Inside N&N: There Is a Trojan Horse

President Mohamed Abdullahi ‘Farmajo’ and his Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khayre Administration of the Federal Government of Somalia, under the banner of their N&N Government  (Nabad iyo Nolol), meaning ‘peace and life', have boasted enough since coming to power.

Their dogmatic assertion, however, raises many questions that demand answers: what does ‘peace and life’ actually mean to them? If it means ‘living in peace’ in what conditions do they want us to live peace?  Living peacefully in a sovereign nation of Somalia or peaceful existence under the suzerainty of Ethiopia as shown in their actions?  From the perspective of their much-vaunted integration of the Horn of Africa governments, could this mean surrendering Somalia peacefully to its enemy ? Where is the ‘peace’ and the ‘life’ they are boastful of in a country on which Alshabaab wreaks havoc at liberty, collects tax from all ports, from all commercial entities in Mogadishu, the capital city and the government’s seat? In a country where government ministers pay protection money to Alshabaab? And how the peace gonna be achieved when the national army is busy fighting with the Federal Member States under the noses of the Alshabaab? What necessitated the Federal Government to fight its the Federal Member States is more troubling?

In order, however, to find the answer for this riddle let’s look into the components of which the N&N is made. 

The N&N is comprised of two mutually instrumental groups: politically naive, myopic, wannabe politician simpletons led by a quixotic and power greedy, President Farmajo; and well-informed ex-members of Alshabaab led by financially connected and highly influential purportedly ex-Alshabaab Fahad Yasin. The former has short term objectives of wringing some of their constitutional powers out of the hands of the Federal Member States leaders in order for them to remain on power after the election expected in 2021. The latter has a long time and malignant goal of obliterating Somalia and wholly incorporating it into Ethiopia. This is why I call the N&N ‘Nacas & Nacab’- ‘fools and foes’, a more appropriate appellation for it.  

Alshabaab and  Ethiopia:

In Somalia, there is more than meets the eye going on.

Alshabaab’s actions invariably belied their statements; they claim to be an Islamic fundamentalist in war with an un-Islamic government in Mogadishu supported by troops from non-muslim countries, but they indiscriminately massacre innocent unarmed Muslim Somali civilians.

From the cui bono principle - for whose benefit  - responsibility for an act lies with one having something to gain, it can be deduced that Alshabaab’s actions only benefit the enemies of Somalia. Ethiopia is the number one enemy of Somalia; its peoples resemble the Somalis a lot and can easily pass for Somalis if learn the Somali language. In fact, besides a good portion of ethnic Somali in Ethiopia’s population, many of its other ethnicities speak Somali as a second language; furthermore many of its security forces are taught and trained with Somali culture and language as required by their professions. 

Alshabaab’s formation at the presence of Ethiopian troops in Mogadishu in 2007 is a fact that is more likely a far cry from coincidence.

Therefore, from these facts,  it can be deduced that Alshabaab is an Ethiopian army in a covert mission in Somalia. A classic enemy ship sailing under false colors – under the religious flag in this case.

The Federal Government as a Stalking Horse:

It is well known that self-proclaimed Alshabaab repentant is in the rank and file of the N&N Government. As mentioned before, Fahad Yasin who is now the head of National Intelligence and Security Service, the patron, and most powerful of the ruling cabal,  is purportedly a repented Alshabaab fighter. And the list of ex-Alshabaab in the government is not short.

That means Alshabaab had infiltrated all the levels of the Federal Government of Somalia, especially in the security wings. It had grafted itself on to the heart, body, and soul of the N&N Government to the extent that its members became the Federal Government’s policymakers; and thereby its schemes became government policies. Ingratiating with Ethiopian leaders and seeking their blessings while condemning anyone who isn’t cooperative in its romanticizing Ethiopia became the N&N Government’s hallmark. 

Unbeknownst to some of its members, the N&N Government carries out its enemy’s plans, Alshabaab’s plans. Out of idiocy, others in the N&N assumed that holding a tiger by the tail is a lifesaving act, a self-preserving. But to the Alshabaab operatives in the N&N, the greatest happiness is drawn from “defeating their enemy, watching them bathe in blood and tears, and taking their enemies’ daughters into their bosoms”, to paraphrase Genghis Khan. And apparently this is why the N&N Government gives primacy to the fight against its federal member states over the Alshabaab war. 

Alshabaab fifth columnists want to use the Federal Government as their stalking horse in a way that seems advantageous to the N&N Idiocracy. Their ultimate goal is removing all the obstacles that can eventually stand in the way of absorbing Somalia into Ethiopia. One move towards that end is the demolitions of the governmental and societal frameworks by tearing down the Federal Member States or imposing their crawlers on them as leaders. Constantly instigating a discordance between the federal government and its member states by dishonoring the federal constitution is another centrifugal move.  The strategy is to keep Somalia divided until its people atomized and disarmed so as to be easily integrated, and swallowed, into Ethiopia’s HOA empire.

Conclusion:

Aside from optics and rhetorics in social media, the Federal Government of Somalia exists not beyond the murals of Villa Somalia where it is guarded by AMISOM (African Mission in Somalia) troops. Its ministers reportedly pay protection money to the Alshabaab, in its capital city, let alone it to guarantee the safety of its citizens.

The need for a strong and effective federal government of Somalia is all known. But that urgent need shouldn’t be allowed to be exploited by its enemies and be used to undo whatever gains made in cobbling Somalia together, in the last two decades. In other words, antagonization of the federal member states or treatment of constitution with contempt shouldn’t be mistaken as the effectiveness of the federal government as often sold by the Alshabaab’s fifth columnist in the N&N.

Division and dissension have had their tolls on the Somalis. More discordances will only weaken Somalia more. The Federal Government should seek strength in the unity of its people and hence bring them closer. It instead became ‘Eelka kii dhigey u ergootooy’, and turned for help to the perpetrators of Somalia’s troubles.

Ethiopia wants to hold Somalia by its factions while slowly but surely swallowing it. On one hand, Alshabaab, its clandestine army, moves the Somalis out of their country dead or alive; on the other hand,  Ethiopian settlers move in there en mass.

The Federal Government of Somalia should know that Ethiopia is not a friend, but a foe of Somalia, and should be dealt as such. And that Ethiopian troops will only help Somalia dig its grave deeper.

An old Somali adage goes like this: “Miro gunti ku jira miro geed saaran looma daadsho” - fruits in the basket shouldn’t be thrown away for ones still on the tree. The Federal Member States shouldn’t be disrupted now, even if needs must until there is a strong federal government that can take their places – use what you have in hand to get what you want.

Nevertheless, the leaders of the Federal Member States should be held accountable for delinquencies in Somalia’s foreign affairs.

It’ll be a big folly to disrupt the Federal Member States or to suspend the constitution, the law of the land, in expectation of doing so will strengthen the Federal Government; and the consequence of doing so will be catastrophic.

Ahmad Khalif

The opinion expressed in this publication is those of the author. They do not reflect the opinions or views of the GAROWE ONLINE