Following on a piece published Yesterday
on the most popular newspaper in Kenya- The
Daily Nation titled “It’s time Kenya and Somalia became one unit” by KARANJA
KABAGE; Is the article just a wishful thinking of a blogger or an exercise of
shaping the political discourse- the trademark of Blair’s spin doc Alastair
Campbell. I would say the latter. Hence this article critically analyses the
bias and the underlying motivation of the story.
Let me set the record straight on
two points in the article straightaway. First point, Mr Kabage legitimises the 2011
invasion of Kenya into Somalia as an act of self-defence and an attempt to
stabilise the country. Kenya defied UN Security Council Resolution 1725 of 2006
that endorses the specification in the IGAD Deployment Plan that those States
that border Somalia would not deploy troops to Somalia. Moreover the then
president of Somalia Sheikh Sharif Ahmed described the invasion as illegal. We
understand that Kenya was not invited into Somalia by either Somali government
or international community. However if
Kenya’s unilateral decision of invading Somalia was to protect its border from
Al-shabaab-the terrorist group, in fact it had the opposite effect: more terrorist
attacks in Kenyan soil, recruitment tool for Al-shabaab both inside and outside
of Kenya. For one account between 2008 and 2015 Al-shabaab executed 272 attacks
in Kenya among them is 2013 Westgate shopping mall attack. Al-shabaab still controls large parts of
Somalia including the outskirts of port city of Kismayo where Kenyan troops are
stationed.
The second point, referring to
Somalia’s current political conflict Kebage says “as the saying goes, to a
Somali the family and the clan come first versus the rest. This is not true.
For Somalis Somaliness is first. The writer’s above statement is similar to the
view held by Ethiopia’s last emperor Haille Salassie in which he ruthlessly campaigned
against Somali nation or Somali State- characterising Somali people as anarchic nomads who offer allegiance
to the clanship. This politically and
economically motivated propaganda did not last long as Somalia became the first
democracy in post-colonial Africa.
Kebege’s view of united
Kenya-Somalia where Somalia will be producing a Deputy President while Kenya
produces a President might sound crazy but there are many who genuinely believe
that once more Somalia should be divided and annexed. Recently the prime
minister of Ethiopia Dr Abiye Ahmed announced that Ethiopia and Somalia will
become one country. It is not the first time The Daily Nation of Kenya promoted such view. In 2008 The Daily Nation also published an
article titled “Why Kenya and Ethiopia ought to annex and divide Somalia”.
It is mind-boggling to understand the unrealistic dreams of our neighbours- the idea of annexing what is left what was once known greater Somalia.
It is mind-boggling to understand the unrealistic dreams of our neighbours- the idea of annexing what is left what was once known greater Somalia.
Over the past 50 years or so the
Horn of Africa region has been engulfed in chronic conflicts that are driven principally
by economic interests. It is true that Somalia is endowed with natural
resources oil and gas etc ; longest coast in Africa, and more importantly people with entrepreneurial
mind-set. However these resources can only be benefited if Somalia fully stands
on its feet again.
Stable Somalia can positively contribute
to the realisation of economic cooperation between regional states and beyond. The
balkanisation of Somalia into clan based regional states should not be
supported. This undermines the efforts to bring the country back together. The neighbouring
countries must stop meddling in Somalia's domestic politics. Somalis say "Somalia belongs to Somalis". No one should dream of taking one inch of Somalia' territory.
In conclusion Somalia is not the uninhabited disputed Islands(Senkaku Islandsdisputed by China and Japan), it is a sovereign nation with a great history. In spite of the internal issues,
Somalia is still a force to be reckoned with. No matter how long it takes Somalia will
reclaim its place as a regional power.
hassaneksaato@hotmail.com
i agree with your viewpoint. it is absurd and strange to see Kenyans hold intention to annex while they can not theirs together. Kenya is fragile country and happens to end up in turmoil whenever there is elections.
ReplyDeletefor argument sake, assume somalis are loyal for their clans but it is hard truth Kenyans are local to non-other than Corruption and more extreme when it comes to tribalism.