There are obvious reasons for political crises and stalemates in the country. But the main culprit is about not learning from the Somali character by both unsophisticated, unlearned native politicians, and diplomats of our International Partners. The Somali man responds negatively to threats and coercion. Historically, any meaningful collective act was attained through negotiations and consensus-building. No amount of marginalization and deprivation would compel this man to bend to servitude by another human being. To earn his goodwill, one has to recognize him as equal with full dignity. This is a fundamental truth about Somali anthropology. Read the experts on the issue – Sayyid Mohammed Abdulle Hassan, Abdi Sheikh Abdi, Richard Burton, I. M. Lewis, B W. Andrewiezky, Enrico Cerulli, among quite a few more.
Moreover, what complicated Somali political impasse further is the most ignored fact that Somalis went the wrong way to national reconciliation process, following a vicious civil war – a topic still considered a taboo. That means we are still in self-denial and no system or remedy is in place to right a wrong. Think about people’s trust-level in national or shared public institutions.
Enacting or rushing legislative bills through known corrupt parliament without proper consultations and public debates wouldn’t bring Somalis together. States would fight against what they perceive as centralist policies and dictatorial power grab. If you assume that Somalia has had an accepted Central Authorty, you have already missed the point.
Finally, Somalia’s Achilles Heels are Alshabab, ISIS, other extremists, and economic and financial cartels. But, worse than Alshabab is the epidemic of corruption, diseases and ignorance.
In the meantime, our International Partners would continue to urge for dialogue to resolve disputes. But, until the contentious issues are studied and properly addressed, we will go on doing business as usual. Thus, we shall all risk losing Somalia again. It is time to get real and serious about continued and potential survival of this nation