The Roadblocks PM Abdiwali Must Avoid
Bashir Ashkir Musse
ashkireau@gmail.com
Managing Director of Somali Academy for Management
Dec 19th 2013
OPINION
History was, and still is, the best teacher. The lesson it disseminates to human being is painful, sore, but relevant for those who are willing to learn. For some, indeed, it is a cozy teacher because it always strives to communicate real waves of what is than what ought to be. In the virtual classes that history teaches, emotional inferences that human teachers feel about their students are totally taken out of the context. In other words, history gives us the reality while our professors give us emotionalized philosophies that are hard to apply in the real world.
Today, with the aid of history, let us underscore the political pitfalls that drove last administrations the wrong path. Moreover, as they say that a problem well-defined is like a problem half-solved, the idea is to rewind our memory and see our mistakes through fresh lenses. From our recent mistakes, we can drive some hard-to-come-by lessons and avoid them once and for all.
When you look at our past politics, limitless pitfalls begin to emerge. These drawbacks come as obstacles and the root cause of our ill-fated politics. They held back many competent politicians who sat on our throne. Rationally they were the factors that were, and continue to be, responsible for political and social gridlocks. Irrespective of the reasons, though, these hindrances are again to materialize if we keep on ignoring them.
One of these impediments that lie ahead for the next administration is what we can call the “Diaspora Syndrome”. In the past, both the legislature and the cabinet posts were mostly held by dual citizens whose main aim in politics was superb advantage. In practical terms, nonetheless, a dual citizen means a divided citizen. When a citizen if divided between two (and maybe among many) nations, both physical and intellectual capacity of the citizen are shared.
In other words, she is between here and there, doing nothing. Furthermore, commitments suffer. Because the intellectual capacity of the citizen is at odds, devotion and loyalty get sloppy. For example, while two-thirds of the cabinet members have valid passports and valid airline tickets, their dependability for the long hall is questioned. This is so because a ready-to-fly minister, or an MP, is like an always-in-transit politician—who flies out when potatoes turn red. In short, when the going gets tougher, they simply call Daallo Airlines for next flight schedule. And guess what they do after that? They criticize the administration.
In 2010, upon transiting in Ambouli International Airport in Djibout, I met a minister in the Sharif administration who was giving an interview to a journalist. This minister attached all the bad names on earth to his government. And when asked if he intended to go back, he said he was happy being on his flight to Europe!
This is a universal law. When we have fewer options, our choices are scarce. And if we do not make the right choice, we are doomed. The opposite is true. This is the rule that the Spanish conquistador applied in Mexico in the17th century. What this conquistador did was to burn all the ships that transported his army to the other side of the water, Mexico. His argument was to give his soldiers the options of fighting to the last one, or facing the water and die there. Unsurprisingly, the soldiers took the option with the potential opportunities—to fight and conquer Mexico. The idea? You cannot control a politician with many options.
Somali PM Abdiwali SH Ahmed
The second pitfall that paralyzed the country’s previous administrations was tribalism. For starter, tribalism is the single most poisonous substance we let in on our politics. In fact, it is a peril intruded into our living body. From the red blood cells to the intestines, the virus of tribalism is positive in all of us. More so, it affected the root canal of our wisdom tooth. Almost anything we think about and do is based on tribal stuff. Of course it is an identify porch in our culture, but we took it seriously. That is why I am having a prayer rally against it next week. I am also asking the single mothers of this country, whose husbands were perished in the civil war, to join me.
The third pitfall is about our dead bureaucracy. We have ministries without policy and strategic plan. Throughout administrations, posts were occupied by incompetent, badly hired civil servants. Even right now, if you go to any government institution, you will find the very people who were hired to change the system chatting on Facebook and on other social media sites. They simply collect their paycheck and have fun with friends, using public facilities.
The solution? The solution is within us. We do not need outside help to correct our mistakes. We need to have an investigative eye on our recent history. Quit honestly, many people get their lessons the hard way. And we do, as Vernon Law put it, “Experience is the worst teacher; it gives the test before presenting the lesson.” Beyond doubt, a bold replay of our past can reveal huge insights to the solution. By taking 100% responsibility for what happens to us, our understanding of what works sharply increases.
Put differently, to deal with the situation and get better results, we must know three things: (1) what we did wrong, (2) where we are now, and (3) where we are going. This is called the “Tracking Equili”.
We need to do the first things first. In arithmetic, the order of operations prevails simply because it has to come in the universal order. For instance, in applications that involve in multiplications, divisions, and/or subtractions, to get the intended results, you must never reverse the universal order of operations.
Much like punching numbers into a calculator, building a great administration starts with putting the right policies and procedures in place, before we think about doers—the people. This is basic politics 101. Once we have effective human resource procedures and policies intact, hiring the right people for the right system becomes easier. Instead of depending on tribal hiring system, the HR selection process will do the work for you. Those with the right credentials will advance in the system, and they are the ones who will take you past the bridge. Those with the tribal recommendations must never set foot on the system. In other words, we need to stop pleasing everyone. This is so because as Bill Cosby argued, “The key to failure is trying to please everybody.” Do the country a favor by discouraging tribal influence on the system.
With this scheme in place, the system will generate the right change where political leaders are groomed. A pool of risk takers, who are willing to endanger themselves in the process of getting things gone, will come forward. They will grow the right mentality and attitude the country needs. They will grow pride and confidence and leave legacy to their offspring. Or is it possible?
Bashir Ashkir Musse
ashkireau@gmail.com
Managing Director of Somali Academy for Management
___________________________________________________
The Opinion expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Raxanreeb Online editorial policy
Use Facebook to Comment on this Post
