Somaliland: Rerouting Somalia’s Road to Recovery via Hargeisa is Inevitable

The enthusiasm and eagerness of the 1960 generations concerning the Somaliweyn idea has been tried and failed in big way. The current ages in Somaliland are new species going solo and exercising their right to self-determination by unilaterally reclaimed their sovereignty – which is and has been beyond of no return territory for the past 30 years.

In the early 1990s when Somaliland unilaterally announced resuming its sovereignty as a state, that move was deemed by Somalia, African as well as many other countries around the world to be a hasty decision that has not been thoroughly brain-stormed because the reviving of Somali Republic is – according to their expectations – a project that can be easily rebuild and Somaliland would never succeed functioning like a full-fledged state.

However, that one-sided premise was refuted by the practical events of the most recent 30 years that happened in both the soils of Somaliland and Somalia. The present truth on the

ground entirely sides with Somaliland – which commands admiration and reputation in the region and around the world – and questions if any type of a reasonable state is in the pipeline for the South Somalia.

At the point when the now defunct Somali Republic – which was brought into the world in 1960 after the merging between Somaliland Protectorate and the Italian Trust Territory of Somalia – fell apart one state promptly bounced from that breakdown when the other one is yet in a disintegrated state status.

If Southern Somalis insist ignoring or rejecting the realities in Somaliland – and IGAD member states, the African Union, the United Nations, and countries that are close friends of Somalia support that position of Somalia – there will be no lasting solution to the struggle of installing a functioning state in that spot of the world.

The current tragedy in Somalia is an immediate descendent of the demise of the Somali Republic. The first order of business should have been scrapping the remnants of that old republic into its original constituents.  Shockingly, the initial step of that order was taken in the wrong direction and still the case stays going on that wrong track.

That excursion on finding cure for Somalia began with the UN brokered “Addis Ababa Conference” in 1993, followed by Arta Peace Conference facilitated by Djibouti – a next door neighbor of Somaliland – at the blessing of President Ismail Omar Gelleh in 2000 and series of further reconciliation conferences ensued till 2004 when the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) came into existence. The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) was later created in 2007 to help TFG relocate to Somalia.

On top of that, European countries, the USA, Turkey, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar have flooded millions of dollars into Somalia thinking such crisis could be avert and reversed with money.

The moves and maneuvers attempting to rescue South Somalia from the ruins of the Somali Republic – and at the same time intending to help her stand up on her own feet- without first tending to the Somaliland case for separate statehood from that failed unification would be destined for disappointment until the end of time. Somaliland case represents an essential step that is close to impossible to be dismissed if the mission is looking for the best ideal solution to Somalia’s problem.

Thus, the rush for fixing South Somalia to rebound from a failed state to a viable nation without Somaliland playing a leading role will not be fruitful and feasible, regardless of the foreign aid and international interventions of diplomacy, military, and developments that she receives.
The genuine picture of the endeavors intended to take Italian Somalia back to the domain of real nations bears nonviable message of reconstituting the expired Somali Republic when one of the first constituents – the Somaliland Republic – has quit going that route and instead pursuing recognition as an independent state and the reality of disregarding that decision shows how these undertakings are far off from accomplishing the two-state solution. No one can coerce Somaliland into another union again with Somalia. If there are still voices within Somalia and foreign governments who would like to see a Somali Republic one more time, they should look back at the 2001 Somaliland Constitutional Referendum – which had the objective of endorsing a new constitution and reaffirming its status as an independent state – and respect the will of the Somaliland people. Somalia’s allies – who are pushing the plans to revive that country – insist on a one-man one-vote elections in Somalia to end the current crisis.

Just to shed a light on the great deal of hypocrisy in those plans, they don’t question the logic allowing the representatives for a 5 million in Somaliland to be handpicked in Mogadishu when Somaliland is no longer part of Somalia

In October 2020, Somaliland suspended working the UN and its agencies in protest because it became clear that they were openly interfering in the sovereignty of Somaliland.

For the Somalia’s road to recovery to become legitimate vehicle that leads towards the contentious issue of sovereignty and the reality in the region a detour towards Somaliland is an indispensable stop of the journey.

Since the collapse of the Somali Republic, no channels of communication were in place between the two except for a six occasions where they attended the mediation talks hosted by the foreign governments.

The prescription for Somali’s pain is currently available and has been so at the Somaliland’s Presidential Dispensary. Though, the verdict at the Somaliland Presidential Palace backed by the will of the Somaliland people is not an ambiguous one and whoever decides coming there should be prepared to acknowledge that bitter reality. Somaliland’s sovereignty is not negotiable and South Somalia is expected to acknowledge that fact which is the best cure for their problems.

Once the first hurdle is out of the way, Somaliland’s experience over the past 30 years in terms of inter-clan peacemaking, law and order enforcement, economic development, and holding of free and fair elections is what currently Somalia craves for and can learn from Somaliland.

Ahmed J Yassin

Email: ajyassin4@gmail.com

Clinical Laboratory Professional

Jacksonville, Florida USA