Muuse Yusuf
While surfing the net, I came across an essay by an Iqbal Jhazabhay, a South African of an Indian descent who advocates for the dismemberment of
“Somaliland should be let to go its way, for it has resources to sustain itself. The situation in
First of all, the lecturer fails to mention the source of the interview and does not footnote it. In fact, in the entirety of the essay the only time that he mentions Mr Mazrui’s work is when he footnotes an unpublished paper, which he attributes to the author. Secondly the statements seem to be contradictory. Close analysis of the statements reveal that one part purports a secession idea, while another part clearly asserts the inevitability of “Somali+land” as part and parcel of a greater or a larger
It may well be that when Mr Ali Mazrui said those statements they were in the context of the huge debate about modern state structure vs. societies in developing countries, particularly African societies, and how the structure might sometimes be in conflict with their traditional ways of life and governance. Here is another statement by Mr Mazrui, which may illustrate the author’s point:
“Before colonialism, they came from a culture of minimum governments not minimum rules, they had rules but minimum rulers and then the colonial system started this institutionalized government and the idea of having rulers rather than just rules of conduct. And our brothers and sisters in
In others words, the Somali society like many other societies are still trying to come to terms with the imposition of modern state structure and its requirements, which may well be against their traditional ways of governance, i.e. yes there are many rules to adhere (xeerar) but there are no definite rulers or a centralised authority and the mechanism that are required in the modern world in order to enforce law and order and to deliver socio-economic goods to a modern society. In this context, after the collapse of the central government, Somalis either in the north or the south are in a search of other forms or best ways of governance, that is whether to govern themselves through a centralised authority (for instance as Federal Somali States), or whether to remain as tribes and stateless as they did before the imposition of the centralised state system, as they continue to do so since 1991. So it is not clear where Mr Mazrui stands about the secession or union debate. However, having visited Mr Mazrui’s website www.alimazrui.com and having briefly skimmed through some of his publications and his curriculum vitae, it is quite difficult to believe that such an authority, a member of the Pan-African Advisory Council to UNICEF (The United Nations’ Children’s Fund) [3] and who seems to be inclined towards the pan-African ideology – unity among African societies and even the black people worldwide, would support the notion of a secession, and would not promote the idea of greater union not only among Somalis but also among the peoples of Africa, whose tribes had been divided by the colonial powers. I say this in the framework of the current world politics and international relations in which major economic and political unions and blocks such as the European Union (EU) are being created by the unitary states in their struggle for survival and their effort in delivering socio-economic goods to their societies in a world where even the existence of unitary states in some developing or even developed countries are under threat by globalisation led by multinationals and corporations.
Although it has been trying to go it alone for over a decade now, it seems that the secessionist ideologue failed its goal maybe because some unionist communities in the north – despite “referendums” etc – are still questioning whether they would be better off staying as clans within that region and then join their brethren in the South in a negotiated union; and they are questioning the wisdom to subscribe to a notion that is called “Somali+land” which even, if recognised as an independent entity, might not work. In other words they maybe asking themselves questions like: who is to say and guarantee that the current “alliance” of clans – which is more or less something that has been spearheaded by the secessionist ideologue – will not disintegrate into mini clans once the real-politics of maintaining a modern state structure and making it work in a tribal society creeps in, and when not only clan-families or clans but even smaller lineages begin to vie for socio-economics benefits and advantages of the new entity? When the honey-moon of the “struggle for independence or the restoration of sovereignty” elapses, and questions like which lineage should get presidency or ministerial posts is asked, who is to say that the new body – which is more or less a concoction of clans – would not disintegrate into warring fiefdoms of lineages and would not crumble under the divisive clan politics – “reer hebel madaxweyne ma noqon karaan oo mana xukumi karaan” (that clan cannot dominate or govern us). So maybe those unionist communities in the north with all those anxieties about an uncertain future, would prefer to remain in the union with their brethren in the south and try to make it work but this time in a negotiated union with loose federal structure rather than risking or entertaining a new adventure and untested idea of a “Somali+land” that might never work.
The international community with its full knowledge of the fragility and the fluidity of clan and tribal alliances and politics in post-colonial Africa, and as it is aware of the current situation in which failing or failed states like Somalia, Burundi, Rwanda, Congo, Sudan, Angola etc had disintegrated into tribes, has so far been prudent not to recognise the breakaway region. This is because first of all no state would want to be the first to be blamed for the dismemberment of the territorial integrity of a member state whose territorial integrity is guaranteed under the international law. Secondly, the international community is not satisfied that the current clan-alliances created by the secessionist ideologue and opposed by unionist communities will not crumble under the pressure of the demands of a modern state structure in a tribal society. It is worth mentioning that if the current clan “alliances” in the north survived in the past 14 years or so and maintained some kind of peace and normality, which is one of Mr Jhazabhay’s main arguments for secession, it is also true to say that the Somali Republic – the union between the North and South, although not perfect, had survived for 30 years, and the union although not perfect enjoyed peace and stability with a multi party system in the first decade of its existence. Therefore current political dynamics may not guarantee against future fallibility and fallouts
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Race: Black Figure 1: Homogenous and united for ever |
In his essay, Mr Jhazbahay understandably tries to belittle the importance of the union in 1960. Although he quite rightly accepts the historical fact of the union, unlike some secessionist ideologues who deny the union or try to discredit it, he is quick to come to the conclusion that the south dominated the union, and this caused great suffering to the peoples of the north, which led to the north’s decision to revoke the union. Mr Iqbal Jhazabhay, for a bit of enlightenment, the union was born out of a great vision of great leaders who could see the possibility of uniting all Somalis-who existed as a nation before the colonisation-in a modern state structure that includes all Somalis regions. For his information, the star sitting in the middle of the blue coloured flag was adopted as a symbol of unity of all Somalis. The union was achieved in a historical moment in which leaders in the north and the south had secured a well-deserved independence from the colonial powers, which divided the Somali people.
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Race: African/Black; white, coloured; Indian/Asian Figure 2: Diverse and united |
As he is out with the might of his intellect and knowledge to destroy
Mr Jhazabhay, if he already do not know, the Somali nation has one of the most homogeneous societies in Africa unlike the Republic of South Africa, which has one of the ethnically and racially diverse and complex societies in the world (see the pictures if he needs to compare the two nations). So if his country with its diversity and complexity is indivisible and is united as one, sovereign and democratic state as his country’s constitution guarantees, so is the I will not comment on the rest of the ill-founded essay as it is an attempt to discredit the great works of President Ismail Geelle; the scholar’s comments about the failures of the current Transitional Government, which is something I would probably agree with; his unsuccessful portrayal of the “Somali+land” as acting as sovereign state, and his intention to undermine international laws regarding the territorial integrity of member states, without first of all carefully and intellectually analysing the complexity of the historical development of these laws like the Charter of African Union (AU) which guarantee the territorial integrity of all its member states including Somalia. On an ending note, the scholar quite rightly mentioned in his essay that the military regime had used South African mercenaries (calooshood u shaqeystayaal) and agents to destroy beautiful cities like Hargeysa. Let us hope and pray that history will not repeat itself and that some agents including intellectuals of the scholar’s country would not be used as a tool to dismantle the foundation of our beloved nation. I also hope that statements by authors and scholars will not be quoted out of context and their works will be fully acknowledged and footnoted! End Muuse Yuusuf
[1] http://www.iss.co.za/pubs/ASR/12No4/EJhazbhay.html
[2] “The Hidden Conspiracy to Balkanize
[3] http://www.alimazrui.com/
[4] The indigenous Xhosa culture associates the rainbow with hope and bright future (see www. wikipedia.com)
[5] Jacaranda is a neotropical genus in the family Bignoniaceae. Its members range in size from subshrubs to large trees (see www.wikipedia.com)
[6] Mimosa is a genus of about 400 species of herbs and shrubs, in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the legume family Fabaceae, with evenly bipinnate leaves (see www.wikipedia.com)
[7] www. wikipedia.com
[8] www.polity.org.za/govdocs/constitution/saconst.html