Of Peace and Mediocre Leadership.

Ever since the dawn of time and as long as anyone alive can remember, peace has been a rare commodity in the Somali lands. From time to time peace will visit as a guest, and a relative lull will ensue.  The possibility of a fully-fledged peace was always over shadowed by blood-letting, and conflict between the clans, between Somalis and marauding Abyssinians or the Somalis themselves would go in search of plunder in the neighboring nomadic tribes. The intra-clan skirmishes, if it wasn’t about grazing rights, it was about rustling or retaliation for a previous raid. This vicious conflictive pattern was repeated in a circle and it stood to the test of time till today. 

No where else is this paucity of peace more aptly put than in the most common Somali greeting- ma nabada baa? Nabadi ma jidhaa? Meaning is there peace? Considering the difference in the Somali dialect between different regions, this sentence cuts across the board and is understood by all Somali speakers from the camel rearing nomads to the sedentary farmers.  In the same vein, Somalis would congratulate each other nabad iyo caano- Peace and milk- in that order.  Any Somali individual would easily testify about an unnatural death that came by way of conflict to a family member or one in his family tree genealogy. 

With the advent of modernization, came the AK47 and other assault rifles that made the conflict bloodier and more devastating. Time and again, the world has tried to bring peace and stability with countless conferences to resolve the Somalia quagmire but to no avail. WHY ARE SOMALIS FIGHTING? The answer to this question is anybody’s guess, neither am I going to answer it in this essay. Any attempt to answer such question has proven inexplicable to the point of the popular Somali anecdote hashu maankayga gadaye ma masaarbay liqday? The traditional camel healer wonders despairingly as to what ails his camel patient.  Or may be, sometimes the questions are complicated and the answers are simple!

When trouble arises and things look bad, there is always one individual or individuals who perceive a solution and is willing to take command. Very often, that individual is a born leader who is capable of turning around the status-quo. If there is anything Somalia craves for more than peace then it is capable leadership. Confessedly, Somalia is in short supply of effective leadership of that pedigree.  Instead the current crop of mediocre leaders is diagnosed with malformed public duty gland and a deficiency in moral fiber.  They (the leaders) are myopic, in that they can’t see beyond their clannish confines, and are most of the times engaged in incessant wrangling about who holds which post and stole what. Therefore matters of national importance are at best not tended to. Some are audacious enough to use and bend Islamic rules to suit their self interest and that of their inner circle. 

Bereft of peace and endowed with mediocre leadership- deadly concoction- Somalia has literally gone to the dogs. The current biting draught and hunger, exacerbated by the never-ending conflict was bound to happen, when you have leaders who are inspired enough when it comes to inventing horrors, but cloddish when it comes to forging peace. 

The Somali culture has the tendency of peacemaking and conflict in equal measure. Extreme remedies are very appropriate for extreme diseases. Meeshi xinjiri kudaadato xab baa lagu daadiyaa so goes the old Somali adage. It was the duty of the offenders to give away girls for marriage to the deceased’s family in the case of lost life in conflict. It was an effort to appease the offended in order to make peace.
Likewise, when the Japanese mend broken objects, they aggrandize the damage by filling the cracks with gold.  They believe that when something's suffered damage and has a history it becomes more beautiful. It is time, visionary and able leaders came to the fore and saved this nation. It is time, peace is given a chance.