His arrogance, vitriolic rhetoric and bullying tactics have completely paralyzed the movement towards peace. Shocked and disillusioned, many are dismayed as they watch helplessly the undoing of their long awaited dreams. It is hard to comprehend why elderly Somalis, negotiating in good faith, fail to reach an agreement forgiving each other and ending hostilities.
Something has gone awfully wrong and all the fingers are pointing in the direction of the President. Blinded by the pursuit of supreme power, unmoved by the suffering of his people, ignorant to the political realities on the ground and mute to the calls for reason and moderation, he has become everything that a Somali President should not be in these tumultuous times. It is now clear that he never really intended to go to Mogadishu, secure or insecure, until he garnered enough fire and manpower to silence every conceivable opposition to his rule. Perhaps this explains his strange, servile disposition towards Zenawi, the Prime Minister of Ethiopia. It also exposes the true objectives of convening the extraordinary parliamentary session on May 12, 2005, with less than the required quorum, on the eve of the Prime Minister’s departure to Addis Ababa and the African Union’s endorsement of sending foreign troops to Somalia. This act was a flagrant violation of the interim charter. It could jeopardize the pillars of the constitution and the legitimacy of his administration. If the President could deprive Parliament of its legislative powers, or openly threaten the Speaker to throw him into the depths of Wardheer wells, one can only contemplate what would follow once foreign troops "assist" him in getting a foothold inside the country.
Apart from its selection of Mr. A.Y. Ahmed as President, the biggest blunder Parliament committed was endorsing his candidate for Prime Minister’s. Mr. Geeddi gained the premiership when Mr. Mohamed Dhere, the strongman of Middle Shabelle armed and groomed by Ethiopia and a staunch political ally of the President, vacated his parliamentary post. In the present day Somali polity, fathers slay their sons to win a seat and do not voluntarily vacate a post for a fellow clan member. So what has Mr. Geeddi promised in return and what was the real deal and price? Whatever it was, it had a crippling effect on the Prime Minister’s ability to execute his duties independently, turning Parliament into a market where strongmen exchange positions in return for favors and monetary rewards. As a result, the Prime Minister failed to win over opposition politicians and to create a stable, viable democracy. During his last trip to Mogadishu, he was in the capital for 9 days without sitting even once with the most powerful men in the opposition, simply because he did not have the nod from his boss in Nairobi. Mr. Geeddi put Somalia in a very difficult position. He must extricate himself from this dilemma.
To repair the damage and achieve meaningful reconciliation, Somalia needs a visionary president, untainted by political ambition and driven solely by a sense of duty, patriotism and love for his people.
Note: No improvement in the political or security situation in Somalia can be expected for a long period.
