Erigavo-Burao highway named Silanyo Road in his honour
By M.A. Egge
Somalilandsun-For the first time in the history of Hudun and its environs like Bohol H.E. Ahmed Mohammed Mohamud
Silanyo became the first ever President to not only tour the place, but also to make a speech, to the happiness of the area residents.
This unprecedented feet comes in the wake of the over weeklong tour that the head of State to conducting in the eastern areas of the nation following the latest drought sweeping the country.
By the time of going to press last night the President had reached Burao while on his way back. The country has honoured him by naming the newly built Burao-Erigavo road Silanyo Road which he has just inspected. Hundreds of people lined along the roads welcoming him with ululations at Yufle, El-afweyn, Fadigaab, Garadag, Waridaad, Hayira and along Burao streets.
The tour which culminated in the “Nation Prayer for Rains” ordered by the President in the height of the drought saw the Head of State joining congregations at Ergavo in Sanaag on Thursday.
The trip which is a tour dubbed “Tabantaabo” , loosely translated being “motivation”, is one which the President specially undertook to personally witness the impact and extent of the drought, mobilize the nation to indulge more into alms giving and motivate togetherness and solidarity in helping one another.
The President is accompanied by First Lady Amina Haji Mohammed Jirde, Kulmiye Chairman and Presidential Candidate Mr. Muse Bihi Abdi and the Ministers for Presidency, Finance, Education, Livestock, Information, Agriculture, Interior and Public Works -the Honourables -Mohamud Hashi Abdi, Lady Zamzam Abdi Aden, Abdillahi Ibrahim Habane, Abdillahi Mohammed Dahir “Ukuse”, Osman Abdillahi Sahardid, Dr. Mohammed Dahir, Yasin Mohamud Hiir (Faraton), Ali Hassan Mohamed (Ali Marehan), The Presidential Private Secretary, Former Finance Minister Abdiaziz Samaale, area MPs and senior government officials.
After a week of the President personally praying to God at each and every stop at the dozens of towns and rural centres he has visited, and only a day after the special Thursday prayers for rain, towns like Hargeisa and Tog-wajaale were blessed with the devise water falling.
Heavy rainfalls have now been reported at Sabowanaag district of Marodijeh, Gebiley and Dila and also parts of Awdal region.
While visiting each and every affected area the President participated in relief distribution and called on the people to be patriotic, united, peaceful and merciful to each other.
At the same time the President inaugurated several water wells that have been bored and inspected others whose works are in advanced stages.
Though the draught is more or less countrywide, the much affected areas are parts of Sahil region, Togdeer, Saraar, Daad-madeed, Sool, Hargeisa and Sanaag regions.
Initially the President visited Sahil areas and Togdeer. He then went on to Sarar and Daad-madeed before going on to Lasanod.
He then headed to El-afwein and Erigavo in Sanaag.
H.E. Ahmed Silanyo spent nights at Burao, Ainabo, Lasanod El-afwein and Erigavo.
Before each and every dusk, he visited extensively every district in every region he toured and mixed with his people while consoling them, advising them, boosting their morale, inaugurating new boreholes and/ or helped in distributing relief supplies.
Truly, all along the places he visited, the President witnessed gruesome scenarios whereby the livestock has perished and the owner pastoralists having their-selves and their families in dire situations whereby their plight was in poor shapes.
Despite having done monumental task of marshalling a lot of relief supplies without any tangible foreign aid, the President continued praying to God to relieve the people off the duress the subjected upon them by the drought hence advised the nation to be mindful of each other.
H.E. Ahmed Silanyo made several round table meetings every evening wherever he went whereby widespread consultations were made both at regional and national level.
This tour has been quite different from all the others the Head of State made for he has been busy all along from dawn to well after dusk and into the nights.
He has shown tremendous stamina in braving and heat, dangerous terrains, voluble dust and travelled up and down crisscrossing the regions of the nation.
He visited tens of rural centres per day and made stops at each village consulting with the masses who lined up the roads welcoming him.
Such huge welcoming that was witnessed at each rural or urban centre was more marked in Hudun where the mood was more joyous contrary to the overall drought-driven trip.
This may have been precisely because in the history of the town no past seating President has ever visited, be it that of the foregone Somali regimes.
In Erigavo the President was told of the fact that families hit by the drought have had 5 or more displacements hitting them hence they changed habitations every once in a while.
All through the trip, communities had their elders, their intellectuals and their youth cutting across gender welcoming the President and hilariously lending him ears.
They braved the heat to welcome him at every point.
