The “Youth” Should Rally Behind Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed

By Abdiwahab A. Musse (Tarey)

The great African Statesman, the Honourable Nelson Mandela stated justly that  “ the greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall”.   We, Somalis, have remained fallen for long.    

Euphoria and wishful thinking aside, beneath the ruins you bear witness today in Somalia rests a real hope if we can learn from reality. For more than a decade and half, Somalia has seen a civil strive of no aims.  This was the ugly face of Clanism-driven social melt-down exacerbated by the individual ambitions. Countless conferences and very little reconciliations have we witnessed. All along, the real quam remained to the side and often off the table.  Even to our most savvy political survivalist, the list of appointed – or agreed-upon (haven forbid) – transitional government has reached more than we can stomach. Transition to and for what!  You would be forgiven, if the recent military success of the “Huwan” and the apparent collapse of then UIC, may have given you a sense hope. 

Hope that perhaps this nescient government of not your choice may for once provide even a limited rule of law.  You would be forgiven, because these are long standing wishes.  For that reason and that reason alone, Somalis may have a lot to hope for 2007.  Rather than spoiling your new found hopes, let me offer why we should be more hopeful and the choices we must share, lest we may miss an opportunity.

Critical Juncture and real choices

For the first time, we Somalis face two distinct choices that may have ramifications far more than the return of the said elusive “Rule of Law”. As such, the current conditions dictate a real dialogue/debate about these choices.   As I see it, the choices are real and unlike the in the past, as are the players.  For the devoted TFG supporters and the weary public, forgive me for the division, the leadership of this government lived up to its true sense, flexed itself muscle – borrowed or otherwise- and it is now in positions to dictate its will – God-willing -  and perhaps usher in the return of “rule of law”.  It requires your support and good will if it is to “retire” all of your ills.  

Say what you may about its leadership content and the ultimate motives of its backers.   Any doubts that may have existed in your mind, should by now matured to a tangible realism.  So discard your rampant clanism petty politics and if it is any kind of rule of law you desire, assist the new chiefs in town in their aims.  That is a choice you need to and must make now more than ever.  In doing so, your desires are clear and the potential risks you may encounter can, equally, be defined.   More importantly, it is within your rights and responsibility.  Here, neither the quality of the current TFG’s leadership nor the apparent inadequacies of its institutions can de-legitimize your choice as such.  “Rule of Law” is what you desire, by any means necessary.  History shall be left to record whether the choice you made at this critical juncture was the right one.

UIC – legitimate voice derailed by impatience

I need not to waste your time and mine with the strategic and political failures of the UIC.  The list is indeed long and transparent to even the untrained eyes.  Equally, I will not waste your time and mine with the tangible successes of this immature organization.  You have witnessed and/or lived within it for the past 6 months.    As a muslim, I am bound to reckon that Muslims have legitimate right to seek “Rule of Law” from the Sharia.  But I am of the opinion that such process must come to about the willingness of the people.  As such, I will remind you that elements of the UIC movement represented a real voice that spoke for a lot of Somalis.   This voice transcended, for the first time, beyond clan boundaries.   It was a voice, be it initially, that spoke and walked the walk against what had been the penultimate obstacle of the realization of our needs, rights, and wants (most of it).  It was a voice that neutralized the dreaded warlords and their myopic grip to the wishes of the people.  At last, the tyrants of Mogadishu got a voice that stood up to them. 

Consequently, such voice shall remain an empowerment – never again shall we be the subject of tyrants.  In this regard, Kudos shall be decreed to the youth and the womankind.    Now that the chips have fallen where they justly should have, real choices await those that have clapped for this movement and in particular the “youth” of this nation.  The misguided political maneuvering of your perceived leadership may commend you, in the name of Islam, to wage a guerilla war against elusive enemies at your own homes.  Such call is unrealistic, if not out right unIslamic, and ultimately it serves the political hands of a few individuals.   I, however, see a real opportunity in your sobering defeat.  

Shabaab and Sheikh Sharif

It is undeniable, that you have rallied for a just cause and stood for an ideology, unlike your fathers.  Rather than sticking to your guns and loosing moral legitimacy, pragmatism dictate that you embrace your loses and return to your powerbase – the people.   I beg of you to opt for less violence and more debate.   Fortunately, within you are genuine leaders, whom, given a chance, could rise up to the level of a true statesmen.  In this regard, I beg of you to rally behind Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed.  This man offers face currency unseen by the political landscape of Somalia.  He is a man of humble beginning, a teacher, a father, and a local hero of unselfishness in a world of indifferences and utter-despair.  In his short rise from obscurity within the now deflated UIC hierarchy, he displayed dignity and humility atypical to the pseudo-leaderships of this society.  Though some of you may disagree with him politically vis-à-vis  his take in Islam as the sole source of our country’s rule of law, he has shown modernity and genuine diplomatic skills fit for dialogue and negotiations.  As a true metropolitan child, he has shown indifference to the appeals of clan politics when many considered such act suicidal.  He has displayed confidence and the uncanny integrity of a man who meant business for peace even in “sticking it” to his kinship.  

Friends and foes alike, he is recognized as a man of character.  So hale this chief of yours, shape him and own him in your search for our society’s survival.   He is already yours in age, but unlike most of you he has a recognizable face of fairness.   Yes, the madness of those around him failed his cause. So, let us not throw the baby with the dirty bathwater, as our forefathers once did to our fallen heroes.   Doing so would be a great tragedy this nation can not afford.  Let us articulate our wishes for him and open the doors for real debate as to where our society should go from here.  In doing so, you will give your children a fighting chance to shape their destiny.  This is the noble responsibility that we must bear for our society.  We now have real choices; I hope history records us as the ones that made the right ones.

The author shares no poltical ideology and/or blood (clan) affliation with Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed.  The objectives of this article is to spark real debate about our leaderships and the course we, Somalis, must  take to achieve revival of our  nationhood.

By Abdiwahab A. Musse (Tarey)
E-mail: [email protected]