The Case for President H.Sh. Mohamod to Be Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
Commentary
Somalia
has been in a state of chaos and instability since 1991 when the then
President, Mohamed Siyad Barre, was overthrown by a popular uprising.
International efforts have led to the election of seven presidents and more
than a dozen prime ministers.
Although
the country has experienced tremendous developments over the last 30 years, the
country today is battling a dangerous insurgency and other latent conflicts. It
is puzzling to many how people having the same language and religion can be
involved in such an intractable conflict for over three decades. It is due to
this situation that folks outside Somalia ask whether the Somali people are a
collection of violence lovers not interested in peace and a functioning
government.
Far from
it. Like every other community, Somalis express their hopes and aspirations
through art. Their omnipresent hope and aspirations have been well captured by
Somalia’s legendary poet, Ahmed Tarash, when he postulated that “Dalkeeng ii
dadkeeng, diinteen Furqaan ii, dunyadii nool, dowlii ing baahanaayii”, (our
country and religion, and even the animals need a government).
I opine
that if the current President can create the necessary atmosphere in which the
Somali people can sleep in tranquillity by establishing a well-functioning government,
the twenty or so million Somalis living within the country and without, will
have their dreams achieved.
Achievement
of this humongous task makes Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, a suitable candidate for
the Nobel Peace Prize. Are his plans and achievements so far pointing towards
the attainment of those above-stated goals?
The Nobel
Peace Prize is the most coveted and most discussed among other Nobel Prizes.
Alfred Nobel, the man behind the idea of the Prize, stated the prize be
awarded, among others, to “the person who shall have done the most or the best
work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing
armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses”.
To
examine whether Hassan Sheikh Mohamud is worth the Prize, each of the three
conditions needs to be analysed against the president’s achievements and plans.
Holding
of Peace Congresses
In his
inaugural address of June 2022, the President reiterated that his guiding
principle during his term will be the clarion call ‘‘Soomaali heshiis ah,
dunidana heshiis la’ah’’ (a harmonious Somali Society, and in harmony
with the world).
He
undertook to build the poles and trellises of a sustainable reconciliation
process that can address clan and subclan grievances. The President states that
to reduce greatly the difference between the Federal Government of Somalia and
the federal member states, he will adopt a consultative and all-inclusive
approach to the conduct of state affairs. Although he has been in office for
barely eight months, the President has already conducted over four meetings
between the two levels of government in Somalia.
It was
the late great poet, Mohamed Ga’al Xaayow who told us that “yoolbaara la’aan
aa, badweyn loo yumbanaa”, (it is without establishing the depth of
the sea, that we sink). It is imperative, therefore, for the President, to
establish a competent entity to undertake the gigantic task of identifying the
primordial causes of conflict in different regions in Somalia. Luckily, Article
111I of the Somali Constitution indicates the establishment of a Truth and
Reconciliation Commission to ‘‘foster national healing, reconciliation, and
unity, and to ensure that matters relating to impunity, revenge, and other
triggers of violence are addressed through a legal and state-directed
process’’.
Above
all, history has proven that a reconciliation process that is not anchored in
justice is an exercise in futility and thus will be a waste of resources.
Fraternity
among nations
In diverse
fora, the President has stressed that he will endeavour to establish a Somali
state in harmony with the world especially the countries within the East
African region. This can be seen as a shift from what President Mohamud
perceived to be his predecessor, Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed Farmaajo’s wild
warrior approach to diplomacy. President Farmaajo had strained
relations with Kenya and Djibouti.
By having
good relations with the countries in the East African region, President Hassan
Sheikh Mohamud could achieve better cooperation from these countries towards
the fight against al-Shabaab. The cooperation could also hasten Somalia’s
admission to the East African Community.
Although
the President has not stated this categorically, some pundits within the region
interpreted a ‘Somalia in harmony with the world’ to mean that the revanchist
and the irredentist policy of Somalia may soon be coming to an end.
Somalia has previously advocated for the restoration of territories that
it strongly felt formerly belonged to her. Somalia has not yet withdrawn from
this stance.
The
abolition or reduction of standing armies
Somalia
is a country recovering from violent conflict and is in the process of
rebuilding its security machinery. Currently, there is an African Union
Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) contingent. If President Mohamud succeeds
in ending the al-Shabaab insurgency, the peacekeeping forces, which have been
in Somalia since 2007, will have to leave.
If the
President’s efforts lead to ATMIS handing over operations to a capable local
security apparatus, this will be a major milestone.
Apart
from the difficulty in ending the insurgency, other challenges abound. For the
local security apparatus to have the necessary skills and training, the Somali
government must carry out comprehensive Security Sector Reform. Additionally,
the government should avoid human rights abuses in its current military operation.
And for a
bonus; the crown jewel
President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud in
Bahda, Galmudug along with Galmudug leader Ahmed Kariye on 19th of December
2022
The
al-Shabaab insurgency is the single biggest obstacle to a peaceful Somalia. The
insurgency has killed hundreds of thousands of Somalis and destroyed the
country’s economy. It has not spared the neighbouring countries either. It has
attacked Kenya, Ethiopia, and Uganda.
Since
June 2022, local militia and the Somali military have liberated many districts
from the group’s control.
During
his talk at the US-based Centre for Strategic and International Studies on
September 16, 2022, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud acknowledged the
limitations of the military approach and decapitation (targeted killings of
insurgent leaders) as a strategy to end the insurgency. He stressed the need to
complement his current enemy-centric ways with the de-legitimisation of the
al-Shabaab message, financial control, and negotiations to end the
conflict.
Empirical
evidence supports the President’s assertions. In their 2008 lengthy study, – How terrorist groups end: lessons for countering Al Qaida, Seth
G. Jones, and Martin C. Libicki, looked at 648 terrorist groups that
existed between 1968 and 2006 and examined how terrorist groups ended.
They found that; ‘‘Terrorist groups end for two major reasons: Members decide
to adopt nonviolent tactics and join the political process (43 per cent), or
local law-enforcement agencies arrest or kill key members of the group (40 per cent). Military force has rarely been the primary reason for the end of
terrorist groups (7 per cent)’’.
By
complementing the military approach with a raft of soft methods, the Somali
government seems to be on the right track in tackling the al-Shabaab
insurgency.
This
piece ends with a glance at its beginning and the general observation therein.
In conclusion, for President Hassan Sheikh to be a candidate for the Nobel
Peace Prize, he must be able to achieve, to a great measure, what Somalis yearn
for. But what is this elusive goal?
‘‘Soomaali
heshiis ah, dunidana heshiis la’ah’’ (a harmonious Somali Society, and
in harmony with the world). Obstacles abound but it is achievable.
Over to
the Nobel Peace Committee.
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