The Somali government collaborated with the U.S. government’s war on terror with benevolence, but an outcome of its cordial cooperation was unintentional civilian casualties by drone strikes. In addition, reputable sources indicated that U.S. intelligence operates unlawful, secret prisons in Somalia where detainees from Middle-Eastern nationals are tortured or executed. Moreover, the U.S. administration hurts the nascent democracy in Somalia with a travel ban and deportation of Somali refugees. 

Somalia cannot afford U.S. intervention when our citizens are mistreated, ironically by a great democratic nation, and punished because of the Islamophobic attitude of the erratic leadership in the current administration. Recently, the U.S. administration announced the halt of aid in response to lack of accountability in the country’s non-transparency. The causalities of U.S. bombing has generated more resentment to American foreign policy by Somalia and outweighed any goodwill from aid money. 

United Nations

The U.N. administration in Somalia is the de facto authority in Somalia and behind the scenes has manipulated the most strategic policies that the country has adopted. It pays the administrative fees of all regional administrations and police forces. It is known that the U.N. imposed Somalia’s provisional constitution and owned its rigged approval of pseudo constituents of the general population. Even though the U.N. has an undeclared trusteeship of Somalia, the country has felt unprotected from neighboring countries, which are relentlessly threatening to annex parts of Somalia’s territorial waters and land. Meanwhile, U.N. officials in Somalia remain silent on neighboring aggression to the Somali territorial integrity. Ironically, the U.N. sponsors the enormous expenses of African peacekeepers in Somalia to fight against extremists and defend the U.N.-backed weak Somali government. On the other hand, it imposed an arms embargo to Somalia, making the country unable to defend itself and equip its national army force. The U.N. makes successive mandates of renewing its involvements even though it has failed to achieve success in the past 27 years of involvement in the country’s domestic affairs.

European Union

Europeans are the root cause of the chaotic system of governance in Somalia. During their colonial era, they adopted a divisive strategy to alienate Somali territorial unity and sympathized with Somalia’s Christian neighbors. Their colonial mindset persists today, and their policies towards Somalia have not changed even though they approach Somalia with different names, such as European Commonwealth, European Economic Community, and European Union. They recently forced Somali’s constitution to be included in the adoption of ethical federalism and tribal democracy, which discredits Somalia’s unity and its national sovereignty. 

The European Union often allies with poor leaders in the country who will align themselves with their strategic interests. That kind of political alliance encourages autocracy, corruption, and an unsustainable course of under development. The combined efforts of poor leadership and the complicity with European Union policies has caused massive youth emigration to the West, resulting in loss of life and those who were survived suffer severe racial harassment or destined for a cheap labor. Moreover, the European Union is the lead exploiter of Somalia’s marine resources and participates in illegal toxic dumping in Somali’s off shores. The European plunder instigated the rise of pirates in Somali shores, and the fight against them caused imprisonment and death of many youths, and the destruction of the country’s fishery industry.

African Union

The African Union conforms to the dictates of their former colonial masters. The aim of their submission is to get financial compensation of their mercenary services of peacekeeping. The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) military operations failed against armed extremists. The main purpose of their deployment was to achieve lucrative salaries. Since 2007 the extremists have been gaining strength, and AMISOM casualties have been skyrocketing. Their effectiveness has been undermined by their autocratic leader’s unrealistic money-hungry approach and their expected dream of life exchange for money. Failure of motivation for proper cause voided confrontation fights of AMISOM force with the extremists and after ten years of unproductive presence both European donors and combat force country providers realized that it is inevitable to let AMISOM exit out of Somalia at the end of 2018.

Gulf States

Gulf states are the second worst enemy of Somalia. Even though we share a highly valued faith, culture, and deep-rooted race relations, wealthy neighboring Gulf states are unwilling to promote democracy in Somalia. Somalia is very susceptible to changes that might affect the rule of monarchies in the Gulf states and that has changed the attitude of these states towards Somalia. Neighboring Arab countries are indifferent about Somali’s traumatic transition that made its people exuded all over the world. Somalia has shown sympathy for Arabizing our country and solidarity with Arab causes against Israel. Yet the Gulf states are unwilling to support our cause against our African neighboring countries, but instead have been an undetected source of disseminating extremism, conflict, and wars in Somalia. They seem friendly but antagonize non-Arabic countries by promoting religious clerics with unfamiliar political ambitions and intervene in the country’s presidential elections by providing money to favored candidates that are stooges for their strategic interests.

Somali Government

The Somali government is in a collision course with its political dissidents. The president declined to engaged in a power sharing dialogue with independent politicians who rallied behind political reforms. Instead, the president, who was a failed prime minister, made a cabinet of minorities and the country returned to a very dangerous situation where the security worsened and public discontent was rated very high. The motto of the president appeared to be "the rule of minority and disrespect of the majority.” The minority rule became tyranny of the minority who partnered with the aim of tribal revenge alliance against the dissidents of influential politicians of the majority. Even though the president’s team is inexperienced in political skills, they are mainly agents of foreign spies and members of radical religious faction that correlate with armed extremists in the country. Instead of improving the country’s economic recession, the president and his cohorts promoted government funded, organized public ceremonies for self-publicity and grandstanding. Besides being a weak leader, whose power is abused by his subordinates, the president was an awful traitor who accepted rendition of the citizens to brutal foreign regimes.

International Aid Organizations

International aid organizations have the ability of raising an enormous amount of money by using undercover channels to publicize living conditions in poor countries like Somalia. After this negative image of the country has been created, international aid organizations are reluctant to stop the campaign. They raise funds on behalf of the country by disparaging the trust and integrity of country’s governmental and non-governmental establishments and their organizational leaders. They mislead the world with analysis and reports far beyond the actual situation at hand. It is like an international legal mafia that blamelessly enjoys luxurious living commodities of life and lucrative businesses of aid money. They bribe poor local leaders with gifts and by employing their relatives or loved ones. They also abuse their work force with harassments and intimidations, and often fire those unwilling to cooperate with their misappropriation. They do not follow local labor laws that protect workers’ rights, and more often disregard any actions against them, because they created unquestionable influence above the law in an underdeveloped country like Somalia.

Somali’s Challenge

Opportunistic foreign entities are like contemptible vultures that anticipate the death of carrion, but exploit their prey before it dies. When America says our interest first, it shows no mercy for others to survive. That is the slogan for the new world order under the dictates of the U.S. current administration. Somalia has a very slim chance to overcome the barriers and burdens of allied foreign interest entities that are horrible bad forces against Somali’s recovery from death bed. The responsibility of our irresolvable challenges depends on our responsive, collective endeavors to change our country’s leadership failure and promote election of an honest leader that cares the well-being of the general will of the people and the common good of the country. Somalis need to unite seeking a better leadership in our country, then all burdens get reasonable approach of tackling them. Current president is far away from having any traits of good leadership, and it is a waste of time keeping him in office with no better outcomes expected in the near future. Waiting for good results with poor leadership is like expecting to spray water on dead body to make it wake up. Change of leadership is an immediate choice for the best interest of the country and that can avert vultures flying on the top of our sicken sovereign nation.

Dr. Said Mohamud

Chair of the Somali People’s Party

Presidential candidate in 2012 and 2017

Maine, United States of America