By Isaac Muhammad
Monday April 20, 2015
I was embezzled to read an article published on Hiiraan Online on Sunday April the 19, 2015 by Ahmed Yusuf Omar titled “Jubaland: An Institutionalized land robbing” Among other things, Mr. Omar claims that the parliament enacted for the Jubbaland State of Somalia is unrepresentative of the true regional capacity and not based on true census. He also claims that some clans namely Dabare, Tuni, Harti, Mirrifle, and Hawiye have no representation or little if any. Reading his article, I was not sure if his views were based on hatred of one clan, misinformed bias, or he lacks the understanding of the region and its inhabitants. Customarily, I am never interested in responding to a one sided publication, but I came to realize the level of misinformation and the scale of limited understanding that Mr. Omar expressed in his article and decided to help him and others understand the true representation of the assembly, the Jubbaland administration, and the regional boundaries.
I hate to defend any particular administration, as our nation needs our exclusive service and support at this time, but I cannot let such a baseless accusations and misrepresentation of the will of the people to be spread around. I am not sure if Mr. Omar is from the region he vehemently wrote about, but in a full disclosure, I was born and raised in the Jubbaland region. Therefore, I hope to speak the true historical context and fact based information relative to the issue at hand. The Jubbaland administration represents 15 districts from three regions: Gedo, Middle Jubba, and the Lower Jubba. Let me enlighten some of the people that continue to claim the administration is unrepresentative (Looma Dhama). Mr. Omar claimed that some clans namely Digil and Mirifle, Hawiye, and Harti clans are not represented or have little if any. Here is the true allocation of those clans: Digil and Mirifle relished ten members of the parliament, the Hawiye accepted the vice president and received eight members of the parliament (Gaaljecel 3, Sheekhaal 3, and Cawramale 2), while the Harti clan received seven members of the parliament and two minsters. I would like to remind Mr. Omar that both Tuni and Dabare are subclans of the Digil and Mirifle clan; hence they should receive their lion share from the number allocated to the Digil and Mirifle clan. This totally nullifies Mr. Omar’s claim corresponding to the aforementioned clans in his article.
Now, that we have fully understood that Mr. Omar’s claim was baseless, let me come back to the proportion of Mr. Ahmed Madobe ‘ the president’s’ clan of Ogadan as he said overwhelmingly received 21 Mps. Yes they received 21 Mps, and yes the Marehans received 19 Mps, but do you know the proportional land and district representation of the region? This parliament is based on constituency, rather than clan based representation, but yet, the administration, the elders, and the international community ensured a true representation of each clan in the region. For that reason, the president awarded the ten Mps allocated for his discretion to nominate to the most under represented clans including: Warday, Cawramale, Gaaljecel, Sheekhaal, leelkase and others, while he publicly denied awarding a single one to the clan you said he was from. Do you think these clans over powered him, if as you said, he dominates others with the Kenyan military and the support of the international community?
I would like to ask Mr. Omar if Warday, Cawramale, Tuni, and Ajuran have representation in the Federal Parliament. I would also like to remind him that the Federal Parliament was based on a clan rather than constituency. Now, I would like to ask him to respectfully disclose one clan that dwells in the Jubbaland region, which did not receive a member of a parliament? Whose land is being robbed Mr. Omar? Despite his unfound and baseless accusations, he failed to fact fully divulge the shortcomings of this administration, the international community, and the newly formed parliament. Does Mr. Omar know how the clans reside in the districts represented by the Jubbaland State?
Realistically speaking, enough critics have written about the Jubbaland State, regardless of the bases of their perspective and frame of reference. The fact is that, the international community is present in Kismayo; the Federal government is present and closely works with the administration. Hence, they are fully knowledgeable on the ongoing issues than some Somalis including Mr. Omar. The problem of our nation remains, the clan based politics, the despicable hatred and bias from those of us educated diaspora that fuel the unrest of our nation. Mr. Omar, did you see what is being done to our sisters and brothers in South Africa? In case you didn’t notice, they are being burned in life! Does that matter to you? Or, did you even invest enough time to worry and publicize this extremely sensitive matter rather than dividing the Somali people trying to come together and form a coalition of representation. Do you see what is happening to those in the refugee camps and others? Why can’t you use your knowledge, intellect, and skills to support their causes?
I would respectfully advise you to refrain from such practices to divide Somalis. We are in a turning point to reclaim our nation, excel our causes, and defend our sovereignty.
Isaac Muhammad is a writer and political analyst based in Minnesota, United States. Follow him on twitter @Isaacmuhamm