Siilanyo, Somaliland and the politics of the belly
Ibrahim Mead
Ottawa, Canada
What causes a state to fail?
When a state fails to secure the legitimate use of
physical force with in its borders it could be said to
“fail”, When this is broken according to philosopher Max
Weber (e.g. through the dominant presence of warlords,
paramilitary groups, or terrorism), the very existence
of the state becomes uncertain, and the state becomes a
failed state.”
“Typically, the term means that the state has been
rendered ineffective and is not able to enforce its laws
uniformly because of (variously), extreme political
corruption, an impene trable and ineffective bureaucracy,
judicial ineffectiveness,, and cultural situations in
which traditional leaders wield more power than the
state over a certain area, endemic corrupti on or
profiteering by ruling elites and resistance to
transparency, accountability and polit ical
representation.
Includes any widespread loss of popular confidence in
state institutions (like the two hou ses of congress,
presidency and judiciary”) Do we smell some thing here!?
Has Siilanyo’s Somaliland entered into that zone?
“Chose the right” that is what our religion and all
other religions of mankind advice us to do. “Chose the
wrong” that is what the wicked Soul tells to some
people. It is a choice between the right and the wrong.
Mr. Siilanyo unfortunately chose the wrong! He could
Flip it if so he may want
President Siilanyo and his administration refused to
respond to the Moral foundations of the 2nd Republic of
Somaliland! They refused to uphold the hopes and the
aspirations of the people of Somaliland! They stampeded
the principles and what Somaliland stands for! They
compromised the dignity and the integrity of the country
and its people all in exchange of monetary benefits that
fits in their pockets and the brockets of their friends!
They refused to follow the manifesto of the Kulmiye
party we formulated to run for it, and we ran for it and
the people responded to that and gave us their vote over
others because of this party program.
The manifesto which Mr. Siilanyo threw away upon
announcement of his win was the one the people voted for
it and it was the one which gave us the victory over
UDUB party. Once he trashed that program, then he is
morally bound to give back the voters their vote! Under
‘the evolution of Siilanyoism’ the Kulmiye people were
betrayed forthwith and by extension the nation at large!
Mr. Siilanyo even refused to follow Allah’s way of
“Haljazaaul ixsaani illal ixsaan” Instead, he
immediately embraced the immoral and destructive
politics of the belly
‘la Politique du Ventre’ Politics of the Belly:
“The Politics of the Belly is a multi faceted metaphor
for a form of governance that arose across Africa
following independence. Characterized by a controlling
government and the interdependence of the elite in
control of the private and public spheres, actors on
both sides use their status to strengthen their economic
and political power The Politics of the belly is a
translation of the French: "Politique du Ventre, an
expression coined by Cameroonians and borrowed by
Jean-François Bayart in his 1989 book: L'etat en Afrique:
La Politique du Ventre”
A ‘belly’ oriented governance is distinguish by
practicing the politics of the ‘Belly’ by whimsical
policy making, unaccountability, unenforced or unjust
legal system, the abuse of the executive power, a civil
society unengaged in public life and wide spread
corruption which made part of their culture! And worst
still a government instead of correcting them selves and
their deeds to the best of her ability denies that truth
and yet insisting doing it as a way of life while at the
same time they say that they “didn’t do it!”
The ‘politics of the belly’, as defined above is a
“predatory pursuit, or dash for stealing of wealth and
power. That, as a method of governance,”
The predatory nature of Siilanyo’s administration,
generates incentives for government Ministers and others
to ‘eat’ from the resources of the state. In this
fashion, the invasion of ever-wider spheres of economic
activity by formal and informal political networks leads
to the ‘criminalization of the state’. State becomes
criminal of her actions in this case!
In democratic, legitimate governments the head of states
are the servants and the people are the owners of the
government which the government manages on their
behalves and supposedly do so in the right way.
People are in charge and governors are the servants of
the people. They are also on contr act. When their
performance is unsatisfactorily shocking they ought to
go and elected oth ers ought to replace them. That is
what we expect from a free and a democratic governme nt,
we claim we are, but we are not there. Here people are
not in charge of any thing. They are the servants of
governing clique. They are the cash cow! Their rights
are denied by an y tantrum Minister People are treated as
owned!
When the government is corrupt, and arrogant then that
government loses legitimacy. When that happens then it
loses the moral authority to govern. It got to change it
self or be changed, but sillanyo’s government acts and
lives and even threatens the descending voices that they
have the gun and the cash and they don’t care the rest
of it!
Another model of the ‘politics of the belly’ is the idea
that the leaders created incentives for them selves to
use “disorder as a political instrument This refers to
the process by which political actors in Africa seek to
maximize their returns on the state of confusion,
uncertainty and sometimes even chaos which characterizes
most African politics. The use and creation of
personalized informal patron-client networks is central
to their argument.”
Such immoral, arrogant and ignorant functionaries in
Siilanyo’s government may resort to use this model if
and when ever they see it fit in their greediness and
that is a bad news for the stability of the whole
region. That is becoming Somalia and the world is fed up
of one Somalia and can not entertain another one!
Somalia already practiced this model!
.Siilanyo administration exhibited that they have
predatory and distributional (handing out the public
money to families and friends) aims as opposed to
developmental ones. They neglected the democratic based
political processes but instead appropriated unlimited
power to them selves! They corrupted the legislators as
well as the “Guurti” If they don’t change their
deceptive policy and unguided behavior which they could
Somaliaize Somaliland and the two ‘Amigos’ will meet in
a Ugandan tent! Or most likely in mansions over seas and
in the end in dark holes where they will meet their
deeds
That ‘belly’ politics will put Somaliland to a breakdown
and, then disorder will descend until we become like
Somalia.(God for bid) That is where Siilanyo and Sharef
or who ever inherits Awo Sharef will meet!
A failed state would endanger their own citizens and
terrorize their neighbours by importi ng refugees,
political instability and random warfare’ Somalia is
already doing it!
The far-reaching more pervasive and all out corruption,
greater economic crises, with a larger breakdown of
political institutions is another way states fail.
It is these regimes that give credibility to Bayart’s
notion of (politics of the belly)
Siilany o’s government acts and conducts business as
though the government is their own store and the people
do not own the government and the people has nothing to
do with what t he government does! The fact is that the
people are the only legitimate owners of the go vernment,
but that legitimacy is not there in Siilanyo’s
administration! By name we are dem ocratic; in real live
we are not. Siilanyo acts as a tin pot dictator and
uncaring guy
When the government lacks the fundamental requirements
of acceptable level of good gov ernance, when it lacks
the political renewal by her own actions or inactions or
reactions, when they practice the politics of the
‘Belly’ that government is Mr. Siilanyo’s government!
That government lost the moral authority to govern their
victims! There is no legitimacy for a rotten government.
They got to change themselves or be changed! Peace and
prayers for the Mother
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