Ibrahim Mead Ottawa, Canada Has the government reacted or responded to the ‘Madasha wadatashiga’s’ call? “Look before you leap” is the right thing to do. Action (in the right way) is better then reaction. Acting and doing the right thing is better than Reacting. a) Siilanyo did not look before he leapt. He did not respond but he reacted. And he did that after the fact, he did it when damage was already done, when a negative report against Somaliland has been forwarded to the Security Council of the United Nations. That is said, it is a step forward to accept Consultation or debate as the government preferred to call it, then saying NO, “Lomajojinaayu” their favorite phrase, if that occurs! a) The President demagogued “Madasha Wadatashiga and rejected their call” b) He snipped the mediation between the government and the concerned citizens-the Madasha Wadatashiga offered by the organic cultural elders’ which is where Somaliland used to go when there is a problem. c) Then comes the negative report forwarded to the Security Council of the United Nations against Somaliland as a result of the dictatorial acts by Siilanyo. The first time such unfortunate thing happened through out the 21 years of this Republic of Somaliland! It is also the first time Somaliland sought none cultural elders organization to mediate between the people and the government instead of using the traditional authentic cultural leaders. Another undesirable act! d) Siilanyo shut down “Hubaal” news paper, denies the right of speech, even after the United Nations report! e) Siilanyo in the end Reacted and sent his surrogates, Bihi and Kahin to War torn society Conflict Resolution Organization by the name of “Akadamiyada” which never registered dealing with issues of national concern. They play as a by-stander, taking care of them selves only. That is said it is a step in the right direction provide the agenda is not corrupted, manipulated or compromised. The agenda must be how to reconstitute and rebuild our failed institutions Mr. Siilanyo did not respond the call from the “Madasha Wadatashiga”, he reacted to it! Reacting: it is more like defending your self upfront, and perceiving others as adversaries on attack. This kind of attitude never solves any problems; on the contrary it could escalate and elevate the situation to a more dangerous level. Responding: It is listening, appreciating the problem, evaluating it, learning from it, and then, addressing it according to its merit. Has Siilanyo’s government embraced this virtue? The answer to this question is No, they did not! In an environment of reactions, the good desire of the moral men and women for peace and decency is in such situation that can be undermined by a ‘Guulwade’ and by the dynamite of a corrupt leadership that needs only one more miss-step to send it all up in one fatal explosion, that is idiots making and probably their delight, and that is where Somaliland is! Siilanyo’s administration was insisting that the civic organizations have nothing to do where the country is going or not going, for they are the only one to say that! “Madasha Wadatashiga” is a civic organization and not only that, it is a Somaliland organization which has the emotional and psychological connections more than any body else. The government ended up to accept another civic organization to play a role of mediation between the government and the people, their way! It is obvious that even goats in Hargeisa streets trust not our institutions which are dysfunctional in totality. Look here, the government did not trust the people, the people do not trust the government, the two chairs of the House of Representatives and the House of Guurti don’t trust each other. The government even showed distrust of the revered organic traditional Sultans. The government and their spokes man Sulieman Gaal ended up to a foreign sponsored civic organization called institution for peace! I don’t mean to demean the institution in any way, shape or form. I commend them of what they do. I just wonder the choice of the government after they don’t trust a) the founders of Somaliland who are now, “Madasha Wada tashiga” b) the chairman of the Parliament, c) the authentic and organic traditional elders, d) the official and none official political parties and civic leaders! Somaliland is in a troubling situation for sure. Take my word for it. Somalilanders don’t trust their government, and the government does not trust the people. That is Siilanyo administration’s making. The loss of faith in our institutions, such as the government, the houses of congress, judiciary and others fluctuated with events and fell in to dysfunctional in totality. The trust in the elected people and even the traditional elders which has been corrupted by the corrupt institutions has been quietly draining away. Somalilanders are suspicious of their elected unqualified politicians more then ever, especially during Siilanyo’s oligarchy establishment. Distrust, on the other hand, comes from corruption, nepotism and dictatorial tendencies as well as ineptness and arrogance, some thing plenty in Siilanyo’s administration. There’s no easy fix, however unless Somaliland politicians and elected or nominated officials show the people the “Gooder” That they are trust worthy. Trust can not come back easily unless a complete overhaul of the government takes place and they resist that. The best hope for creating a more trusting nation may be figuring out how to inspire the people by showing honesty, capability and clarity in executing the people’s business However peace and prayers Ibrahim Mead