Written by KAH
After a nineteen-year hiatus, Boobe Yusuf Ducale resurfaces in Somaliland's political turmoil to save President Ahmed Silanyo from Gabiley's quagmire. Avid for validation, Boobe made two high-profile trips to Gabiley after his nomination. The government's new propaganda chief delivered two speeches in which he patronized Gabileyans for their lack of empathy and for their incapacity to keep local issues in perspective. Naturally, both public addresses were met with incredulity in Gabiley and the Diaspora.
In April, Boobe accused reer Gabiley of being a bunch of spoilt brats who quarrel unnecessarily with Silanyo. He reminded Gabileyans about their inability to identify themselves with other Somalilanders who live far away from Hargeisa, the nation's political and economic hub. For most people, Boobe's approach displayed the government's lack of imagination. The minister has simply spouted the same old platitudes about economic development, community empowerment and many other topics no one could demur.
In his second public talk at the 18 May celebrations in Wajaleh, Boobe teased Gabileyans. His intention was to regal his audience with tales of the area's rebellious exploits. But the minister of information predictably offered old-boys' rhetoric about the region's resistance against the military regime. Indubitably, he sounded like an insufferable bore, a man out of step with Gabiley's modern political demands.
Can Gabileyans trust Boobe? Probably not. Because Boobe is a mujahid not without stains. In 1987, he betrayed Gabileyans by voting against their political wishes at the SNM Congress. An elder from Djibouti present at the assembly invented a quatrain to describe his duplicity: "Gabileyna waxaan uu nacaay, inaan yar oo ku dhashay Hargaisa."
Let's set the record straight about Gabiley's 2010 electoral decision. Gabileyans voted for Silanyo mainly for two reasons: 1) to avoid the growing feeling of political alienation from East Burco, the president's political base, and 2) to revitalise the nation's polity - to strengthen democracy, enhance good governance and articulate a solid foreign policy. Gabileyans feel Silanyo failed miserably. So, Boobe's appointment will not appease the region's discontentment with Silanyo's failed leadership and its inability to usher in a new era of institutional building and democratic decentralization as it was clearly formulated in the 2010 Kulmiye's election platform. As accusations of corruption and mishandling of economic and political reform mount, it becomes unlikely Silanyo can deliver on his election promises.
KAH
kahw81@yahoo.com
http://samotalis.blogspot.com/
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