Farmajo’s presidency: A personal reflection

In less than two weeks, president Farmaajo’s term will come to an end. In this piece I will reflect on his presidency. Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo was elected as Somali President in 2017. Farmajo was very popular candidate during the campaign for presidency as he has drawn large support from the youth. The Somali youth played a very pivotal role in Farmajo’s election triumph in 2017. They showed up in large numbers at his rallies; they campaigned him on social media; and later on when the national parliament was convened to cast votes for the country’s next president youth parliamentarians voted for him overwhelmingly. One of the reasons that attracted the youth to Farmajo were the issues that he emphasized on.  He campaigned on issues that had such a resonance and particular appeal to the Somali youth: patriotism, restoring sovereignty, fighting Alshabab, ending pervasive corruption, and so on. He has portrayed himself as a savior for our ailing country. His campaign messages were captivating the youth’s collective imaginations as he taped and exploited their feelings towards the bad state of affairs in their country. His messages were simple to understand by large segments of the society as he didn’t talk about grand vision and lofty ideas to govern the country, but simple slogans and easily digested phrases such as sovereignty and patriotism. 

 

The members of the national parliament heard loud and clear the clamor of the public for change; and as a result, voted for Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo to be the next president of the Republic on 8th February 2017.  It seems that his team had a ready communication strategy to maintain their grass-root support that they have engendered during the campaign when they assumed the presidency. This strategy, if you can call it strategy in the first place, was to use the social media in order prop up Farmajo’s image, specially among the youth, and harass those they deemed that they were not enthusiastic about Farmajo and his rule. Right after his election as the eighth president of Somali Republic, multiple social media pages were created on Facebook and Twitter to reach to the youth. In order to utilize this new tool (SM) for their advantage in a new and unsettling ways, Villa Somalia recruited the most active people on social media. Many dubious accounts were created to attack anyone who criticize the government. These pages circulate mostly one single message as it seems distributed them by a single person with multiple accounts in order to create the impression that a lot of people are involved. These kind of tactics in the social media are known “bots.”

 

Farmajo has shown from get go that he intends to hang on power no matter what. To do that effectively he and his team developed a new culture that was not the custom: to isolate himself from public scrutiny through the free press. He refused to give interviews or address the public even when there was a national calamities such as the major terrorist attacks in the capital; or when his government rendered a former Somali National Army officer, Abdikarim Sh. Muse, to Ethiopia. These kinds of behavior were odd and counterproductive. Not only they were callous and cavalier attitudes to the feeling and the well-being of Somali people whom he swore an oath to look after their interests, but it was also a calculated political move in order to reduce his level of exposure and hide Farmajo’s inadequacy as public speaker. Deep down he and his team knew that maybe he was not apt to the job or he could be embarrassed if the media scrutinize him in a nationally televised setting. So, they have chosen a total and complete media blackout. This was a new low. All of his predecessors were accessible and  were somewhat accountable to the public since they were interacting with the media and forced to answer for their actions and policies. Farmajo was different. He was absent from anywhere that he thought would question him or try to hold him accountable whether it is the parliament, which he emasculated after he got rid of the recalcitrant and independent minded veteran speaker, Mohammed Sh, Osman Jawari. He never availed himself such kinds of public accountability through the free press. He opted not to talk to the public and the media. President Farmajo’s first year coincided with the Gulf crises when Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain cut ties with Qatar. The Somalia government has adopted a neutral position while some federal member states sided with other side, accusing the government it has sided with Qatar. The rift between the federal government and member states widened when FMS formed Council of Interstate Cooperation and suspended their ties with the federal government. Then Farmaajo started a campaign to overthrow the FMS presidents and replace them with loyalists. He succeeded to replace Xaaf of Galmudug, Sharif Hassan of South West  and Waare of Hiirshabeelle. President Ahmed Madobe of Jubbland is the only surviving regional head from Farmajo’s onslaught and Jubbaland paid dearly for refusing to yield Farmajo’s unconstitutional demands of total and undivided personal loyalty. Madobe survived this in large part due to Kenya’s support. This purge, if you will, gave Farmajo an opportunity to taint the image of federalism as a balkanization of the country and consolidate power. The Villa Somalia also tried to destabilize Puntland by organizing protests in major cities and turning the citizens against their government. They also sent money to some development committees,bypassing the government channels in order to undermine the Puntland’s governmental authority and sow division and mistrust among the Putlanders. 

 

They smartly exploited the clan grievances that is perennial among Somalis in order to  pressure FMS leaders. The first experiment of this kind of unsavory tactic was in Galmudug when they turned the former vice president who hailed from the president’s clan and the speaker of the assembly who is a member of the former prime minster’s clan against the Galmudug president, Mr. Haaf.They did the same thing in Puntland during president Gaas’s reign. They used vice president Abdihakim Amaey (Who was later awarded to ambassadorial job in Ethiopia) to do their bidding. Once again, they utilized clan divisions and secured the support of some clans who felt that they have been sidelined by the larger clans. 

 

Farmaajo masters the art of diversionary crisis. Whenever NN(Life and Peace) faces a problem, he use trolls to distract the people from government misdeeds. The Farmajo’s government allocates budget for these trolls on the social media on its behalf. These trolls or what Abdirahman A.Warsame called CBB(Cayayaanka Baraha Bulshada)not only harass those in the opposition and anybody they deem anti-NN or Farmajo; they also try to spread an imaginary and unfounded good news about development projects and major undertaking that Farmajo government is doing or building. It is a Soviet scale propaganda machine in the age of social media. “It’s the first time” became their slogan. They try to manipulate the public discourse with disinformation and fake accounts. They deploy trolls on Facebook and Twitter constantly. When the people see, they would believe that the government has many supporters. They monitor all the accounts of opposition leaders. They claim exclusive rights of patriotism and stamped others as “traitors”. To be fair the government did some small-scale projects by repairing and restoring some buildings and monuments in the capital that were destroyed in the Civil War such as the National Theatre, the Sayyid Mohammed’s statue and the Mogadishu Stadium. These modicum and symbolic gesture was billed nothing less as restoring the state itself while  the government doesn’t give priority to the bigger issues like security, social services, and job creation. Finally, Farmajo’s grandiosity his dictatorial tendencies is something that needs to be touched upon. Just like old military dictatorship days, the portrait of the president hangs on everywhere. His paid social media trolls sing his praise and personal glory on social media. You will be forgiven if this reminds you, “Guulwade Siyaad Aabihii Garashada Gayigayagow!”  Farmajo’s cult of personality has become a vivid and disturbing reminder of not so good old days.  His Mundus Operandi is either with us or against us, my way or the highway is off-putting, to say the least. His stormy tenure will be known to what it lacks: compromise and consensus, which is detrimental to the unity of the country.

HASSAN M. ABUKAR: A TRIBUTE

From Allah we come and to Him we return. Geeridu nimaanad garanayn iyo Geeljiray ku wacan tahay , is a Somali lamentation about death, which roughly translates, “The news of death is less painful if the passing is about an unknown person or a camel herder.” Life is a precious thing. We, humans, as we all know but conveniently forget, have a fleeting moment on this earth. 

All of us have a choice to make while kicking and munching while alive. Some choose to pass through life as what the American author and motivational speaker Les Brown called “lived but not used up” These categories of the living lived but never made their mark on this planet. They never shared themselves with the rest of humanity with their ingenuities, acumen, talent, leadership skills, or any other God-given attributes that they might have when they were walking among the living; while others lived every day of their life in the true sense of Mr. Brown’s dictum. In other words, they were “used up” when they were alive. We felt their presence. To say it another way, they were useful. They touched us while alive with their kindness, generosity, or contributed to humanity in so many beneficial ways. One of those “used up” people was a departed dear friend whom we lost a few days ago. 

On 5th January 2021, my friend and mentor, Hassan Mohamed Abukar, passed away in Phoenix, AZ. I read the news of his death on Facebook and still cannot process that he is no longer with us. He departed too soon from us when we badly needed his pen to hold those in power to account. Hassan was a decent, kind, and humble human being. Somalia has lost one of its finest, a giant and towering intellectual.

Hassan was born in Afgooye, 30 KM south of Mogadishu, in 1960. He moved to Mogadishu with his mother and sister in the 1960s and attended Macallin Jaamac elementary and intermediate School. In 1978, he graduated from Bendadir Secondary School. After graduating, he got a job at Somali Airlines and moved to Cairo, Egypt. In 1980, he went to the USA to pursue further education. He did his BA in Political Science and Government (1980-1985) and  MA in International Relations (1985-1986) at Ohio University. He did another MA in Political Science and Government (1986-1989) at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), where he also pursued his PhD.

Hassan started writing blogs in 2009 and became a widely read columnist and a regular contributor to Wardheernews.com, where he was also WardheerNews Editorial Board Member. He was a prolific writer, a master storyteller with a great sense of humour. He used to write on a wide range of issues, including Somali political and social issues. Hassan’s writing style was unmatched by any other Somali writer. His writing standout because of his wit, humor, simplicity, and clarity, and above all, speaking truth to power.

I always looked forward to his interesting articles that pushed the envelope with inimitable clarity, depth, and balance. He wrote numerous investigative pieces that irked corrupted politicians. He was not shy to name and shame and expose the corruption and mismanagement that crippled our country for decades. Hassan was a role model for many young aspiring writers. He supported young writers and helped many edits and proofread their writings. He was easily approachable and always ready to offer advice to anyone who approached him. He left many interesting articles and essays, but Mogadishu’s Memoir is his masterpiece. He recollects Mogadishu’s life in the 60s and 70s as a young man coming of age. I read the book two times and awed by his sharp memory of remembering people, places, and events. His plain, lucid middle-of-the-grade English was something that everybody, with those high degrees and those of us who learned English in one-room “private” schools back home, could understand. In other words, he had ways with words. His erudition was second to none.

Hassan was an urbane, sophisticated, and high-calibre intellectual but humble and down-to-earth person at the same time. He had that rare quality of putting people at ease. He did not radiate haughtiness and knows all attitudes that seem like the hallmark of the learned Somalis, especially those who spent many years in the diaspora with degrees to boot. His sense of humour was irresistible.

Through his writings, he preserved an important part of our history for the generations who never had the pleasure and the experience of living a peaceful and united Somalia. And also, to those who will come after us. For this, we owe him a great deal of gratitude. May Allah reward him with the highest Jannah.

He had involved in many voluntary and community works. When many Somalis fleeing the civil war settled in San Diego, he co-founded a non-profit organization that provides legal support and interpretation services to Somali immigrants. He was also instrumental in establishing the Somali North American Imams Association, and he later became the association's executive secretary.

I was introduced to him by his childhood friend through email in 2011, and since then, we have become close friends. We used to contact regularly through Email, Facebook, and what’s up. The last time I chatted with him was on 5th December 2020. I wish I could have said goodbye one last time. I met him in 2018 when he returned to the country after 30 years of absence. Villa Somalia offered him a speechwriter position, but some staffers who felt threatened refused to give him a chance to serve his country. He abruptly left Somalia and wrote a scathing piece on how things fall apart as he arrived in Mogadishu.

My meeting with Hassan was very brief and lasted a few hours. He returned a few months later to participate in the Mogadishu Book Fair. He gifted me a copy of his book  "Mogadishu Memoir ". He Autographed the book" to Abdirahman, a friend, and Abti". He used to call me Abti since his mom hails from Puntland, where I am also from.  After the book fair, he stayed behind, giving me a chance to have a good time with him. I enjoyed his company, and he gave me valuable writing advice. He informed me that he had finished a book on Somali families in the Diaspora and was planning to publish it.

Hassan also wanted to write a book on how Mogadishu fared over the last three decades. I’m grieved that his books wouldn’t see the light of day. For that and many other reasons, my eyes shed tears, and my heart is heavy for losing my dear friend and mentor. Brother Hassan, Rest in peace; you will be sorely missed by all those whose lives you have touched. My condolences to his children, Family, and friends, and the Somali people at large.

Puntland's Governance Crisis

Puntland is facing a myriad of challenges, while opportunities are abound as President Said Abdullahi Deni finishes his second year in office. A widespread protest against inflation broke out across Puntland cities;  this is a serious economic problem to the welfare of its citizens. The poor are bearing the brunt of the inflation and they are fed up.

The checks and balances are being eliminated when former speaker Abdihakin Dhoobe was unlawfully removed from his position, and a loyalist was installed. Last week, 8 MPs were stripped of their positions, after raising legitimate issues. The Parliament has lost its oversight and accountability role and has been reduced as a rubber stamp for the executive.

Some members of parliament put forward a motion to review the terms of Bosaaso port agreement. Then the speaker of the parliament refused to deliberate the issue on the house floor and announced that they leaved the port issue to the executive, abdicating their oversight responsibilities. The  UAE owned P&O maritime logistics company has been managing the port for 3 years and has not yet expanded the port as per the agreement.

Judiciary is under the direct control of the executive. The successive administrations refused to give the judiciary the independence it needs to exercise its authority. They used it for their political interests. The courts always rule in favor of the government. The citizens prefer to solve their problems through traditional methods because the judicial system is slow and corrupt.

The president has made some minor progress in democratization comparing to his predecessors. He has named the TPEC in his first year in office. The political associations were formed and the first municipality election was scheduled to occur in 2021. Nonetheless, much still remains to be done including public awareness, district demarcation, population census and creating the constitutional court.

Some people are casting doubt on the possibility of holding one person one vote election. They are pointing out, among other things, how dissenting voices are stifled and stamped as “NN agents- supporting the Federal Government.” How elections will be held if the judiciary is not independent and members of parliament who had raised legitimate issues were stripped of their positions?

President Deni has introduced a biometric registration for security forces as part of wider reform in the security sector. The biometric registration will help in eliminating ghost soldiers and sending soldiers’ salaries via  their bank accounts. The security forces are still clan-based  and need to be overhauled into national forces. The reform must also include improving the living conditions of the soldiers, strengthening their capacity, and modernizing their training, weapons, equipment and communications.

Civil service sector is Achilles heel of Puntland administration. it’s bloated and riddled with ghost workers, corruption and nepotism. Lack of competent and skilled personnel in the public sector is impeding the performance and service delivery of the public sector. Most civil servants are lacking the required skills and competencies for the civil service jobs. The government systems are manual and outdated. A lot of the staff have been working on the same role for so long. They developed special skills to survive under successive administrations. They resisted change and reform and their clan elders provide protection. The civil service doesn’t attract talent due to nepotism, cronyism, low wages and luck of professional development opportunities. The competent persons seek jobs in international NGOs and the UN. The president needs to instill new blood in the bureaucracy – with commitment to transparency, accountability, integrity and diligence. He should appoint a body with competent, honest, and fair-minded members. He should introduce a merit based system to improve the public-sector efficiency and productivity.

Puntland continues to fail to provide basic services to its citizens, such as clean water, education, and health care. The NGOs stepped up and filled the government role. The NGOs operate in remote and rural areas. They run parallel projects that weekend the state. Leaving the government services to the NGOs severs the link between the state and citizens. They NGOs should be forced to cooperate and work with the government systems.

Puntland advocates to the federal system but it fails to devolve power and resource to the local governments. The local government is the most important tier of the government to deliver basic services to the citizens. Puntland local governments lack administrative capacity, human and financial resources. The districts need to be equipped with the necessary resources to bring services closer to the citizens.

Public finance management is critical to the quality of the public service. President Deni should also work on improving in public finance and accountability systems. Public finance reforms will reduce corruption and improve service delivery. The PFM is also contingent on the donor budgetary support. In order to succeed in reforming the PFM, he must replace the underperforming minister of Finance and appoint a technocrat to deliver much needed reforms.

There are no public engagements to strengthen the government’s interaction with its citizens through increased public participation and input on its performance and public service delivery. The people need regular updates and adequate information on government priorities and programs. The faith in the government has been lost and it needs to be restored. The youth are feeling they have a stake in their country and demanding accountability and responsive government. President Deni’s inconsistent monthly speech to the public is not enough.

Thus, there is an urgent need to develop an effective communication strategy to engage and win the hearts and minds of the citizens.

Puntland successive presidents had adopted a strategy to shift the people from local concerns to the missteps of the federal government. President Deni has been elected for Puntland and he must focus and prioritize on Puntland problems. The culture of not holding the president to account must change. If the person doesn’t fear from accountability he/she will do whatever he/she wishes. The Puntland citizens, Political associations, the press and civil society groups must play their role in holding the government to account. Accountability will ensure a more transparent government which serves the interest of people and not just few individuals.

Institutional reform is not without its difficulties but it needs bold ideas, determination, and political will. It takes years to develop institutions but gradual steps should be taken to build it.

I would advise the president to set up strategies on human resource development and government institutions that includes delivery unit in his office to coordinate the government agencies and to monitor progress and timely fulfillment of his election promises.

President Denti still has 3 more years to deliver on his election promises; he must focus on leaving a remarkable, memorable legacy or history will not be kind to him.

State-Building: Governance and World Order in the 21st Century:A book Review

In State-Building: Governance and World Order in the 21st Century, Francis Fukuyama examines the dangerous threat posed by weak and failed states to world security; He prescribes state building as a solution to this threat. The book is based on a series of lectures he delivered at his alma mater, Cornel University. The book consists of three chapters. 

 

The first chapter discusses the missing dimensions of stateness. He argues that the lack of domestic demand is the biggest barrier to institutional development in developing countries. He adds that domestic demand often comes through crises and revolutions. He provides the Glorious Revolution that leads to the emergency of property rights in England as an example. He asserts that if there is no domestic demand, it should be generated by force or conditionality. The reform won't work if there is no will on the part of elites and politicians. The International NGOs take over the government functions and reduce the government's role to one of coordination.NGOs have more resources than governments and don't involve them in project planning and implementation. The Governments never take ownership of the projects run by the NGOs thus rendering the projects unsustainable. Due to a lack of opportunities, the local civil servants opt to work for NGOs.

 

He emphasizes the importance of strengthen over the size. The developing countries have big functions but lack the Institutional capacity to plan and execute policies. The push by Donors to narrow the size often lead to a decrease in both scope and strength. The structural adjustment gave neopatrimonial regimes an excuse to cut the basic services while increasing the size of neopatrimonial state. Narrowing the scope of the state and strengthening the capacity gained momentum after the fall of Soviet Union .The neoliberal economists gained the upper hand and their advices to reduce the size of the state were made stringent by IMF and the World Bank to the developing countries.

 

He notes that the absence of strong institutions led failure to implement economic liberalization properly.He questions the extent the knowledge is transferable from developed countries to developing countries. So far the donors have failed to transfer the knowledge to the third world. In some cases they made the situation worse. The capacity building projects in Africa caused the deterioration of institutions. 

 

He says "Almost every African country has witnessed a systemic retrogression in capacity in the last thirty years; the majority had better capacity at independence than they now possess.(p.53) .He stresses that the norms, values and culture affect the success or failure of institutions. He points out that the attitudes of elite is contingent on the success of institutions. The success of Japan , Korea , and Taiwan had roots in their traditions that extend centuries.

 

The second chapter discusses in great deal with organizational theory. He argues that organizational theory revolves around delegated discretion." The conundrum of organizational theory is that while efficiency requires the delegation of discretion in decision making and authority, the very act of delegation creates problems of control and supervision ". ( p.59). Fukuyama notes the intractability of creating formal system of monitoring and incentives in public sector.

 

He argues that public administration is more art than science." Most good solutions to public administration problems, while having certain common features of institutional design, will not be clear-cut "best practices "because they will have to incorporate a great deal of context-specific information .." ( p.58). He underscores that General knowledge of Public Administration should be combined with local knowledge, culture and norms. 

 

The final chapter examines the implications of weak and failed states on international security. He questions the suitability of the Westphalian system at a time many weak and failed states are posing a danger to International Security. He asserts that weak and failed states justify the erosion of the Westphalian sovereignty and territorial integrity. He says sovereignty can be breached if a country is killing its own people or posing a danger to international security. The intervening countries deliver humanitarian relief after the invasion but found it hard to build sustaining institutions after their withdrawal. However, he cites some successful examples of building durable institutions, such as the Indian Civil Service and the legal systems in Singapore and Hong Kong.

 

The book is very much theoretical and doesn't provide practical solutions to state building; I think that's where it falls short. However, it provides a good foundation for public administration students in the debates of the State Building. For everyone interested in a practical book, I would recommend reading "Fixing Failed States: A Framework for Rebuilding a Fractured World" by Ashraf Ghani and Clare Lockhart. It provides a practical framework for state building.

 

Some of the books I read in 2019

1. Things fall apart, Chinua Achebe.
   
2. A man of the people, Chinua Achebe.
   
3. From a crooked rib, Nuruddin Farah.
   
4. North of down, Nuruddin Farah.
   
5. Ignorance is the enemy of love, Faarax M. J. Caw.
   
6. The youth of god,Hassan Santur.
   
7. 21 lessons for the 21st century,Yuval Noah Harari.
   
8. The closing of the muslim mind, Robert R Reilly.
   
9. World Order, Henry Kissinger.
   
10. Ten arguments for delating your social media account right now, Jaron Lanier.
    
11. The post American world,Fareed Zakaria.
    
12. Why nations fail, Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson.
    
13. Somalia: The missed opportunities, Mohamed Sahnoun.
    
14. Somalia:State collapse and the threat of terrorism, Kenneth menkhaus.
    
15. Mogadishu memoir,Hassan Abukar.
    
16. Identity: The Demand for Dignity and the Politics of Resentment,Francis Fukuyama
17.  The real politics of the horn of Africa, Alex de Waal.
18. Call me American, Abdi Nuur Iftin.
19. Out Of America: A Black Man Confronts Africa, Keith Richburg.
20. Dead Aid, Dambisa Moyo.
21. The World as it is, Ben Rhodes.
22. In the Name of Our Fathers, Abdirizaq Y. Osman.
23. Everything you have told me is true, Mary Harper.
24. No longer at ease, Chinua Achebe.
25. Qab iyo Quursi,Abdi Farah Said.
26. Maanafay,Mohamed Dahir Afrah.
27. Rich dad poor dad, Robert Kiyosak.
28. Development Theroies, John Rapley.
29. State-Building: Governance and World Order in the 21st Century, Francis Fukuyama. 
30. An African Miracle: State and Class Leadership and Colonial Legacy in Botswana Development,Abdi Samatar.
31. Exit West, Mohsin Hamid.
32.  The Israel Lobby and U.S Foreign Policy, John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt.

Macallin Bilaal:A Tribute

Across all ages, teachers have played a critical role in the development of children and youth. It is undoubtedly a timeless relationship that has emerged with human civilisation. And on a personal level, I, too, credit much of the growth I've undergone academically and as a contributing member of society to a remarkable teacher. My recollections are littered with fond memories of my first teacher, Bilaal Caad, who taught me how to read and write. He was a great teacher and mentor to many. 

I started at his Quranic school — Dugsiga Macallin Bilaal —  at the tender age of three, when there were few opportunities besides religious institutions for children to get educated. Growing up in the small town of Burtinle, where the Somalia-Ethiopia borders meet in the northern part of the Somali peninsula, I used to be told that there weren't even that many Quranic schools operating in my hometown back in the mid-90s. In fact, there were only two, and Macalin Bilaal's school had the highest enrolment rate. 

I was also told that Bilaal Caad settled in Burtinle merely a few years after Somalia's devastating civil war outbreak. At that time, a well-organised Sufi group dominated the town's Quranic education sector. So it was perhaps natural that they initially perceived him as a threat to their monopoly position in vying for students. And as a result of this feud, his first school was set on fire, most likely because they wanted to deter him from continuing to compete with them over students. 

Some voices of that time, who witnessed the bickering first hand, said that much of the hostility had sectarian undertones as Macalin Bilaal was of Salafi persuasion, while his adversaries were members of Sufi groupings. Yet, in the end, Macalin Bilaal's steadfastness prevailed, permitting him to move his school into an even bigger building than the one they've burned to the ground. 

To me, his unique sense of humour distinguished him from the archetypical Quranic teacher in Somalia. Not only was Macalin Bilaal's habit of giving funny names to all of his students — which he somehow managed to remember —  but also because he successfully combined likeable humour with discipline, something his adversaries couldn't pull off.

Beyond his outstanding qualities as a teacher, he also showed great interest in philanthropic causes such as fundraisers for the poor, Iftar dinners that he hosted at his private residence during Ramadan and drought relief projects. Macallin Bilaal stood up for all kinds of good causes. He simply spared no effort from facilitating scholarship opportunities abroad to supporting orphan centres across Puntland. Today his former students include doctors, engineers, lawyers and clerics who reside on all parts of planet earth, fondly remembering their beloved teacher.

By God, I do not know of any individual I've ever met who's more deserving of being taken as a role model than Macallin Bilaal. In this post, I wanted to celebrate and honour his legacy and express my deep gratitude and admiration so that I may tread his path and follow in his footsteps one day. May the Almighty bless our teachers!

BOOKS I READ IN 2018

1.Mogadishu Memoir, Hassan Abukar.

2. Governance: The Scourge and Hope of Somalia,Ali Ismail Ismail.

3. Abdirazak Haji Hussein: My Role in the Foundation of the Somali Nation-State, A Political Memoir. Abdirazak  Haji Hussein(Edited by Abdusalm Salwe)

4.Dead Aid, Dambisa Moyo

5.Representations of the intellectual, Edward Said.

6. The lions biding oath and other stories, Ahmed Ismail Yusuf

7. Understanding the Somalia. Conflagration: Identity, Islam and Peacebuilding.

,Afyare Abdi Elm

8.IT takes a school, Jonathan Starr.

9. War Crimes: How Warlords, Politicians, Foreign Governments and Aid Agencies Conspired to Create a Failed State in Somalia, Rasna Warah.

10. In Defense of a Liberal Education, Fareed Zakaria

11. The Impossible State: Islam, Politics, and Modernity's Moral Predicament, Wael Hallaq.

12.Somalia: A short fiction, Martin R. Ganzglass 

13. The Quest for Meaning: Developing a Philosophy of Pluralism, Tariq Ramadan

14.Among the Somalis, Ingeborg Vardøen

15.Animal Farm, George Orwell

16. The Road to Zero: Somalia's Self-Destruction. Mohamed Osman Omar

17. Fire and Ashes: Success and Failure in Pol itics,Michael Ignatieff

18.Himiladaada Hano, Maxamad Ismaaciil Maxamad ( Siibad)

19.The prince,  Niccolò Machiavelli

20.The art of war, Sun Tzu

21.The 48 laws of power, Robert Greene

22.Inside Al-Shabaab: The Secret History of Al-Qaeda’s Most Powerful Ally,

Dan Joseph and Harun Maruf

23.On Writing Well, William Zinsser

24. How to Read a Book,Mortimer J. Adler
25. From Wealth to Power: The Unusual Origins of America's World Role, Fareed Zakaria.

Puntland Elections: Thoughts and Expectations

Puntland has successfully held its fifth presidential election and a new president and vice president were elected on 8th January, 2019. Said Abdullah Deni, a successful businessman and former federal planning minister, was elected president while former minster Ahmed Elmi Osman was elected as vice president.

Garowe was bustling during the election season as many people from other cities and abroad came to campaign for their respected candidates. The restaurants, café houses, and shopping centers greatly benefited from the election fever. All the hotels were booked and even the houses were used as inns to accommodate the influx of people.

This election was different from the previews ones as it looked as though it was one-person one vote event. The candidates toured in most of the regions and received a warm welcome in every city they visited. 

The top presidential candidates also, for the first time, presented their written political manifesto to the public so the citizen can hold them to account.

The youth played an integral part in this election as they were campaigning for their candidates on social media. The youth have shown that they are ready to actively participate in the political process.

Civil society groups have actively engaged with traditional elders to select/elect MPs based on integrity and not to choose based on money. They have also called for holding free and fair election. Traditional elders met with vetting committee to ensure the process to be fair and transparent.

The candidates for state parliament spent thousands of dollars to get elected and presidential candidates spent millions of dollars in campaigning, making this election the most expensive one in Puntland’s history.

On the night of the election, a huge amount of money change hands as many MPs took bribes from different candidates.

Even though many MPs took a chunk of money, corruption was not the only determining factor for victory because the candidates who paid most of the money lost in the first round of the election.

Surprisingly, the incumbent, former President Abdiweli Gaas, sought reelection only to lose in the first round. His defeat reinforced the notion that Somali incumbents never win a second term.

The federal government backed a candidate who had the distinction of spending millions of dollars—the most in the campaign—but strangely exited in the first round. This candidate was rebuffed by the MPs as he was seen as a liability due to his dubious connections with Mogadishu.

What we should expect from the new Administration

The new president is inheriting worsening security and crippling economy from his predecessor. The security situation in Bosaaso has been deteriorating for the last one year. Al-Shabab used to carry out targeted assasnations in the past and now ISIS started a similar terror campaign. ISIS and Al-Shabab take extortion money from business people in Bosaaso and those who refuse are killed. The two terror groups have bases in the Bari Region and pose an existential threat to the people and the government of Puntland and they ought to be dealt urgently.

The new president needs to re-organize security forces that were neglected by successive governments. The security forces are still clan-based and need to be overhauled into national forces. They should get training, equipment and regular salaries so they can efficiently do their duties of safeguarding Puntland.

The president needs to instill new blood in the bureaucracy - with commitment to integrity and diligence. The previous parliament disbanded the Civil Service Commission—a hotbed for incompetence, corruption and favoritism—and appoint a body with competent, honest, and fair-minded members.

President Deni should also improve public financial management and curb rampant corruption, mediocrity and favoritism that were the hallmark of the past regimes. He should develop new development projects as well complete outstanding projects, such as the Ceeldaahri-Ceerigaabo road, Garowe-Galkacayo road, which stopped due to corruption, and finally the Garacad Port.

The relationship between the federal government and Puntland was not good and Deni should work with Mogadishu on finding a viable solution for ending the ongoing spat. He should de-escalate political confrontations between Puntland and the federal government and enhance collaboration; a working relationship based on respecting the constitution.

The clan-based election system has proved to be disastrous because it always leads to polarization, animosity between clans, and the emergence a new crop of elders bent on carving their own niche. The new president must start democratization process in his first year and not wait until the last years of his term as his predecessors did.

The president should set a timeline for his seven goals that he pledged during his campaign and prioritize its implementation.

Finally, I would advise the new president to avoid any interest group that want to hijack his government and tarnish his image. The president has a five-year term and probably he will not get re-elected for a second term and therefore he should focus on leaving a remarkable, memorable legacy.

The nagging question is whether the new president will honor his campaign pledges or renege and, hence, follow the footsteps of previous regimes, which were notorious for corruption, nepotism, favoritism and unfulfilled promises. Only Time will tell!

Abdirahman Issa

Cadced99@gmail.com