Somalilandsun – The author of this article Yusuf Dirir Ali originally published in March 25,2012 took a lot of flak from almost all those who wrote comments and exactly a year later his predictions become true. There is oil exploration going on in various parts of Somaliland and following the Berbera disputes some other inhabitants in different Somaliland regions are making the same claims-Republished here courtesy of the writer-Editor
By: Yusuf Dirir Ali
Throwing your hat in the ring and having your say in a sharp and a civilized way is one thing, going clannish and labeling false accusations on our government and private Somaliland citizens is another thing. It is acceptable to fairly and constructively criticize our democratically elected government and also our businesses, but going clannish, rabble-rousing and instigating tribal hatred that can potentially lead to violence is not acceptable to the majority of Somalilanders. We want this clan based worthless way of life to come to an end. We can not afford to waste our more than two decade-old hard-earned illustrious and amalgamated achievements.
Today we have a problem in Berbera, in the coming future we can potentially have comparable problems in Burao, Hargeisa , Borama, Las Anod or any other places in our much-loved country. Pursuant to the superfluous Berbera problems, what do you think will come about, if a huge reserve of oil is discovered in a small village somewhere in Somaliland and speculative claims/allegations similar to those of Berbera community are raised? Will that not chase away badly needed budding investments for our country? Let us end this clannish goaded obstructionism of badly needed investment in Somaliland, if not; we will remain underdeveloped forever and will be cursed by our future generations.
Boasting and hiding behind clan names will not build us a hospital, will not feed a hungry child and will not hollow out a borehole well for our animals, but exploiting our natural resources will help us achieve flourishing socioeconomic well-being. The natural resources in Somaliland are collectively owned by all Somaliland citizens and our government has announced publicly that Somaliland is open for both local and international investments. I hope we will all abide by this announcement and welcome all those who want to invest in our country. I think investment in both human and natural resources will show the way to prosperity. for that reason, we must not put tribal bride and cheap personal interests before our national goals.
Following selfish personal and clannish routes will only discourage prospective capital and investment for our country. Not only that, but these could turn out to be a possibly disastrous and unintentional recipe for anarchy similar to that of our neighboring country – Somalia.
We must not underestimate the enormous and important challenges ahead. Let us all think “big” and not waste our time on Dahabshiil’s UN-constructed cement factory. We must use our valuable time and concentrate on cultivating good ideas, learn to support one another in a communal approach and move ahead. Our poverty and war-ravaged vulnerable communities must not be allowed to be opportunistically used by greedy and clan motivated individuals.
I fully agree with those who raised the environmental questions. It is the responsibility of our government to protect our environment and if our government goes astray on environment or any other important issue, we must then resolve those problems collectively through our legislative bodies and independent legal system. The environmental problems are complex national and global issues. To tackle this all important issues, we must but our resources together and come up with innovative smart ideas without hindering the development of our communities. Definitely, a runagate individuals’ usage of mass broadcast media to instigate clannish wars and cyber hooliganism without vision are the wrong ways to go.
Yusuf Dirir Ali
