This is the second time in less than a month that Sado´s appearance in the Somali media has been lambasted by the Somaliland authorities. Prior to the emergence of this song, Sado has participated in a Somali gathering in the US, where thousands of Somalis had to come in a show of support for a former Somali Vice President,

Las-ano (Sunatimes) Thirty-five years ago Sado Ali Warsame joined Wabari, Somalia’s foremost music group that existed before the collapse of the central government of Somalia and today she is still indisputably one of the best and admired of her ensemble. Sado became a household icon in 1975 when she appeared on the stage dressed modestly and astonishingly beautiful with a romantic song called Cunaabi (amber), a song that up to the present time, is evocatively listened by millions of Somalis. Sado´s popularity is not only due to her magnificent voice, but her pro-unity stand, political courage and outspokenness against injustices make her renowned. Unlike many of her counterparts, and without hidden agenda she objectively opposed the practices of Somalia’s last totalitarian regime in 1980:s and for this she had been jailed twice by the then NSS, a notorious secret service organ, existed in Somalia. The first time was when she had, through a poem criticized the brutal oppression against the people of the central and northwest regions of Somalia. The second time was in late 1980:s, when she sang a song called land cruiser.

This song made her, an epitome of struggle against the injustices and corruption that prevailed in Somalia.  As someone whose heart belongs to the well being of the Somali people her song depicts the huge gap between the lives of the ordinary people and that of the corrupted top echelon of the last Somali government who misused aid donations from donor countries. The message of the song was very clear as the words of the song painted how these corrupt officials went, with the donated funds, on expensive and brand-new glittering Toyota land cruisers, albeit the ordinary residents of the capital of the country had no water, electricity and other indispensable amenities.

For the last year or so a new song by the name libdhi maysid Lascaanood (Lascaanood won’t vanish) by Sado Ali has been airing in the Somali musical world. The song is so absorbing not only for its touchy lyrics and pleasant music but its content is redolent and remindful of Somali nationalism and historical facts that had delivered the Somali independence. It similarly portrays the significance of Lascaanood as the cradle of the Dervish movement, the Somali struggle against the British rule. The song expresses that pro-unity SSC regions of Somalia and Lascaanood, which has been occupied in 2007 by a secessionist militia clan, called itself Somaliland would not be part of a pretend state.

Although the song, Libdhi maysid Lascaanood has been welcomed and almost all Somalis are moved by it, yet the song has irked and became ants in the pants of those who want to dwarf and destroy the unity of our country, specially the so-called Somaliland politicians.

This is the second time in less than a month that Sado´s appearance in the Somali media has been lambasted by the Somaliland authorities. Prior to the emergence of this song, Sado has participated in a Somali gathering in the US, where thousands of Somalis had to come in a show of support for a former Somali Vice President, Mohamed Ali Samatar, and one of the most respected personalities, Somalia ever had who has been accused of war crimes by some Somalis. The accusations against Samatar are familiar rehash of fabricated stories, driven by ultra motives of  “Somaliland”, a clannish entity that has been relentlessly seeking international recognition for the last twenty years through all sorts of propaganda. Privy to the aim of those who accuse Mr Samatar, Sado stood up in the Somali gathering and once again has spoken powerfully and eloquently for justice, arguing that it was a hypocrisy to single out Mr Samatar for what had happened in Somalia while other members of the regime are protected in else where such as in Hargeisa, the capital city of “Somaliland”.

Sado´s support for the former vice president and her new song,libhdi maysid Lascaanood have obviously stirred up a hornet´s nest of the politicians in the so-called “Somaliland”. The politicians, there have been furious to the extend that militia’s interior minister, Mr Abdillahi Ciro warned his clan entity that Sado´s new song is to foment uprising in Lascaanood´s people against the presence of Somaliland militia. Another clannish hate-monger, Faisal Ali Warabe and the leader of UCID party in Somaliland threatened the people of SSC three days ago with war because of the song and on-going SSC people’s meetings aimed at liberating Lascaanood.

But the paradox here is that while Sado Ali was the one, jailed in 1980:s by the NSS due to her opposition to the oppressive measures of the brutal regime against the people in northwest region of Somalia, these two hypocrites who hail from the northwest regions were part and parcel of the regime.

Mr Abdilahi Ciro was an NSS officer in 1980:s, responsible for interrogating and torturing innocent people from the very entity of which its militia today is responsible for the ethnic cleansing, killing and jailing of SSC people.  On the other hand it is not secret that Mr Warabe was an informer who collaborated with the regime during 1980:s for pecuniary reasons and he too was responsible for the imprisonment of innocent people from his own clan.

No matter what such dissimulators say Sado´s song, Libdhi maysid Lascaanood decodes acrystalclear message from the SSC people and that is - the occupation of Lascaanood will not stand.

Mohamed Ali Mirreh
Email: [email protected]