By Hassan Ahmed
The coming presidential election in Puntland will be a very good opportunity for Puntlanders to prove their usual claim of being a civilized society by learning how to accept the defeat of their candidate(s). However, to me, the tasking part will be the ability of some contestants to convince their people and gaining their support for the winning team considering the fact that there can only be one winner, while they improve on their strategies for the subsequent elections. But, if we fail to understand this then we will all be losers as failing to admit or an attempt to ignore the effect, in terms of chaos, this can bring in the society, clearly disproves our claim of being a civilized society. To prove all these, we have to show good conducts and actions and setting our priorities right.
One of the most dangerous things a person can do is to mislead innocent citizens for selfish reasons to gain or cling on to power or position. Unfortunately, slandering and character assassination has reached an epidemic level that has reverberated nationwide, and it needs careful attention for it to be tackled appropriately. However, it is our collective duty to decide if we want to move forward as a peace loving nation or go back to the Stone Age era.
There are some elites who seem to be more emotional rather than practical. Yes, we are a society whose system is based on tribalism, where the tribe is loyal to the tribesman and the tribesman is loyal to his tribe. This might seem good at the local level; however, if we are to adhere to this at the national stage, then we can only come to conclusive evidence that could be a recipe of disaster. These will result in blindness that is way far from the reality. Consequently, what is good for the state and society in general which will definitely bring a negative dimension that may not benefit society in any given measure. In a nutshell, every regime is evaluated by its accomplishments and the vision of its leadership. I choose to recall the regime of President Abdurrahman Faroole which has a distinguished track record. Some of his attainments before his current position as President include: (1) being the governor of Nugaal region In 1990, (2) Minister of Finance under the government of Abdullaahi Yuusuf, and (3) Minister of Planning under the government of Cade Muuse.
Some of his achievements as president include the creation of the Puntland Special Forces that fights piracy-which is of course a major national and global problem. His government also created the elders group that is tasked with educating society on moral issues and its effect on society. In particular, it was directed to educate young people to refrain from joining pirate groups, and to make them understand where piracy it stands in our faith. More so, his government created opportunities and taught its people different skills of work. Faroole was responsible for the creation of the Sea Task Force of Puntland. This force was exclusively trained in Japan. Furthermore, Faroole’ administration also signed treaty between Galmudug state and Puntland state which brought an end to the series of terrorist attacks that was targeting the civilian figures finally bringing stability to Galkayo. President Faroole was the pillar of the road map of the Federal Government of Somalia-Garoowe I and II, and he was the foundation and patriarch of the peace agreement signed between Puntland state and Galmudug state in Galkayo. Under his government, he signed business deal with the Canadian-based company known as African Oil Company. Also, his administration built strong relationships between Puntland, its neighboring countries, and the international communities. His leadership showed relentless effort and immediate response to victims of natural disasters such as the hurricane that wiped part of Puntland.
Perhaps, it is worthy to note that none of President Faroole’s predecessors ever accomplished what he accomplished during his five years tenure. To deny this will be wrong, and to ignore it will not be wise enough. It is normal for some readers to start wondering whether or not I belong to same clan as the president Faroole, which honestly I am not, as I only choose to acknowledge good governance and hard work over tribalism. No doubt, Puntland still has a lot of things to work on and still in need of new and fresh ideas. To these end, the effort of those who tried sincerely and failed are respectfully accepted compared to those who are in the process of trying, however, they foresaw their chances of succeeding being negative and instead chose to raise a cloud of dust in the hope of changing the outcome to their own favor. However, considering some of the achievements of Faroole’s administration and that of the oppositions, if any, I think the appropriate question is not whether president Faroole is compatible with Puntland, but whether other candidates are, by considering their past records and achievement of the administrations they served.
(WAXAAN KU SOO GABA GABEENAYAA, IN MARWALBA CAQLIGA LAGA HOR MARIYO CAATIFADA. TAASI WAA MARKEYNU WANAAG DOON NAHAY)
By Hassan Ahmed
Email: hfangase@gmail.com
The post Why keep President A. Faroole appeared first on WardheerNews.