Ibrahim Mead
Political analyst
Ottawa, Canada

An open letter to President-elect of Somalia Mr. Hassan sh. Mahmoud


Most people attribute that Albert Einstein when defining insanity said that "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again but expecting different results.” Your predecessors’ way of governing fits the above definition of insanity so I hope you don’t do the same thing that brought mayhem, terrorism, sea pirates, refugees, war and misery to your people and de-stabilized the region

Mr. President-elect, turn the page and take a different direction than the path your failed predecessors took.
Live-and-let live is the rule of common justice and that is what is expected from sensible, rational and pragmatic leadership. Forced marriage is neither sensible nor pragmatic nor the right way forward. It is not the answer as far as the relationship between the two Somali states is concerned.
Following the mindless leaders before you defies the basic rights of conscience. That defies the fundamental rights of self determination of the brothers of Somaliland. React on the reality on the ground and make Somaliland a brother you can lean on and not a foe. They voluntarily caused the union and now they voluntarily withdrew from the union

“Justice is a machine that when some one has given it a starting push, rolls on of itself “ (Galsworthy-Justice) why don’t we-(the two Somali states) come to terms that no one of us owns the other as the mindless before you used to say, however we are brothers and sisters. Embracing this truth that Somaliland was there, is there and will be there is a starting push so that we roll on by ourselves with out foreign intervention.

A vindictive policy is never conductive to building sustainable and better governance.
Vindictiveness is never constructive. It destroys communities and governments
Vengeance is never a good public policy. Vengeance is what Somaliland rejected when first she defeated the vindictive Siyad Barre’s regime. Vengeance is demonic. Unfortunately that was the policies of your predecessors. It is my hope that you don’t follow that path.
A malicious, vindictive attitude on the part of your predecessors has poisoned the relationship of the two Somali states. It poisoned the mutual and rational debate, as well as the national character of the Somalis. It lowered that down to the deck.
If Somalia does not heed she must be helped by telling her the truth and no one else then her self is the right entity to do that. This is a unique opportunity for the new president to seriously entertain this option. Two sovereign states living side by side instead of one claiming that she owns the other! Somali peninsula would have been better and peaceful in that way! When you can have a brother to lean on why do you create a foe to fight against!?


When the mindless and the mindful diverge in a wood, there is no rationale to heave the mindful to the dungeon of the mindless expecting a good return there! However there is a way to help the mindless therefore let the heedful help the mindless. Let the new blood, the new leadership, the President-elect of Somalia take the mantle and move forward for the good of Somalia and the region. To get there needs courage and pragmatism and I hope the president elect Mr. Hassan will be the man in the block

The Politics of envy is the only thing that used to come out from the fragmented warlords of Somalia who were not elected and who were not accountable to their people. They were only accountable to their foreign patrons! They were the producers of
1) Al Shabaab
2) the sea pirates
3) Refugees
4) They destabilized the region. I hope president elect Hassan will bring a new mind set, and changes course

“Envy is defined as a form of anguish felt by the other at the thought that he does not possess the good the rival does. Envy is a tendency to view the well-being of others with misery others. Envy aims; at least in terms of one's desire to destroy others' achievement (Aristotle, Rhetoric, Bk II, Chapter 10)
The only game Somalia leaders before you Mr. Hassan were good at when it comes to their relationship with Somaliland was not to seek help and ask the relevant question of: “how did you guys do it?” a question a brother was supposed to ask a brother. “Help us and show us how you did it” they did not do that! They only played the politics of envy and the foreign entities there did not tell them the truth lest they wreck their interest and find them selves out of job! They unkindly over used the word “Muqadas” which they miserably misused. They did not know what they were talking about as far as “Muqadas” is concerned!

‘la Politique du Ventre’ Politics of the Belly:“ is a form of governance that arose across Africa following independence, characterized by a controlling government and the interdependence of the elite in control of the private and public spheres
(by Jean-François Bayart in his 1989 book)The ‘politics of the belly’, as defined above is a “predatory pursuit, or dash for stealing of wealth and power. That, as a method of governance,”
The predatory nature of Somalia’s successive administrations generated incentives for government Ministers and others to ‘eat’ from the resources of the state as well as the international aid while their people were dying inside and outside the country!
Mr. President I hope you don’t follow that path which your predecessors shamefully did

Somalia leaders before you Mr. President-elect did not worry of your people’s misfortune, they instead worried of the peace and stability of Somaliland and they used to put a lot of effort to sabotage as to wreck that achievement! They worried of the democracy which took root in Somaliland instead of emulating it!

President-elect, great actions speak great minds and great minds do great and fair actions and such should prevail in your new government. Foreign owned and evil possessed so called leaders before you should never get their way in to your new policies. Their way was failure. It was shameless where shame ashamed their shame!

Let every body sit back, take a deep breath and come to his or her sense and find the right way to help Somalia with out claiming you own Somaliland. You can not unrig the bell. It is a no go proposition as far as the people of Somaliland are concerned.
Let us do what is fair, let us do what is practical. Let us do what is right for all of us, and let us respect the wishes, aspirations, self determinations and the rights of our people in Somalia and in Somaliland. No one owns the other but every body is the brother of the other. Let us be two sister states living side by side cooperating and helping each other May Allah bless the Righteous and the courage?
Peace and prayers
 

Ibrahim Mead
Kingmead1@yahoo.ca