Somaliland:The Social Injustice Driven Defections;The Case of High Ranking Military Officer

By Abdirahman Mohamed Dirye

Somaliland being born out of injustices expected to behave with high degree of fairness for all including non-Isaaqs of both sides of the border, the Hartis, the Samaroon Saed, the Isse tribes but that is not the case now and probably not even if recognition comes unless the entire people are reformatted and enlightened!  The latest defection of senior military commander to Puntland, unique; unprecedented terrible event, and the following nomination of deputy Interior and Security Minister which was bombshell to many of his clannish saboteurs in Somaliland Defense Ministry, resulted from systematic humiliation and demotion he met simply for the tribe he belongs and where he is from, not for his military know-how is low or his character was bad.  Being dhulubahante, sub-clan of greater Daarood, has worked his disadvantage and complicated his life in world where tribalism is the norm amid empty slogans of democracy and equality under law. Public servants, for example, are picked up not for their knowledge or skill but of their respective tribes—for instance some ministries had held by single tribe since Somaliland inception! Sometimes one can think they divide Sheikh Issaaq heritage among sister tribes only. By the way, people have no common denominator but only ethnicity matters most without shared belongingness or common interest to safeguard, to many of my readers’ comments who are highly educated and residents in the developed world with ascribed status in some cases, Somaliland is secondary issue if not trivial at the back of their log. You speak ill of their tribal affiliation, they burn in agitation and become quite upset and start flooding emails to the author’s, but you insult Somaliland, it is okay, it is fair game. The country is no man’s land.

Believing in Somaliland to be inclusive, political functional institution for being born of injustices massive grievances, and people’s revolution,  Abdiaziiz has left his dissident tribe in Buhodle, and joined what he later he found out to be more clannish, backward, and more intolerant of other ethnicities than the one he left behind!  He realized Somaliland is simply “ isaaq club” which does not want  to be nation of diverse tribes whereby the loyalty to the country is shared by all but it seems it is a place where  all other tribes are “ outsiders” with little rights and obligations. The president, the Head of Guurti, Speaker of Parliament, liaison agents world-wide, two-third of cabinet ministers, military chiefs and national parties’ chairmen as well as candidates are the same tribe! Picture Somaliland without Samaroon or Harti, what country is that? Before talking injustices inflicted on us, let stand by the victims of injustices wherever they are for the sake of our survival and avoid being collaborators of those doing it publicly.

 In forums, his participation in the military discussions is seen as “an intruder” of some else’s business, a matter which has nothing to do with him! But please take his shoes and think about it, do any of us would like you to work with such institution which you are treated with utter hostility and antagonism?  Of course not, on the other hand, Somaliland friends-in-arms who refused to stand by him as a result of empathy were oblivious of the danger he poses if territory dispute between Somaliland and Puntland resumes, wouldn’t he use his military expertise and in-depth knowledge of military positions of Somaliland troops against them?  I leave sane, un-clannish readers whose mind was not raped by tribalism yet to answer.

What happened to his people: the political marginalization, however, is understatement.  What his people endure on daily basis is far beyond everyone’s imagination. Verbal insults via local TVs are more painful: we gave foodstuffs and built water wells for them for media propaganda purposes in some ministers’ fantasy. How come while two-third of Hargaysa residents have no access to water apart from contaminated water carries on cart donkeys? Nonsense only harms community relations and harmony.

Faysal Ali Warabi of UCID sadly stated that Qaybe, key diplomat of Somalia, and former Speaker of Parliament of Somaliland has died of negligence, he was bedridden for several years now; if he was given 10,000 USD for medical treatment in overseas, he could be alive today, what pity!  The president though as fit as fiddle according to his spin doctor, Ukuse  and what once to be called radio and television of the state, mouthpiece for the ruling party now, is in the UK for unnecessary overall examination for the tenth time or more while his fellow people are dying of curable diseases! In Somaliland, government exists for the benefit of the elites not vice versa as in the rest of the world. One to get rich, have to go to politics.

Apparently, one’s right varies based on one’s ethnic:  being a member of “Middle Tribe” the more rights one can have, being belonging to marginal border tribes, the fewer rights, however; Gabooye is beyond the scope of this discussion. As they are reduced to none! Where Islam in all these injustices? Where are mullahs who yell when Bosnian Muslim appears in TV asking for pancakes rather than rotten wheat flour given to African Muslim refugees? Sheikhs openly stated that they can’t combat this injustice but prefer to engage in superficiality, and trivialities unlike Christianity which elected Baraka Hussien Obama, Muslim-sounding name and namesake of Osama Bin Ladan, whose father came from Kenya only half century ago , a country many American white majority never heard of,  to be the president of the greatest country on earth.

The defections from intelligence to Puntland or to Somalia or even to militancy in Somaliland have been muted not to alarm security risks they pose to the community.

Some readers may say it is just one-man defection, but it is not, it has wider repercussions, this guy had not worked in a shop but in the most sensitive institution, Somaliland Defense Ministry as senior military commander traveled back and forth from Eastern to Central and to Western regions, so in his hands are valuable data.

Let us not repeat and apply gaffes and social injustices done to us to other people. Justice is the only thing that binds us all. Somaliland will fall apart sooner or later if injustices are wowed because it is done to others. Let boo at the people whose lives grown of injustices and wrongdoings. Allah does not like injustice. No matter how assertive you are to your rights but it should not overwrite others’ domain.I think my message is clear.