By A. M. Salad
Many of us have given the Transitional Federal Government the benefit of the doubt, given the difficulties that our nation faces, that it will bring back a semblance of national government and a sense of normalcy. But the performance of the government has been abysmal since its inception in 2004. It was unable to relocate itself to Mogadishu, the capital, fearing for its survival from its own members (four of the warlords that controlled Mogadishu until the Islamic Union Courts dislodged them were TFG cabinet ministers) let alone undertake any tangible steps to rehabilitate the nation. And Instead of embarking on national reconciliation—though the task was enormous—they chose to employ divisive strategies and inflammatory language that the country was full of “terrorists.”
Moreover, after the warlords were humiliated at the hands of the IUC, the TFG, instead of distancing itself, welcomed the disgraced goons one by one. What is difficult to comprehend here is the schizophrenic attitude exhibited by the TFG: at one point it distanced itself from the warlords and signaled its willingness to enter talks with the IUC and then took a 360 turn after the first meeting. It seems as though some one is controlling it through a remote control from afar. And indeed there is ample evidence that Ethiopia, not the TFG, is the one running the show.
The leadership of the TFG, simplistically, hoped that foreign troops would come to its aid, in particular those from Ethiopia and stabilize the nation on its behalf. This line of reasoning is preposterous. Governments pursue their self-interest and when Ethiopian troops and the likes come (some are already in) to our shores, surely, they must have their own agendas in mind. The truth of the matter is that Ethiopia and whomever it is colluding with in this project must have a clear goal towards our nation—to make sure that Somalia continues in perpetual chaos.
That is why it wants to resuscitate its defeated and disgraced friends at any cost; that is why it stands shoulder to shoulder with the TFG in Baidoa; because it sees in the TFG a prototype of its vision for Somalia; and precisely because it is led by a group of warlords whom it nurtured and knows all too well will not confront its agenda but will complement.
It appears now that the Somali people, who were fed up already, and rightly so, with the constant antics of the TFG, did not take lightly the false accusations leveled at their country by their supposedly government. But the last straw came when the TFG accepted, or invited, without hesitation Ethiopian troops to help protect it from what it sees as the bogeyman, its own citizens.
Most Somalis knew that the TFG was propped up by Ethiopia for quite sometime. However, what is most astonishing to many is the TFG’s lack of understanding of the gravity of its actions. It is not clear whether it acquiesced an offer from Ethiopia or whether it explicitly asked for help. It is immaterial whether they initiated or not. Ethiopian troops are present in Somalia. And Somalis, everywhere saw this as an act of aggression by Ethiopia and a colossal mistake by the TFG.
It is not If, but a matter of when this incompetent warlord-led government will fall. It is now on the cusp of total collapse not because of military threat from anyone but because it failed to deliver anything for Somalia. The steady exodus of its ministers is a sure sign of its demise. Frankly speaking, if and when the TFG bites the dust, which appears to be imminent, no one will shed tears save the people who constructed it in the first place.
Whatever our political differences may be or however intractable they may seem, they are minute, and can be solved, in comparison with the larger threat that we face. Our struggle now is one of pure survival. We are caught in between an indifferent international community, thoughtless and mindless warlords and neighboring countries that would rather see us cease to exist. In this context, therefore, we cannot realize sustained peace, stability and multi dimensional progress unless we let our best and brightest at the core of our nation’s leadership. That should be the new preoccupation for all Somalia’s citizens.
A.M. Salad
E-mail: am_sld@yahoo.com
| The opinions contained in this article are solely those of the writer, and in no way, form or shape represent the editorial opinions of “Hiiraan Online” |
