Hargeisa– The gesture of our present and past leaders to come together several times for consultative meetings for the good of the nation to forge ahead in togetherness is truly a rare act of nobility and wisdom depicted by the leadership of the country, unseen elsewhere in developing countries.
This solidarity and national unity of our leaders is a proud trait that we are proud of. It is what we stand for compared to many neighboring countries bordering #Somaliland.
In comparison to the leaders bordering us, most of them have bad blood mainly amongst themselves due to the fact that they are remote controlled and puppeteers of foreign nations hence sing at whims to their tunes.
Similarly some of them are also opposed to the rule of free and fair universal suffrage, hence clinging to power for decades through totalitarian means, blocking the new generation from political leadership and shutting them out.
Somaliland is a country whose populaces are extroverts and naturally openly charismatic hence embrace positive changes towards progressive values, a legacy the nation acquired through the aspirations of self determination and perseverance through struggles dotting the country’s history.
35 years after the Republic of Somaliland re-asserted its independence, first earned from Great Britain on the 26th of June 1960, the nation has just had its sixth president and the democratic processes and practical exercises perfected and working better than most of all developing countries the world over.
May God shower his mercy on the late Ibrahim Maygaag Samatar, who was asked in the early nineties about the political conflicts within Somaliland, and wisely said, “In the days before the SNM, the radio stations used to ask us if there was ‘a conflict within us’ and we would say, “Discussions and divergent views are what that propels us to reconcile.” In other words he meant “disagreeing to agree is in our culture”
I salute President Abdirahman Irro’s noble gesture that is full of wisdom for having held consultative meetings with his predecessors at for least four times even before completing the first 100 days of his term since he assumed the Presidency.
The same acknowledgement of nobility goes to both the 3rd and 5th Somaliland presidents Messrs Dahir Rayale Kahin and Musa Bihi Abdi for heeding the calls for consultative tête-à-têtes as the incumbent Head of State in the concerted efforts of collectively pondering over priority national issues on the socio-economical and political aspects concerned.
This is indeed a noble tradition full of wisdom that needs to be maintained.
The transformation of power and the addressing of conflicts locally without foreign interference are principles that are homegrown and traditional to Somaliland ought to be emulated.
This article has been loosely translated into English by M.A. Egge.