Opinion: WHAT WENT WRONG WITH ASHA PRIMO

Isniin 24 September 2012 SMC

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WHAT WENT WRONG WITH ASHA PRIMO

In Sanskirt, Asha means “Hope”, and in Italian Primo means “First”. The 1960 Somali Constitution was the nation’s “First Hope”. That constitution was the bedrock for wielding together the union of Italian Somaliland and British Somaliland.

The Somali union was the result of ethnic pride, nationalism and plenty of emotion. The 1960 constitution represented a people’s hope. In retrospect, it may have been too much to expect that the politicians of the day, as inexperienced as they were, would be able to fashion the just society that Asha Primo promised. This was not a situation unique to Somalia.

All over Africa, Asia, and pretty much in the developing world, politics proved to be a fluid power susceptible to abuse. For older generations, the names of Obote, Amin, Mobutu, Bokassa, Trujillo of Dominican Republice, Samosa in Nicaragua, etc, bring to mind visions of politics gone wild.

Following the letter of Asha Primo, the Somali political landscape followed the script. The 1967 elections went as well as they could have, given the time period. The sitting president was defeated in the polls and became the first democratically elected, and replaced chief executive to peacefully transition out of power in Africa. President Aden Abdulle Osman’s decision to cede power brought visions of U.S. president George Washington walking away from office after two terms in office. However, that’s where the similarity ended.

While in the US, at the time, George Washington’s decision ushered in a culture of contested and peaceable political transition, In Somalia the political elite degenerated into clan politics and gerrymandering. The constitutional guarantees provided by the 1960 constitution became no more than inked words on a parchment. Abuse of power and position became rampant. It is possible that many politicians did not understand the constitutional roles that they inhabited.

Clan politics reared its ugly head, and pretty soon whole segments of the Somali nationals became second class citizens. The 1960 constitution was rendered toothless by politicians and a population that was, perhaps, too unaware of its power. This is the lesson of the 1960s that must not be repeated in 2010’s .

Article 3 of the 1960 constitution, the Equality of Citizens, provided that “All citizens, without distinction of race, national origin, birth, language, religion, sex, economic or social status, or opinion, shall have equal rights and duties before the law.”

The word “shall” in this article is not an accident but was inserted to insure that citizens’ equality was mandatory rather than permissive. Yet those of us who had lived in Somalia after the mid 1960s and onwards know that Somali citizens were anything but equal under the law. And therein lies the danger of constitutions. A constitution is of no use if not given currency by the citizens that are the stakeholders.

Five decades since that first constitution was written, a much heralded modern and expansive constitution was enacted in 2012. This constitution is very expansive and provides for more protections of personal liberty and civil protections than most of the world’s constitutions.

The New York Yankees retired catcher is reputed to have once uttered, “its deja vu all over again”. Well it is deja vu all over again in Somalia. There is a new constitution and the sitting president, albeit a transitional president, has been voted out. Congratulations to President Sharif Ahmed for conceding defeat magnanimously. Congratulations too to Speaker Sheikh Sharif Hassan for ceding the post of Speaker of the Parliament.

The challenge is now where do we go from here. The truth of the matter is that the easy part has been achieved. Now the government is faced with providing solutions to intractable problems that it has inherited from more than 40 years of misrule and civil war. Somalia’s problems did not happen overnight and thus solutions will likewise take a long time. It is imperative that the most immediate of needs, safety and security, is tackled first.

Without safety and security the conditions for utilizing the nation’s human and economic resources to meet the promise of its constitution will not exist. The people look with hope to the new administration, and they are willing to be realistic but they are looking for change not a continuation of the status quo.

There will be demands from many quarters. Some demanding reconciliation with Somaliland, some demanding exploration for oil and gas, some demanding the return of their homes and other property, some demanding action on environmental concerns, all of which can be achieved in time. However, to belabor this point, the most immediate issue is safety and security.

I was in Mogadishu in July, 2012 for 8 days, and I saw a population doing its best to survive, and also a government, media and civil service doing their best to do their job. Everyone was at risk for their lives everyday and yet everyone was doing his or her job.

If the government of President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud can provide a semblance of safety such that media can write or publish without being assassinated or physically harmed, or the members of government can travel in Mogadishu without fully armed bodyguards, then, in my opinion, this government will be a success. The constitution lays the grounds for a separation of powers and a robust judicial branch that has the ultimate say on constitutional issues.

Until there is a nationwide referendum and constitutional amendments are enacted in lawful process, the political elite should refrain from attacking this constitution, and concentrated on building what gains, and there are many, that have been achieved under the Transitional Federal Government.

Somalis are passionate and intelligent people. They are a people who excel in all competition when given a fair shake. There is a reason why Somalis dominate commercial life in places as far flung as South Sudan, Kenya, Uganda, and South Africa.

On many of my trips; it is always gratifying and a point of pride when I come across a young Somali professional at some airport somewhere in the world. Today Somalis live all over the world speaking many languages and are being exposed to various cultures of the world.

There is no looking back. The Somali media, despite being under siege even today, continues to heroically serve as the fourth pillar of society. There is a lot of hope. Now Somalis have to learn to accept compromise. No one lives in a zero sum world where there are only winners and losers.

The economic opportunity cost to Somalia of 40 years of upheaval runs into the billions of dollars, and has also cost over a million lives. There are no ifs, ands, or buts about the Somali conundrum. Somalis have to learn to compromise in order to achieve the true fruits of a free life guaranteed by liberty, and comforted by justice.

Abdul R. Abdurahman, Esq.

Abdul Abdurahman is senior partner at the Law Office of Bausch & Abdurahman. He is multilingual and speaks Somali, English and Turkish languages.  He graduated with his Juris Doctorate from Quinnipiac University School of law. He studied International Business Transactions and Islamic Jurisprudence at American University in Cairo, Egypt.  He graduated with his Bachelor of Arts from Central Connecticut State University and studied at Middle East Technical Institute in Ankara, Turkey. He also studied in Kenya, Uganda and Somalia. Attorney Abdurahman can be contacted at legallysomali@hotmail.com. The Law Offices of Bausch & Abdurahman is located in West Hartford, Connecticut. www.Balawyers.com.

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