Somaliland: Political Parties or Clan Parties?
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Abdi Hussein Daud
Somaliland: Political Parties or Clan Parties?
Does Somaliland have political parties or clan parties? Honestly, it
doesn’t have political parties. But it has clan parties. Let’s not
kid ourselves. Every party is owned by one ma jor clan and other
secondary clan(s) that associate with the major clan. We all know
wh ich clan owns Kulmiye Party and which clan owns WADDANI Party (Ucid
cannot be curren tly considered a party). Kulmiye is simply a
euphemism of Habar Awal and WADDANI is also a euphemism of Habar
Yonis. In our private meetings or teleconferences, we call it: “Our
Habar Awal Party” or “Our Habar Yonis Party.” But we do not have the
courage to say it publicly. It is too embarrassing, unpleasant and
prejudice. That is why we use substitute names like “Kulmiye” and
“WADDANI” to deceive ourselves.
The majority, if not all, of Habar Awal members support
Kulmiye
Party and the majority, if not all, of Habar Yonis members support
WADDANI Party. Even some of those who claim to be “educated,”
“seasoned politicians” or “Sheikhs” join their chosen party based on cl an affiliation. Jamal Ali Hussein—who repeatedly brags about being
a “Harvard-educate d”—has publicly and shamefully announced that he
joined Kulmiye Party because “Waxa an ogaadey in geelu isugu-kaaya
jiro Muuse Biixi” which means, “I have realized that Mus e Bihi and I
belong to the same clan [Habar Awal].” Similarly, Ismail Buuba—a
“seasoned politician” —has publicly arranged a meeting between his
clan—Eda Gale—and Habar Yon is in the hopes to unite the two clans
and therefore compete with Habar Awal clan. Likewise, Abdiaziz
Samale—one of the leaders of Al-Islah Movement, the Somali branch of
the Muslim Brotherhood—also joined Kulmiye Party simply because his
clan, Habar Awal, owns the party, as his father—Mr. Samale—publically
announced: “I promise the candida te [Muse Bihi] that Abdiaziz Samale
would never join any other party accept Kulmiye [a.k.a Habar Awal
Party].”
This doesn’t mean that either Kulmiye or WADDANI represents the
interests of all its clan members, far from it. The clan members do
not have the same interests: they have stud ents, workers,
businesspeople, Diasporas, poor, farmers, nomads, etc. Still all of
them su pport and defend “their” party without question or thought.
This is irrational, destructiv e, and primitive.
Why, for example, would a student support a party that is not going
to lower college/ un iversity tuition or doesn’t provide student aid?
Why would an unemployed person suppo rt a party that is not going to
create jobs? These questions, and many others, show that clan
members join their chosen party not because of their own personal
interest, the int erest of the clan, or national interest. So, why do
each clan members support for “their” particular party?
Each clan wants their “son” to win the presidency in order to prove
their clan superiority That is it. Nothing more, nothing less,
nothing else. They don’t think about their economic wellbeing,
health, justice, education, infrastructure, etc. They simply want to
show other clans (especially the clan that competes with them) that
they are superior to them. It is purely a delusion of clan
superiority. And winning the presidency is the ultimate prove of
their honor and delusion of their superiority. Therefore, the
presidency is a screen on wh ich clan members project their delusion
of clan superiority and securing subjective satisf action.
The clan that wins the presidency feels victorious, vindicated, and
secure while the maj ority of its members are poor, unemployed,
illiterate, hopeless, etc. On the other hand, the clan that fails to
win the presidency feels vulnerable, offended, and insecure because
their delusion of their clan superiority is disproved and crushed.
Not only that, the clan that wins the presidency defends the
government at any cost. They believe that anyone who criticizes or
opposes the government is an opponent or an enemy of their clan. In
contrast, the clan that looses the presidency or the election makes
sure to sabotage the government because they feel it is not their
government since the “other” clan is controlling the government.
That is why Somaliland suffers from shortage of patriots and is
burdened with surplus of clanists.
This dog-eat-dog mentality is a safe haven for the predatory
political elite. They intensify this delusion of clan superiority to
rally their respective clan member in pursuit of perso nal power and
wealth. It allows them to divide people into clans, sub-clans, and
sub-sub-clans. It makes easy for them to win presidential,
parliamentary, city councils, or appoint ed positions without any
credentials. It gives them the green light to steal taxpayers’ money
with impunity. And it allows them to be unaccountable to anyone.
They enjoy this kind of clash between clans.
This zero-sum clan competition, the delusion of clan superiority,
and the predatory politi cal elite keep Somalilanders confused and
busy in outmaneuvering, undercutting, or thre atening one another.
This is why we remain one of the poorest and underdeveloped
cou ntries in the world; this is why we are called “a beggar nation”;
this is why 50.3% of our adult males and 74.2% of adult females are
illiterate; this is why injustices are the norm; this is why
corruption is rampant; this is why unemployment is over 80%; this is
why our per capita income is roughly US$284 per person in 2012; this
is why 1 out of 3 of all our adults suffer some kind of mental
disorder; this is why we rank 123 out of 130 countries in the world
in Human Development Index; this is why our youth leave the country
by tak ing the dangerous sea voyages. Look at this. What a shame!
So, what are we proud of? How can any clan—be it Habar Awal, Habar
Yonis, or any other clan, or even a reasonable person—be proud of
this kind of awful existence? Where is the clan superiority in this
horrible condition of life?
Shame on us!
Abdi Hussein Daud
He can be reached at:
abdihdaud@yahoo.com |