Somaliland:Lawmakers Violate Laws Due To “Brown Envelopes” and Grafts

By Abdirahman Mohamed Dirye

Somaliland’s social disease of nepotism and invading tribalism seemed to die down during President’s Kahin’s reign but aggressively revisited to the highest echelons of the government. Furthermore; new phenomenon was added to the danger: greedy MPs’ of “brown envelope” accepted to act as uncle ruckuses in the political dramas portraying the Speaker of the Parliament as ugly culprit whom they were filmed hugging and bragging him yesterday when he returned from overseas! The Parliament built, financed, and approved by the EU became a supermarket where anyone’s search for approval of a project is just a matter of money. And that is the end of the democracy. Dirty politics or mudslinging thrives on ignorance and selfishness; above all, there is no code of conduct for office holders or separation of powers.

For lack of political literacy, the government begun to tribalize the national institutions giving not just to one tribe but to anyone they mistakenly thought toothless and aimless, inward-looking folk. The ordinary people who do revolutions and extraordinary things in the other parts of the world are alos passive and divided over clannish abstract ideas.

 In 1991 the Wahabi cult brought good Hadhith “bribery giver and receiver are cursed by Allah” but the Hadith became counterproductive by increasing bribery takers from zero to thousands when Silanyo included into the cabinet. The bribery has so many positive names in the political arena of today and temptation to take it has never been stronger.

 Kulmiye ruling party is dominated by Sheikhs and Akhwanes, and Wahdadis wearing Arab and Paki costumes and robes with medieval turbans who claim to be perfect and clean and less materialistic. Although orthodox Islam demands humility and social justice, the activating animalistic instincts of eating out from Ritz— see Somali TVs adverts about food and refreshments in Dubai, London ,and Nairobi—and of doing polygamy for sexual gratification but with subsequent divorce is the daily bitter reality; the more religious people become the less faithful, and practicing they become today.

The days of parroting checks and balances by the incumbent president are over too! He is always silent when political waves are in his favor but he yells at us whenever he feels threat to his throne or unplugging of millions of dollars pipeline from ports through accountability.

MP with condition of anonymity said “I was given good money to vote against Hon. Speaker of Parliament, a man of high caliber and high credibility in the eyes of the public but money is a kind of religion here.” “Though I was at the bottom of the UK society, I am gonna buy a mansion in Monte Carlo”  “When somebody dials me I don’t reply until my Zaad account is credited” he added. It is all about money, MPs are loyal to cash only. Their pockets are their ears. This reminded me of a day an able-bodied man lined up in Sooyaal Office with disabled to take cash. And passerby saw him and asked why are you there “I am disabled in the pocket!” he uttered and kept in the line. Maybe that is where we are today.

 Don’t be with wrong camp today simply because you hate someone or feel minor grievances. Stand by justice because you can be the next target for ailing blind regime led by half-eyed man.

It is a grotesque to expect the president of such experience to behave in such silly way to invade the parliament and try to oust the Hon. Speaker. However; Erro exercised his authority to demote his two secretaries who used to sit beside him just to entertain him with good jokes and standup comedies, in my knowledge the speaker committed no crime so far, but what upset the ailing president and his Friendly Nurse is yet a mystery. Is there another Uf iyo Akh concert in the pipeline? Probably not.

Mr. President I know your foolish coteries are telling you the ordinary are tired of taking laws into their own hands and showing small uncle Ruckuses ( Wajikumacaash)  of various tribes in the TV  avowing you to lick your backside in all circumstances and then your cohorts  inform you with good tidings that you are the most popular figure in the country for you are repaired your restroom or Presidential Road before the recognition. They tell you all your political peers had gone and you can manipulate the ordinaries as much as you wish to rig the election to win which is not true. But let me tell you this: people who love Somaliland up to death will punish you with their votes in the next election much worse than UDUB.  People will never relinquish their rights for the sake of bucks; though money and women are the greatest political weapons today, there are people of integrity still left in the world.   I am sure.

However; MPs fell short of their duties and turned to vending machine which only need to be inserted some coins into them or turned to vehicle on rent to use by every driver provided with to have money to lubricate their hands.  But Somaliland deserves better MPs.

mrdirye@gmail.com