I personally don’t know the newly elected President of Somalia other than what I read in the media. But the reports of the people who know him better give an encouraging picture about him.

We were all worried about votes being bought and sold in Mogadishu to an alarming rate. He has never been implicated in that vote buying market which could be a clear indication that he is a man of integrity. In spite of being a wild card, he won the election with a convincing victory. That was the surprise to everybody including the ex- President himself. So one can say, there is more to it than meet the eye. I was surprise too then, but not anymore. When I join the dots, the picture is clear at least to me. His biggest asset is living in Mogadishu at the thin and thick of times as well as being a technocrat; who has the patience and determination of a bull. There is one qualification he had in addition to his formal qualifications that I think was the tipping point to his victory. Let us see the pole position the President took in relation to a magic number.Some numbers are known to be lucky and others are believed to be unlucky. I am a palmist but I cannot read the President’s hand from a distance. So I decided to resort to reading numbers to discern the President from a distance. I wrote an article about the subject of numbers sometime ago and I will slightly reinvent myself for the sole purpose of reading the President with numbers.

Number 13 is believed to be unlucky in the West, while the Chinese believe number 4 is unlucky. Thus some numbers are considered to be lucky or unlucky. That ignited my curiosity about the numbers. Are there some numbers that are really lucky or unlucky as some belief? I want to share with you the number that has a magic touch. The number is 5. Universally a 5 star symbolizes higher quality. A group who desert from the main are called the 5th column, normally one would call them the second column not the 5th. The biggest military institution in the world is called the Pentagon– the 5 cornered building in Washington DC. Globally people used to observe different working days either six, or seven. Now all is settled with 5 working days.

As a Muslim, one has to pray 5 times a day and observe the 5 pillars of Islam. By creation; humans have 5 fingers, 5 toes, 5 senses and 5 systems.

From the Somali perspective, number 5 is equally an important number. We call a girl “shan ka roon” better than 5 if she is all rounded. We call the man who supports women… “dumar shaneyee” as though they were only 4. We believe wealth is composed of 5, as they call it the “Shanta maal al aduun”. If somebody breaks or fails terribly they say “Shanshadu Ka jabay”( broke on the 5^th bone).If some disappears into the unknown they say “ Shaan Shaan Bu Dhacay(5, 5 away). If somebody is a liar or changes hats at all times, we say he has “shan diinoodle” (he has 5 religions).If someone interferes with your business you say “Shanta ha ila soogalin” (don’t you put your 5 in me). Which means mind your own business.

During the struggle for independence, the 5 Somalis was the buzz word and nothing less or more was politically acceptable. The Somali flag has a 5 cornered star to symbolize the 5 Somalis. After the name the “Ogaden Region” was changed to 5th district in Somali Ethiopia, everything seems to fall in line. Number 5 reappears in the Somali tribal system too; as the multitude of clan system has been reduced to 5 (four and half) after a long and tedious meeting in Arta. But since the fifth number is only half and not a whole number it will not work. The fifth number should be a whole number for the luck of the number to work successfully. My Mom used to say “Shanshada lama jabiyo” (the fifth bone is not to be broken).

Having said that as a way of introduction, the President have at least two extremely important 5ves in his sleeve which I believe has swayed the vote in his favor without buying votes. The first and the most important number is… he is the 5^thPresident of Somalia (A.Mahdi, A. Qassim, A. Yusuf & Sherif). Secondly he was born in 1955and you see clearly he has not only one 5 but two fives in his birth date….double lucky. In addition to that the two persons who will be working with him closely have the lucky birth dates too. The House speaker was born in 1945 and the Mayor of Mogadishu was born in 1955. Success and peace is not only in the horizon but in hand since Hamar Cadde fell into the good hands of a lucky leadership. To complete the circle of luck, the President must elect a lucky Prime Minister who is either born in 1955 or 1945. The Federal System of Government should also be divided into 5 Federal States so that the 5 star in the flag represents the 5 Federal States instead of the 5 defunct Somalis. In that case we will continue to sing “Shantu wayseku hooyo iskuso hiloobee”. If all that happens; then it will be a “Kaboo”, for a card player, which means all is won. But if you are a Tennis player it is a ‘walk over’. If you are in Hargeisa and possibly chewing Qat; it will simply be “Somalia Way Dhaqaaqday”, it is happening in Mogadishu. But in Mogadishu the lucky President may be singing gleefully to himself:

Hamar way hadhaysantahee Hadaanan: Hadaanan HargeisaKusaarin Heegada ee Hadaanan.

What about me; I have an advice for both the President and the people of Somalia based on two known Somali wisdoms. To the President I say” Wax la qariyo qudhun baa ku jira;( anything hidden stinks) which means you must observe transparency and accountability at all times to earn the trust of both the Somalis and the donors. To the People of Somalia I say “ Barasho Horteed Ha inicin”( Don’t hate me before you know me); do not hate or dislike the President before you know him well.