FOR THE SAKE OF SOMALIA LET US WORK WITH THE PRESIDENT I had the privileges of meeting President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, on one and one, for about ten minutes on Sunday. During those precious minutes, it was remarkable for me to observe in close proximity, the President’s personal demeanor and eagerness to engage his visitors on topics of their concern, while putting them at ease by flashing on his impeccable smile. This trip was President Mohamud’s second visit to Minnesota, which itself is indicative of how important this state is to the rebuilding efforts of Somalia. I am one of the first Somali pioneers who discovered this great State of Minnesota for Somalis. I remember back in 1992, the Somali population was mostly consisting of a dozen young men who came here to look for jobs. At the time, I could not have imagined one day, Minnesota would hold the largest Somali population living outside of Somalia. The sheer size of the Somali Americans living in Minnesota and their affection for Somalia is hard to overlook. This is why President Mohamud came here after his visit to Washington, DC. It is beneficial for Somali leaders to cultivate closer relationships with Somali Diaspora who could play an important role in Somalia’s quest for peace and stability. From my personal observation, it seems President Mohamud has gained a lot of experiences during this trip and understands that like anything else, there is a room for improvements in his government leadership that can be adjusted during the remainder of his term. The President needs our advice and personal contributions to the help govern the country. Much of what is happening is not always, a clan-based, some of the major problems holding back the progress of the country are related to lack of political and financial independence, technical knowledge and manpower. Progress cannot take place without the contributions of the Diaspora towards political reform, establishment of good education system, creating adequate healthcare, and reduction of scattering unemployment that is responsible for creating insecurity. I understand that when progress is tight, stress levels are high and also when the vision of instant success doesn’t happen as quickly as we wished for, it is easy to let those emotions get to you, but we have to always keep in mind that our leadership is not completely sovereign to manage their own internal affairs and do not have the power to dictate. It needs the Diaspora Somalis to get involved and help the country attain full sovereignty by standing up for Somalinimo, staying above the fray of the power struggle between centralism vs. regionalism which both are endanger of being absorbed into other entities if this baseless infighting continues that is not the best interest of our country.
Posted on: Tue, 12 Aug 2014 20:51:20 +0000
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