By KEN-ARTHUR WEKESA
Haji Mohamed Yassin, a founder member of the Somali Salvation Democratic Front, an opposition force that toppled the lawless regime of former President Mohamed Said Barre, will be in the Somalia presidential race. He spoke to KEN-ARTHUR WEKESA on his vision for the war-torn Horn of Africa country if elected in the August polls.
Somalia has for many years had complex problems that successive regimes have never solved, why should Somalis trust you on this?
Indeed our problems as a nation are complex but it doesn’t mean they can’t be resolved. Look, the world has resolved socio-political and economic issues in the past. For instance, European, America and Asian countries were destroyed by the world wars of 1914 and 1945, yet today these nations are hubs of peace and stability. In a way, countries near home – Rwanda, Burundi and Ivory Coast – have walked the path of resolving their myriad issues. It breaks my heart and soul that Somalia is still mired in instability for two decades now.
Resolving the above issues is more than just lamenting about them
Of course, that is the reason I am contesting to be the president of Somalia, a nation that has perpetually been failed by a rogue leadership that is only hell bent on making the yokes on the backs of Somalis heavier as they engage in despicable acts of corruption and ethnic clashes. Somalia is in the limitless pit of disintegration courtesy of these leaders whose talk of stabilising our great nation is cosmetic rhetoric as they remain stooges of foreign interests that economically thrive when innocent children and women die in the war they sponsor.
Your allegations are very serious. Can you qualify them?
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| Haji Mohamed Yassin, Somalia Presidential candidate |
You need not be a genius to know that ruthless cartels of foreign forces have for decades been bestriding Somalia’s political strata. Somalia is a poor nation, so they say, slapped with arms embargo and doesn’t manufacture firearms. How then is it possible for her to sustain war for 21 years? Foreign forces that impose leaders on the populace, finance different warlords who in turn arm their respective communities against each other, are the reason Somalia institutions – Parliament, Judiciary, Executive) are dysfunctional . The greatest tragedy is that over the years, successive leaders have chosen to be the pawns in this chase game for Somalia. At the behest of foreign players, they have driven our nation to the dogs. It rouses fits of rage to see that Somalia, with only one tribe, one culture and one religion, cannot be one.
Don’t you think the common Somali has reservations that like other leaders, if elected you will play the foreign ball?
I am not the blue-eyed ‘boy’ of the west and none of them is behind my candidacy. Besides, my allegiance is to my country and her people. My intentions are sincere and true, and since I am already blessed as a successful businessman, am not interested in sucking dry the taps of Somalia’s wealth. I will therefore not conspire with the foreign forces to keep Somalia in war for purposes of fattening my stomach. My focus will be to establish the rule of law, which is why I am vying on a party that describes my vision for Somalia. The party is called JPP, which stands for justice, peace and progress. Justice will guarantee good governance, peace can only be attained if there is justice, and the two are ingredients of progress in all spheres. Somalia’s sickness can only be healed if a proper diagnosis is done to her and proper prescription given. Wrong leadership is her problem, right leadership is her solution.
Who are the foreign voices behind the problems in Somalia?
Those that are interested in the onshore and offshore oil of Somalia; those that dump toxic chemicals in Somali waters causing cancer to our people, those who spend billions of dollars to protect the thriving business of piracy in the name of fighting it? Those whose large vessels encroach on Somali waters and illegally harvest fish worth 2 billion dollars every year, those that supply firearms, those that are hell bent on destroying Somalia so that they can make a kill by getting monopolies to rebuild her. The enemies of Somalia are known. Please develop more interest in Somalia and issues thereon. You may want to do investigative journalism, and use the power of the pen to tell humanity the truth.
