By Ismail D. Osman
Tuesday - December 28, 2021
There has been a long line of systematic failures from the entire
international community to solve the long-standing political impasse that has
generated a never-ending humanitarian crisis as well as political, social, and
military instabilities in Somalia and the horn of Africa.
The political history of Somalia is a sordid affair. A long, painful and ruthless civil war has
ravaged this country for the better part of three decades and, today, the fact
remains that the only way to wedge Somalia out of the snarl it finds itself in
is by the immediate and absolute resignation
of former President Farmaajo.
On Saturday, December 25, former President Mohamed Farmaajo provided a
hint that he may, once again, be seeking to claim authority by criticizing
Prime Minister Mohamed Roble for his decision-making and accusing the Prime
Minister of electoral malpractice, neglecting to mention in his
statement, of course, that behind the scenes he has been manipulating the
system to ensure that the elections are rigged in his favor in order to secure a
term extension.
Farmaajo
has no constitutional authority in the upcoming election. He has no constitutional authority to suspend
the powers of Prime Minister. His purely
selfish actions have only served to destabilize the country both economically
and militarily. He has, almost
single-handedly, put our nation back on the brink of another Civil War. And when this inevitably happens, the blood
will be on the hands of the international humanitarian community.
Former
President Farmaajo will never, under any circumstances, relinquish
power in this country back to the people of Somalia. As he has been since his first day in office,
he is in this thing for himself in order to increase his own political power
and supplement his own personal wealth.
He has never had the back of the people of Somalia and this country is
far worse off for it.
The great people of Somalia have recognized this fact for many years
and its high time the International Community opens their eyes to the grave
conditions Somali lives in and immediately stop enabling former President’s
reprehensible behavior.
According
to recent UN projections for 2022, an estimated 7.7 million Somalia citizens
will require humanitarian assistance and protection. This figure represents nearly half the
country’s population, yet the UN continues to provide a platform for Farmaajo
to spread his lies and misinformation to nations not willing to commit the time
and effort to really understand the catastrophe that is occurring right in
front of them. The tragedy in all this
is that it is the women and children who endure the greatest burden of
Somalia’s complex humanitarian crises.
On Farmaajo’s watch, climate and health disasters continue to likewise
devastate our country, so much so that, on November 23, the Somali
government declared a humanitarian state of emergency because of the
droughts laying waste to the land and, yet again, the humanitarian community
remains unresponsive as Farmaajo continues to be more concerned about
leveraging his own political agenda than on the destruction being inflicted
upon his people.
The people of Somalia are suffering.
Climate emergencies, the COVID pandemic, ongoing terrorist violence and
humanitarian crises have crippled a country already on the teetering brink of economic
ruins. And the one thing in common
throughout each of these disastrous events has been the administration of
former President Farmaajo. This man has
been and obstacle to peace. This man has
been a barrier to progress. This man has
been an obstruction to justice. And this
man has been a pillager of democracy.
Somalia
is teetering on the brink of a major breakdown once again. The latest election
standoff highlighted how the worst political crisis in years could easily
spiral further downward. If left unresolved, it has the potential to return the
country to civil conflict, undoing fragile gains made over the past decade and
a half
The people of Somalia call for a moratorium today. We demand that the US Government, United
Kingdom, EU & UN to stop providing a stage for this man to spread his
dishonesty and deceitfulness to the world.
We call for all humanitarian nations, especially the United States and
the United Kingdom, to stop enabling the behaviors of a narcissistic fiend
disguised as a representative. Former President
Farmaajo has no constitutional mandate to represent the people of Somalia and
the people of Somalia would very much like to keep it that way.
Ismail D.
Osman: Former
Deputy Director of Somalia National Intelligence & Security Agency (NISA)
– Writes in Somalia, Horn of Africa Security and Geopolitical focusing on
governance and security. You can reach him [email protected] Twitter @osmando