Hiiraan Online

Somali President, Hassan Sheikh Mohamoud

The passion, belief and love of nation that President Hassan Mohamoud Sheikh projects, whilst truly authentic, is only ever seen consistently when he is speaking to an international audience. At home, the President is rarely seen on TV or heard on the radio in an official capacity speaking directly to the Somali people despite both means been available and widely accessed by the people he is elected to govern.

African leaders are often stereotyped and have in some cases shown themselves to be dictators.  While most agree with the spirit of democracy and transparency they actually are not so bothered about implementing it so long as they have the key national institutions such as the army under their control. In fact, Gaddafi and Hosni Mubarak started communicating most with their citizens towards the end of their tyrannical reins when their power was openly challenged and they realised that they had to explain themselves to secure their fiefdoms. This did not work because it was not genuine and only a mechanism for delaying action and gathering international support before unleashing the violence of the status apparatus on to those demanding better  leadership and government through their removal.

Government communication generally performs the key functions of informing citizens of government policies and intentions, advocating and persuading for political and policy changes as well as engaging citizens. If done well by leaders and government departments, communication programmes will strengthen democracy through debate and public participation, bring citizens closer to government and build support and inject legitimacy into government policies. This does not always occur but effective communication can generate and encourage debate and reflection while silencing spoilers and dismantling the “we know best” approach from government which disengages the public and key stakeholders.

The likes of Hugo Chavez, the now deceased communist president of Venezuela and President Obama of America were and are excellent communicators who have sought legitimacy and public support through direct and indirect media appeals. On occasions Chavez would speak for 8 hours on end on his weekly TV programme where as Obama used bus tours around his nation and speeches from the Oval office to appeal for unity and the suspension of political gridlock many times since his first term in office. Both of these leaders used their closeness to their electorate to influence and force through difficult changes whilst providing themselves with a strong shield against their opponent’s political attacks.

Unlike America, Venezuela, UK and other developed and developing nations with strong, communicative leaders, most Africans live with a poorly communicating centralised government that does not extend past the edges of the main cities where they are based. In these countries government communication is usually simply ever aimed at crisis management and massaging the egos of the leaders who do not tolerate opposition and are absolutely intolerant of been challenged by anyone including citizens. A toxic mix of low levels of illiteracy including ICT use, fear of authority and an absence of the consultation and a participation culture since independence makes this worse and not any easier to tackle today despite the wealth of available resources within the African continent.

Somali leaders from Siad Barre, Abdullahi Yusuf and Sheikh Sharif were excellent communicators. They were people who understood that public engagement was crucial to sustaining power. However, all of these used the media only as a tool of manipulation and muzzled the free press. All of these past leaders have a proven track record of unlawfully detaining journalists who did not sing their praises. Thus the Somali public have had limited interest and trust in government as well as many mainstream media outlets which were highly tribal. President Hassan Sheikh has much to be wary about and will be wise to communicate directly with the public rather rely on these old sources they do not trust.

President Hassan Mohamoud Sheikh is doing a difficult job in a time of much needed change. Turning around a failed state is no easy task. The challenges of tribal loyalty over nationhood, poverty, aid dependency and no meaningful institutions are obvious. These deficiencies increase the Presidents workload as well as challenges. Hassan Sheikh’s intelligence, smile and personal integrity is a welcome change for the Somali people who have seen some of the worst and ill equipped leaders any nation could have in the space of two decades of war. However, Hassan Sheikh must understand to build political consensus, alliances and move his agenda forward, he needs public backing and support.  It is impossible for him to meet each person and convince them of his integrity and vision but in the absence of this, he can devise a more personal communication strategy centred on him to project his vision for the nation to them.

Restoring, sustaining and championing trust between the public and government is crucial to this ambitious administrations future progress and accomplishing the smooth turn around Somalia needs to develop.

Currently the Somali government departments all have spokes persons and all work individually to generate media content mainly on TV through Ministerial speeches. Lately there has been more centralisation as the Minister for Communications has started to find his voice. However, despite having websites and been present on the TV screen and speaking directly on the radio, these Ministers are not who the Somali people relate to. They are not their leader. Hassan Sheikh is. It is amazing when these Ministers speak, as important as what they are communicating can be, those in cafes speak over them. However, when the President prepares to speak live, the entire place falls silent. The Somali people want a leader and someone to hold responsible for their nation’s progress.  Hassan is one many feel they can support as, despite been a member of a larger tribe, he has cleaner hands than those who he beat for the post.

Hassan Sheikh’s recorded televised messages addressed at tackling the militant Al-Shabaab group which still controls large swathes of the country, was very effective. The President was at his best in this short production at home and relaxed wearing informal attire. It stressed what the problem was, what he was doing about it and how he wanted the public to help. Short, simple, clear and inclusive. The statement was easy to understand and resonated with every Somali person across the world. It was simply:  citizens we are working tirelessly for you and we want you to help us.

The primary means of communicating with the Somali people is through radio and TV due to the entrenched oral culture. President Hassan Sheikh needs to have a dominant local presence on it. He needs to go on talk shows where necessary, speak on the radio regularly and have a monthly broadcast to the nation from his office. All these should be aimed at solely informing the public of government strategy and policy challenges and successes. It should also be promoting specific projects and in time have a feedback mechanism whereby the public can get involved and ask the President questions on air. This, critics could easily argue, is too much but in the current political climate of poor and illiterate opposition within parliament, tribally led mini states acting as spoilers internationally and his own poor presence and authority within the Somali public conscience, President Hassan Sheikh has to be a persistent radical in innovating ways of reaching the very public whose backing he needs to drive through the ambitious changes he articulates.

The increasing plurality of Somali media both in broadcast and printed media is impressive and welcome. For a nation of dispersed refugees to every corner of the world, the Somali people have found new means of staying in touch and directly communicating news from their homeland to the wider world. The challenge this poses for the President is not just honest scrutiny but the spreading of lies and misrepresentation of his actions without any legal repercussions within Somalia due to the lack of independent and legal regulatory framework for media and communication practitioners who mostly do not possess professional qualifications.  The only way for President Hassan Sheikh to defend himself and to be heard over these deafening voices is to develop and sustain his own narrative. More pressingly, it is the most appropriate way that he can keep his own agenda and policies in the public ears and eyes as well as transmit his authority across the Somali regions.

The benefits of a multi dimensional communication strategy is that it respects its audience and can communicate with them in a way they can understand and be responsive. World leaders are literate enough to read communiqués at conferences and if not they have an interpreter or adviser to do this. The traumatised and conflict weary Somali public do not. The President’s media strategy has to be led by him and be responsive. It has to inform and create an environment of trust and respect in order that government policies often dictated by Donors takes the public with it. If not both the President and the policy will have no legitimacy and implementing key strategies, no matter how well meaning or fundamental to the nation, will fail. Effective and appropriate regular communication led by President Hassan will play the essential role of educator, as well as informer. It will soften hearts and minds and in time break down the distance between Villa Somalia and the tribal regions currently owned by a few people and controlled through propaganda. This way, politics would not be the preserve of the elite and a mechanism for division, theft and oppression but a means, through dialogue and discussion, for collective nation building and good governance.

Participative democracy is often confused with a loud Parliament made of ideologically rigid representatives that are not actually so representative. In Somalia, participative democracy has become how many MPs each tribe has under the simple 4.5 tribal rules. However, President Hassan Sheikh seems genuine when he says he would like to of had it another way if he could. He says this often and convincingly. His desire for it shines through in a way a coached actor could never articulate it. However, participative democracy can only work in Somalia when the general public are behind the government and are literate and confident enough to make a choice not based on tribe but personal gains, ambitions and policies. This day may not yet be in sight but if the President can effectively communicate with them he can initiate the process of instilling political activism and normalising challenging leadership and the sense of the servant leader which will pave the way for an inclusive democracy.

[email protected]
@LibanObsiye (Twitter).

Sakariye Hussein Studied Education and Community Development and management both in Somalia and England. He has extensive experience of working in the media and is a freelance writer and consultant on local issues regarding the Somali community. He lives and works in Bristol. Sakariye can be reached through:

[email protected]
@Zakaria jawdeer (Twitter)