepreneurial skills that created lucrative businesses in many parts of Africa as well as in Minnesota, London, Dubai and elsewhere can and should make Mogadishu the pearl and commercial hub of the Horn of Africa. After more than 20 years of ruin, misery and lawlessness, one can see the undefeatable spirit of the Somali people who despite the forces of darkness like Al Shabab who wants to keep the people under their destructive and backward ideology, surge ahead in a promising effort to make the country stand again on its feet.

MISSED OPPORTUNITIES 

Having said that, it was disheartening to watch how the government of Hassan Sheikh Mahmoud squandered a lot of opportunities. The year 2013 began on a high note for the Somali Federal Government (SFG) led by Mohamoud as the U.S recognized Somalia’s government for the first time since 1991 when the country slipped into chaos and eventually became a byword for a failed state. This was followed by the UN Security Council’s decision on the partial lifting of the decades-old embargo on selling arms to Somalia for a year. In a quick response to this, President Obama decided to allow the provision of US military assistance to Somalia.

But instead of capitalizing on the good-will of the international community and taking measures to bolster domestic security, Mahmoud’s government started globetrotting with photo shoots with world leaders as their biggest achievement. Back home, Al Shabab continued to dominate the security situation despite their diminished visibility on the streets of Mogadishu. To prove their tenacity and to expose the vulnerability of Mahmoud’s AMISOM-propped government, Al Shabab struck Mogadishu’s main court complex in April killing about 30 people, while launching daring daylight attacks on the Presidential Palace and the UNDP compound in the capital. Their attack on the Westgate Mall of Nairobi was also to remind the world that no matter how much assistance the International Community provided to Mogadishu, the key to the region’s security still remained in their hands.

The government even mishandled the impromptu arrival of Hassan Dahir Aweys who fell in the government hands as a windfall from Al Shabab’s infighting. Aweys deserves to be sharing the same fate and cell with Charles Taylor for the crimes he committed against the Somali people and for keeping the whole country in cyclic violence for more than two decades. But the failure of the government to yet bring him to court is sign of its unwillingness or weakness to serve justice to the victims of this brutal terrorist and his affiliates. 

EMBROILED IN CLAN POLITICS

In another apparent misplaced priority, Mahmoud’s government was embroiled in clan politics which allowed neighboring countries to have a greater leverage in resolving domestic issues. The agreement between Mahmoud’s government and Ahmed Madoobe in Addis Ababa on the creation of the Juba region administration showed the government’s inability to rise above clan politics.

The government also squandered the generous hand extended to it by the international community in the form of a three year “New Deal” cemented with a pledge of 2.4 billion dollars aid to boost the country’s economy and security.

The resignation of Yussur Abrar as the Central Bank Governor due to what she called the government’s double-dealing behavior had damaged the international community’s trust with the government and had put the fulfillment of the New Deal into jeopardy.

The replay of the previous government’s dueling between the President and Prime Minister and the unceremonious sacking of the PM by the President-bought parliament had also thrown whatever hopes the people had in President Mahmoud’s government being any different from its precedents.

It was again the appointment of the new Prime Minister that proved beyond doubt that not every Somali child can dream to rise to the country’s leadership unless she/he belongs to certain clans. Looking back at the succeeding Somali administrations from independence until now with the exception of the short-lived tenure of Mohamed Ibrahim Egal, one can see that the practiced formula was always and still remains to be: “Kolla Rashiid, Kollar Rasaaq, Inta kale, Ma rooti baa?” Weary of war and lawlessness, the Somali people hoped for a new dawn with Mahmoud’s government but it seems Professor Ahmed Samatar’s disconcerting observation of duopoly in Mogadishu is indeed carved in stone.

As the year rolled to its end, it was somewhat amusing to see President Mahmoud rushing to Nairobi to join other IGAD leaders who were trying to bring an end to Africa’s latest civil war in Southern Sudan, while he left Al Shabab to make a name for itself in grappling with the devastating clashes in Lower Shabelle and Hiiran regions.

The autonomous region of Puntland welcomed 2013 with bombast as the region’s president Ahmed Faroole celebrated his 4th year in office but his chance for a second term and the hope for the region’s change from clan-based structure to a democratically elected administration hit a snag with the cancellation of the municipal elections in July.

Although the cancellation averted a civil war, it was the tropical cyclone that smashed Puntland’s coast in November and killed scores of people and had devastated the livelihoods of other hundreds that united the people again. 

The year ended with clan-nomination of Puntland’s new 65-member strong parliament which is due to elect a new President on 8th January. The system of clan nomination of representatives which took place in Mogadishu earlier and now in Puntland, falls short of Somaliland’s experiment of a direct elected parliament.

WOMEN’S CONTINUED PLIGHT 

Somalia still remained to be a black hole for women’s rights. Rape and violence against women continued unabated to the extent that Amnesty International described it as “ongoing epidemic”. The report cites that perpetrators of such heinous crimes against women included government security officials, armed groups and members of AMISOM. The government’s inability to halt the spiraling rate of rape and violence against women and its appalling actions sometimes of incarcerating the victim instead of the criminal makes a mockery of its otherwise commendable gesture of appointing women to high political and bureaucratic posts such as the deputy prime minister/foreign minister and the Central Bank governor as an apparent cosmetic action aimed at appeasing donor countries.

Press freedom also continued to bleed heavily in 2013 as Somalia retained its notorious position as one of the most dangerous places for media people to work. It remained in the rank of the five worst countries in the world for press freedom as per the 2013 report of the Reporters without Borders.

Going to 2014, it has become obvious that the Somali people have the resilience to rebuild the country but only if Mahmoud’s government liberates them from the grip and fear of Al Shabab and provides them with badly needed justice and a clean fiscal management.

SOMALILAND IN CRISIS 

If one attached a name to 2013 in Somaliland it could be called the Year of Roads. A number of initiatives were taken to mobilize the nation to rehabilitate its old roads and build new ones. Most of the projects were people-based although the government also contributed handsomely to them. The plan to build the Buora-Erigavo road, the longest road in the country with the most dangerous terrain, is indeed a highly ambitious and commendable endeavor.

The year 2013, however, started with the country reeling from the aftermath of badly handled municipal elections. Sporadic peaceful demonstrations, police brutality, and heavy handedness against the press have been the main spotlights.

Rape against women reached an unprecedented level as the Ministry of Health reported that 104 rape cases occurred during 2013. What made the situation even worse was that a number of the women were gang raped with impunity.

The political situation was dominated by the wrangling between the government and the opposition about the possibility of holding a national debate to evaluate the status of Somaliland after more 20 years since Hargeisa declared its unilateral secession from Somalia.

The government and the opposition may have different motives for either rejecting or accepting the debate, but one can feel that the unspoken agenda behind the debate is to discuss nothing but the viability of Somaliland’s secession. With thousands of youth graduating every year from the mushrooming universities in the country and the non-existence of employment opportunities for them, and with the majority of the population relying on remittances for their livelihood, there is a great economic crisis in the offing. And also with the improving situation in Mogadishu and the international community’s recognition of the federal government and the sovereignty of a united Somalia as a whole, Hargeisa found itself in the doldrums of a self-imposed political isolation.

The problems we saw on the surface in Somaliland in 2013 such as the deepening divide between the people on tribal lines, the water shortage in Hargeisa and elsewhere, the rampant unemployment, the government’s failure to attract foreign investment and its inability to provide relief assistance to victims of natural disasters such as droughts and rains in far-flung areas of the country, its lack of strategy and clarity of vision in dealing with Somalia as well as its erratic actions regarding the banning of United Nations flights at its airports and its prohibition of its citizens from using Somali passports without offering an alternative, all these problems are just obvious signs of a chronic economic, social, cultural, and political crisis that need an immediate remedy before it is too late. The much talked about debate is therefore not only necessary but timely to extricate Somaliland from its current untenable situation.  

Yussur Abrar and Thuli Madonsela: Africa’s Female Whistleblowers

By Bashir Goth

It was always my belief that if Africa were to change its bad reputation as the citadel of corrupt politicians and a haven for mismanaged foreign aid; it would have to be the continent’s women that lead the way. 

And this is exactly what happened over the last month when two women of character, Yussur Abrar of Somalia and Thuli Madonsela of South Africa, have stunned the male-dominated corruption infested political systems of the two countries with their fearless actions.

Yusur Adan Abrar, an international banker with three decades of experience in banking, insurance, telecommunications and finance consultancy, was appointed as Somalia’s first female governor of the Central Bank in September 2013, a time when the international community pledged $2.4 billion to fund Somali's infrastructural and fiscal reconstruction. 

As a professional banker, Abrar knew very well the task ahead of her. To put simply it was the establishment of a comprehensive regulatory framework for the country’s financial system and to make the Somali Central Bank accountable for every dollar that reaches its coffers. 

However, what she did not anticipate was that the government had appointed her as a ploy to use her stellar record to hoodwink the donor community by using her signature to legitimize shady financial dealings. 

Abrar’s goal of cleaning the system had become an affront to the Somali politicians’ old norm of stealing and enriching themselves on foreign aid and the country’s tax revenues.

Soon after she stepped into the building of the bank she was given orders and threats to sanction dubious deals. She was not given enough time to even review the demands and explore if she could find any legal loopholes that could allow her to find a legitimate compromise.  All her attempts to win the President’s support and to enlighten him about the irreparable damage that sanctioning such deals could cause to the government’s credibility fell on deaf ears. 

But instead of being enlightened by Abrar’s relentless efforts to highlight the need to follow sound financial regulations, the acolytes at the government’s corruption alter tried to convert her to the Somali way of doing business and to wean her from what they saw as her unflinching adherence to ‘western values’. As she bluntly put it in her letter of resignation to the President, she said: “The message that I have received from multiple parties is that I have to be flexible, that I don't understand the Somali way that I cannot go against your wishes, and that my own personal security would be at risk as a result.”

According to the information I received, even President Hassan Sheikh Mahmoud himself had at one point accused Abrar of acting like an American: “Ma Maraykan baad iskaga kaaya dhigaysaa.. Are you trying to act like an American to us?” As the Somali proverb says: Madax meel meel la taabto oo sarreeyaa ma jiro… There is no place higher than the head to reach…” Instead of showing leadership and supporting Abrar in her honest efforts to restore badly needed accountability to the country’s financial system and safeguarding the resources of the Somali people, the President was in a crusade to re-educate her to the African culture of corruption, the Somali way of Qaataye –Qaado ( I rob and you have your share)

NGO CULTURE VS CORPORATE CULTURE

Ironically, there is an element of truth in the President’s unbecoming expression. Yes, there was a clash of culture and goals between Abrar and President Mahmoud’s administration. Abrar, with her extensive experience in western corporations, her goal was to apply these standards to make the country’s banking system acceptable to donor nations and to enable the country achieve economic recovery.

“When I accepted this role, I did so with the interests of the Somali people in mind. Having worked at senior levels at some of the largest financial institutions in the world, I was looking forward to the opportunity to lend my skill sets to rebuild the Central Bank and improve the lives of our people, as the Central Bank is key to the development of the economy. Undoubtedly, economic recovery is critical to this recovery from both a fiscal and security perspective,” She wrote in her letter of resignation.

However, Abrar’s corporate culture, professional perspective and patriotic goals seemed so alien to President Mahmoud and his underlings who were trained in the NGOs culture of trickle-down economy, albeit in African context, to which the late eminent American economist John Kenneth Galbraith had explained as an approach that emerged during the depression and was also called “the horse- and-sparrow theory” which  meant: “If you feed the horse enough oats, some will pass through to the road for the sparrows.” And this is exactly the culture and mentality of the African politicians and particularly the Somali political elite who practice the principle of “me first,  crumbs for the rest.”

Strangely enough, even those western educated Diaspora returnees who serve for the President as ministers and advisors fall into this category. Writing to me from New York, a friend of mine Dr. Nimo Bokore, had correctly put this in perspective: “Lately,” she said, “I began to worry about the current scramble for Somali blood money. Will the elite, the well educated Diaspora men and their counterparts going back to politics to pay off their mortgages lead us to nationhood? Or they are just engaged in their own temporary gain ‘Geel Dhac’?”

It is indeed this Geel Dhac “looting camels” culture of the Somali political elite that clashed with Abrar’s financial ethics that she learned in the upper echelons of grand institutions.

This was not lost on Abrar as she so clearly expressed in her carefully written letter that she was not worried about the threats she received more than she was worried and frustrated by the President’s lack of support: “I am the least concerned about the security threat, but I am truly disappointed that I have not received your support and leadership on this matter so that I could objectively perform my duties.”

EXPOSING BUSINESS OF POVERTY

Since Abrar’s resignation, the Somali people and indeed the international community have yet to hear a plausible explanation from President Mahmoud’s government on the damaging information that came in Abrar’s resignation letter other than pitiful denials that carry no facts to clear their position.

After many missed opportunities which led Somalia to become a dangerous place for world trade and security, the international community decided to give President Mahmoud and his government a chance regardless of the corrupt and illegitimate way that he had come to power. With his baby face, ever-present smile, and soft-spoken style, President Mahmoud has won a certain degree of trust. And due to our strong longing for a functioning and recognized Somali government, we all ignored the early voices such as that of the satirical Somali poet and academician Mahmoud Togane, who warned us against the wolf hiding in Mahmoud’s sheep’s clothing in an interview he gave a short time after Mahmoud’s election.  We also understandably dismissed the sharp criticisms that Professors, Samatar and Glaydh, leveled against Mahmoud, due to their known political inclinations. 

But thankfully it took an honest woman like Abrar with no political ambitions of her own to expose that the president’s pose was not more than a façade aimed at buying trust.

Whether the international community heeds Abrar’s wakeup call is yet to be seen. But it is reassuring to know that Abrar’s resignation had already rattled the donors’ trust. Reuters quoted one senior European diplomat saying: “What [Abrar's resignation] has done is woken up a lot of people,” said one senior European diplomat. “The notion that there is a blank check for Somalia, that's over. There's got to be results for money.”

Well said, but the Somali people need more than rhetoric and the best thing that could result from this fiasco is to deposit international aid to Somalia in an escrow account and to appoint Abrar or a person of her caliber as a financial czar to oversee the fair distribution of donor funds for the development of the Somali people.

However, if the track record of the relations between donor nations and corrupt African leaders could be taken as an indication, President Mahmoud’s administration would receive no more than a friendly censure for its behavior. And this explains why the government doesn’t look shaken by what would have been a damaging incident to any decent administration.  

Nevertheless, Abrar should have no regrets even if donor nations decide to continue dealing with Mogadishu government. It will only show once more how much the international community works hand in glove with corrupt African leaders in entrenching “the horse- and-sparrow theory”. No wonder that it is often said poverty is big business.

MISS MANDOSELA: PRESIDENT ZUMA’S NEMESIS

Elsewhere, Thulisile Madonsela, a human rights lawyer, equality expert, and South Africa’s Public Protector, is facing stiff resistance from ministers close to President Jacob Zuma not to publish her findings in an investigation of renovating the president’s retirement homewith $30 million.  

Miss Madonsela who has in her record as one of 11 technical experts who participated in drafting of the final constitution of South Africa in 1994-5, insists that she would go ahead to make the report public regardless.

The multi-resident estate, known as Zumaville, which is reported to have underground rooms, medical facilities, football fields, a theatre, and a helipad, is located in an impoverished neighborhood.  And President Zuma just like President Mahmoud had the audacity to speak: “passionately of his inability to sleep peacefully knowing that there are people still living in shacks in his wealthy nation.”

Now, we can understand when Abrar laments what she could have done if she was allowed to capitalize on the momentum she started in gaining the trust of international financial institutions by saying: “I can only imagine what could have been achieved provided I had your support to perform my duties objectively. Your excellency, while I am disappointed by this lack of support, I am more disappointed for the Somali people who would have benefited the most from these and future contributions.” 

We can equally understand, if President Mahmoud curses Abrar for not allowing him to have his own Damujadidville; a clash of two irreconcilable cultures, indeed.

Being the people’s mules for so long who carried loads on their back and children in their bosom and belly, while at the same time tilling the land, African women have come of age and have another burden to carry today; to cleanse the continent of its corrupt male leaders.

It is reported that Dr. Kuwama Nakrumah, Ghanian Independence leader and an admired African hero, once said that the “black man is capable of managing his own affairs”? I beg to differ with him by saying: “Yes indeed, Mr Nakrumah, the blackman is capable of managing his own affairs; but his own personal affairs only in fattening himself, but it is the black woman who is capable of managing the affairs of the continent and rectifying the historical mistakes that men have committed against the poor people of Africa.” Viva Yussur, Viva Miss Madonsela, and viva all conscientious women of Africa.

Samatar’s Hero’s Welcome in Somaliland Has Him Walking a Tightrope

Bashir Goth 

Professor Ahmed Samatar represents different things to different people, but one thing that undeniably dominates his character is that he is an eminent scholar seeking to revive common decency and good values in the Somali people. However, the rapturous welcome and adulation that he received during his much awaited homecoming to Somaliland may have raised more questions than they answered. The root cause of such bewilderment is the different expectations that the various sectors of the Somali people have about the outcome of the professor’s country-wide tour and the rationale behind his decision to visit Somaliland despite his well known political position as an ardent advocate of Somali unity.

Famous for his unmatched eloquence and brilliant scholarship, Ahmed Samatar has until now skirted the thorny issues and instead concentrated on his long term mission of bringing political and cultural enlightenment to the Somali people, particularly by engaging with local universities, community leaders and women and charming them with his suave manners and Aristotelian persuasion.

I will, therefore, try in this piece to look at the different perspectives that the different sectors of the Somali people might have regarding Ahmed Samatar’s visit.

The Professor’s fox perspective:

Inspired by the Greek poet Archilochus who said: ‘The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing’, Isaiah Berlin, the eminent 20thC social and political theorist, had categorized people into “hedgehogs” or “foxes” in his a famous essay entitled “The Hedgehog and the Fox”.
 
In real life, according to Berlin’s theory, we know that when in danger the hedgehog rolls into a ball, exposing its pointed spikes outward as a defense mechanism, but the fox uses many tricks to deal with threats and to fight for its survival. This means that some people like to deal with the world as it is, in one single approach. They fear change.

Such people like to be ensconced in their comfort zone, even if the comfort zone is proved to be an illusionary one. These are the hedgehogs. On the other hand are people who take a liberal and multidimentional approach to the world. They are ready to change when new realities unfold and when they gain new information that is more credible than the one they had before.

Accordingly, I could say that Ahmed Samatar belongs to the Fox category as he looks at the Somali issue through a liberal and pluralist prism and refuses to tie himself to a procrustean view.

He stood for and I believe still stands for not only the unity of the Somali people but also for advocating the establishment of justice, liberalism and democratic norms as well as common decency in the body politic of the Somali nation.

But since he started his herculean enlightenment mission among the Somali people he has worked under the assumption that the key to the solution of the Somali problem was to be found in Mogadishu. He saw Mogadishu as the head of the Somali body and thought that if a magic cure was found for the head then the rest of the body would regain its health and strength. But when he ran for Somalia’s presidency in September 2012, he witnessed the messy, corrupt, and harshly nomadic way of practicing politics in Mogadishu. He then realized that Mogadishu after all was not the key to the solution but indeed the root cause of the Somali plight. This was a crucial moment for Ahmed Samatar’s relentless political advocacy for the Somali cause.

Naturally, two options could have crossed his mind; to quit politics for good or to change course and being a conscientious scholar who couldn’t just sit down and watch his people wander lost in a political wilderness, he chose the second option; to change direction. Remember as a thinker of the fox category who looks at issues from different approaches and different perspectives, Ahmed Samatar knows how to make a detour when he faces a dead-end. The decision was neither an easy one nor an expedient and a sudden change of heart as some people might like to think. But it was a hard decision that came to fruition after a long deliberation and cautious research.

There is an anecdote that when John Maynard Keynes, seen as the most influential economist of the 20th century, was once accused of changing his positions on economic issues , he is attributed to have said: “When the facts change, I change my mind. What do you do, sir?” and a Somali proverb says: “Laba tallaabo dhexdooda ayey talo ka dhalata,” or “War la helyaaba, Talo la hel.”

Ahmed Samatar decided rightly and boldly to go to Somaliland to achieve several objectives.; First, to educate himself about the reality of Somaliland; to see, hear and witness how deeply and passionately the Somalilanders feel about their secession claim and secondly, to explore how strong the foundations were of Somaliland’s unique experience with democracy and government building. Lastly, the trip was more of a personal healing for him than a political adventure as he wanted to relive his childhood memories of the country.

Somaliland’s hedgehog perspective: 

Due to their intransigence and fixation on independence, the people of Hargeisa and central regions can be counted in the category of the hedgehog. Just like the hedgehog they have only one big issue in mind: the recognition of Somaliland. This is why they saw Ahmed Samatar’s visit as a moment of victory. History shows that political causes rarely take off the ground if they don’t win the advocacy of prominent and visionary scholars of international standing. Ahmed Samatar is on par with scholars such Noam Chomsky, who gallantly campaigned for the cause of East Timor, Edward Said who popularized the Palestinian and Arab causes through his heroic scholarship, Eric Reeves who untiringly fought for the independence of Southern Sudan and others. This is why many people in Somaliland saw that winning Ahmed Samatar’s voice and scholarship on their side was akin to winning international recognition for their independence and would deal a blow to Mogadishu’s credibility.

The Professor’s homecoming, however, has exposed a great psychological abyss between the Awdal communities and those of Somaliland’s central regions.

The communities of Somaliland’s central regions are known for their directness and clarity. They either love you passionately or hate you passionately. Their character is black and white, and has a little or no gray areas in between, what you see is what you get. They are very generous with their feelings and very forgiving once misunderstandings are sorted out. Remember (Kal laxeeba baan leeyihiyo laabta xuunshada…). They are straightforward and loud with their intentions. They all came out to welcome the Professor but they made their intentions clear to him without any reservations. Hence, teasing him with Somaliland’s flag was not for a joke.

The people of Awdal on the other hand are all about gray areas. You will never know whether they love you or hate you (Allahayow nin ii daran maxaan daafta hore seexshay…). They are stingy with their feelings, opaque and reserved with their intentions. The fact that they carried no Somaliland flags while welcoming the Professor but they all chanted in unison with him when he shouted “Somaliland ha noolaato” (Long Life to Somaliland) is itself a good example of their enigmatic personality. Are they loyal Somalilanders or are they not, the jury is still out.

Awdal Community’s fox perspective 

The people of Awdal gave a hero’s welcome to Ahmed Samatar as they thronged out in their thousands to the streets, singing, dancing and carrying his pictures. The ecstatic crowds that filled the streets in the villages and towns on the main highway from Dilla to Borama city was a strong political statement with multiple messages or “Dhagaxaan tuurow, todoba dilow, toddoba duqood” as a friend who called me from there described the feeling of the people.

First, it was a show of force and a strong message to Mogadishu where the Professor failed in his bid for Somalia’s presidency despite being a formidable candidate with a powerful political agenda and vision for Somalia.

Second, it was a candid expression of admiration for what they saw as his courage and principled stance over the years in being an advocate for Somali unity, a secret yearning that most Awdalians keep close to their heart despite their ostentatious support for Somaliland, part of Awdal people’s enigmatic character.

Third, the Professor’s arrival has cemented the unity of the Awdal community and has given them the hope that he would be a powerful voice to champion their rights in Somaliland and beyond.

The Professor’s Message to Somalia 

Finally, Professor Ahmed Samatar’s return to Somaliland sends a strong message to Somalia that Mogadishu cannot have it both ways. It cannot be the capital of Somalia and project an image of inclusiveness and national identity to the outside world while at the same time it practices a politics of exclusion and clan profiling. It says Mogadishu has a choice to make; to be a place where every Somali child no matter where he is born can have the right to dream to rise to its leadership or permanently doom Somalia to its current fate of cantonization.

Obviously in Somaliland, Professor Ahmed Samatar has a tightrope to walk. Time will tell whether the hedgehog will win with its fortified wall of spikes or whether the fox will outmaneuver and blunt the spikes one after another. However, on Somalia, the Professor has already won the debate. And I hope our brothers in Mogadishu would heed the lesson.

June 24, 2013.