By Dr. Ali S. Faqi

The nomination of Professor Ali Mohamed Ghedi as the new prime minister was a surprise for the majority of the Somali public; but at the same time, they felt extremely comfortable and pleased with this historic move. The public was relieved to see that President Abdullahi Yusuf has made an excellent choice of picking an outsider as the New Prime Minister, a technocrat with no affiliation to the worrying factions. They see the Prime Minister as a man with no bad reputations and who was not involved in the destruction and chaos that followed the collapse of the military regime in early 1991.

Professor Ali Mohamed Ghedi graduated from the Somali National University , Faculty of Veterinary Medicine in Mogadishu , Somalia . He then went to Italy to specialize in Veterinary Surgeon at the University of Pisa . After returning back from Italy , he worked at the faculty of veterinary medicine in Mogadishu until early 1991. At the faculty of veterinary medicine Professor Ghedi earned great respect, and was very well-known among his colleagues.

In the last 14 years, Professor Ghedi continued to work in the field; he indeed took a job at United Nation offices in Nairobi to oversee livestock development in Somalia .

I recently spoke to Professor Abdihamid Sh. Mohamed , the former dean of Veterinary Faculty, and he has this to say about the new prime minister appointee: �Ali Ghedi is a man of integrity, hardworking with excellent leadership skills. I am pretty much sure that he will be a consensus builder, I am very proud of him�. Another colleague of the prime minister appointee Dr. Mohamed Mohamud �Dirios has also this to say: �I remember Ali as a nice, quite; and brilliant student. All of this was further confirmed by a comment made by a former classmate and a roommate of the prime minister appointee Dr. Abdirahman Mohamed Ahmed (Abdirahman Yare) who now resides in Columbus , Ohio : �his nomination has renewed our hopes for a better Somalia . He is a true Somali who has dedicated his life in helping our nation. I bet he will be a great leader�.

As one of the first graduates of the Somali National University (SNU) to hold such a high rank position in our nation's history, the public is extremely confident on his ability to lead the nation. Professor Ghedi is a product of our nation, a man who was educated by the Somali taxpayers and spent most of his lifetime working for the country. He understands the Somali problems deeply and that is why the public has high hopes in him and I anticipate that he will not let them down.

Here is my two cents worth of advice: It takes a lifetime to build a reputation and one foolish act to kill it. Do not follow certain destructive tribal ideology; you will have the whole nation supporting your government. Create an atmosphere of trust between you, the president, the speaker of the parliament and the public to achieve the goals of your government. My advice to you on the cabinet building is to focus on getting the right people in the right place on your team and remain assured the rest will follow. Furthermore, make sure that you surround yourself with people who have integrity and who also possess excellent analytical abilities to help guide your administration in this turbulent time. Above all pay close attention to the sanctity of the transitional federal government charter that you will be sworn by and also make sure that all your cabinets and other functionary of the states abide by these laws.

There is no doubt that you and the President face difficult task a head. The public really needs to hear your plans of governing. It is imperative that you and the president speak directly to the Somali public, lay out your plans and visions. If your plans and visions strike the right cord within the Somali psyche, there is no doubt that the public will rally behind your administration; therefore, you and the president will need to spend down the next few weeks in formulating your overall policies into a coherent plans and visions and lay out to the public through print, broadcast and electronic media. And rest assured that the Somali patriots including intellectuals in the Diaspora are every bit ready to contribute to any policy directions or formulations that your administration may endeavor to undertake.

The final result of the eye-for �an- eye, tooth-for-a-tooth theory is two toothless blind men and that is where we are right now, however, in the end good old common sense and logics always prevails and I am confident that this government will succeed if it takes the right steps towards reconciliation and nation building. The days for the warlords are over. Let us burry the hatchet and rally behind the administration of the transitional federal government of Somalia .

Dr. Ali Said Faqi
E-mail: [email protected]