By: Muktar M Omer
President Hassan Sh. Mohamud
Rituals we seem not to outgrow
There are some irritating political idiosyncrasies that we, Somalis, simply seem not to outgrow. As soon as Hassan Sheikh Mohamud was elected as the new president of Somalia on 10 September 2012, the fawning industry started its work with searing efficiency. Artists, the flag-bearers of this industry, composed stirring songs and obliging media-men started colliding chins for catchy paragraphs from the newly elected President.
There is nothing wrong with this evanescent buoyancy. A nation that has endured two decades of turmoil and national despair deserves brief moments of national catharsis. Leaping in joy with maudlin optimism when new men are sworn-in for national leadership, only to be followed by immediate vilifications as soon as these leaders start governing, is an abiding and ductile feature of our national politics.
Not only that. We also have this absurd habit of transforming otherwise promising leaders into human political deities through servile flattery and hyperbolic applauses. Pseudo-events and choreographed appearances, sound bites and headlines from newsrooms create a hero out of an ordinary and untested individual, simply on account of his ascent to power, defying the widely held view that leaders are not heroes at the beginning. They become heroes at the end, through their work, their sacrifices, their triumphs, and their accomplishments.
The songs, colorful billboards and effusive felicitations soon get into the psyche of these leaders and insulate them from reality. They quickly forget that they are only fallible beings that need other men and women, and more importantly strong institutions, to deliver. They soon get infected with indispensability syndrome and start to think of themselves as the magical Elixir that will single-handedly cure their nation’s chronic illness.
Soon enough, these synthetic heroes come face to face with ugly reality. The profligate cheerfulness and euphoria that usually accompanies the election of these new leaders dissolve in a span of months, if not weeks. Having burdened a mere mortal with responsibilities much too onerous for one single man, and having propelled this man beyond his capabilities and appropriate station in life, the cheerleaders soon realize the facileness of their initial exuberance and expectations. The anticlimax sets-in hurriedly, as it becomes apparent that solving Somalia’s problems need more than the wisdom and effort of one man.
Then, deja vu’! Faced with mounting discontent and scrutiny, the national leader feels besieged and political survival becomes his sole preoccupation.
Good man not always a good leader
So far, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has received positive reviews. “He is a good man”, some say. “He is the right man” others agree. Yet, to be a good man or the right man doesn’t necessarily translate to becoming a good leader. For the president to be a good leader, he must first disabuse himself of any messianic complexity. He cannot save Somalia alone.
He must be prepared to let other branches of the government do their work in the manner stipulated by the law of the land - the constitution. The President must pick a competent Prime Minister. Who he picks, is his prerogative and all Somalis must respect and support the decision of the President. All he needs to ensure is that his nominee is in line with the President’s political doctrine. After all, the political doctrine of the president will have an indelible bearing on the overall policy framework of the government.
But once he picks an able Prime Minister (PM), the President must allow the head of the government to do his functions independently and without interference. It is expected the head of the government (the PM) will be consulting the head of the state (the President) for major decisions. But the PM need not consult the President on every action and step he is taking. Otherwise, the PM office will be nothing more than a secretariat for the office of the president.
Also, contrary to what Abdi Aynte suggested in an otherwise brilliant article on Hiiraan online, the President must not trigger a legal battle by trying to usurp some of the powers of the Prime Minister by revising the constitution.
First, the president has no legal authority to do that. The president cannot propose changes to the constitution. It is only the Parliament that can propose changes. These proposed amendments will then need to be submitted for referendum.
Second, making the constitutional delineation of power between the office of the President and the Office of the Prime Minister nomadic makes no sense and can set a dangerous precedent. If the president influences some members of parliament to table changes to the constitution, the PM will most likely (if not now in the future), use other members of the parliament to table counter-amendments. This will turn the Parliament into a venue for motions and counter-motions. And because of our intemperate temperament as Somalis, the house will transform into a ring where punches and counter-punches soar. Instead of bills, the parliament will produce bloody-noses and broken chins! A familiar sight!
A hint of Indecisiveness?
The manner in which the President is handling the selection of the Prime Minister suggests that the President may be trying to hear the ideas of various constituencies and clans before making a decision, but it could also be a hint of a weak and indecisive leader, who is swayed by the opinions of the last counsel. He may nominate a PM in few days’ time, but that can’t expunge the flaws in the approach followed to select a PM. Still, declaring the president ‘indecisive’ simply because he has taken time to decide on a PM is harsh and premature. It is also unfair. This, despite the fact that the President shouldn’t have waited for two solid weeks to refocus the nation’s attention on the real priorities – security and building governance institutions.
Yet, what is indisputable is that the President’s handling of the PM selection process is far from reassuring. First, countless advisors and so-called inner circles started calling different personalities asking for CVs and expression of interest, as if this is a job advertisement when it is anything but that.
Second, the PM selection became a saga that is distracting everybody from the real issues. The security situation is deteriorating in Mogadishu and there is a clear administrative vacuum. Members of the former government and other administrative bodies are nervous and preoccupied with securing posts in the new government rather than focusing on their tasks.
The saga overshadowed the push for Kismayo and other Alshabab strongholds. Just because the President has thirty days to nominate a Prime Minister does not mean he should wait for four weeks to make an announcement. A month is too long for a country in crisis like Somalia and by now the Prime Minister should have been known and the task at hand should have been drafting a work plan for the first 100 days.
It can be argued that the President has taken time (a) to consult various clans so that they feel consulted and therefore respected (b) to ensure he gets the right person, because the President will not be able to sack the PM once he nominates.
The first reason is acceptable but, by now, it is a common knowledge that the PM would be selected from the Darod clan, because of the 4.5 formula. It would have been better to ask the whole Darod block to send one delegation for consultations, instead of creating unnecessarily rivalry and competition by receiving different sub-clans separately.
In fact, the current approach is sowing the seeds of acrimony and bitterness, because sub-clans that feel their recommendations were not accepted would feel aggrieved. The President should have insisted that he has the right to pick any individual as long as he is from the Darod clan. It would have been better if he could say he can pick competent Somali, but the limitations to this are known and understandable, if not acceptable. But at least, if his pool is Darod, he should have discouraged various sub-clans from nominating and lobbying for sub-clan candidates. Because he allowed sub-clan competition, he can now be sure he will have a tough time once he makes his PM announcement.
Competent and law-abiding, not malleable PM
The obsession with getting a Prime Minister who will work with the President, or put differently, one who will not oppose the President, also shows an unhealthy fixation with control and loyalty. No matter how close the person who would be picked is to the President, it is natural people working together will have different opinions on different issues at different times. It is unnatural to expect a Prime Minister who agrees with all the decisions and desires of the president.
If that is the outcome favored, then all the President has to do is look for a clone of his. Instead, the President must be ready to be accountable to the constitution and must appoint a Prime Minister who is also ready to work within the legal framework of the State. That is a better way of avoiding potential political power struggle than searching for an acquaintance or a person with a malleable personality.
On a related note, President Hassan may have an ample experience in political activism. But it is strategic politics, not political activism, that make things done. The extent to which President Hassan will be able to translate his activist experience into strategic politicking inside and outside the country will determine his political longevity and yield. And only after delivering on his election promises of reviving the Somalia State, of course with the support of the government and people of Somalia, can President Hassan become a hero, eligible for statues, songs and sonnets. Who knows, maybe we have a hero in the making!
Muktar M Omer
WardheerNews contributor
Email:Muktaromer@ymail.com
http://samotalis.blogspot.com/
No comments:
Post a Comment