Donald Kipkorir’s Outrageous Suggestion

If this individual were an European, he would have been condemned as the old colonizer rearing a bad head. But he is a Kenyan and wants to control half of Somalia. The problem is what he is interested in could be what is in the ground, such as the future prospect of oil, natural gas, uranium and iron ore, as he mentioned it in his article. It seems that he has completely forgotten the Somali people who are the sole owners of the nation, as well as its national resources, which means if there is anyone who can exploit whatever resources a sovereign nation has it is its people. The other grim fact is even both people are Africans there is a visible difference between the two nations that start from religion and ethnic make-up that will make it very difficult for both of them to live and work together, especially if one of them has the upper hand. What he is advocating is forced occupation that had not been around since World War II where nations such as Japan, Germany, and Italy were granting themselves lands generously that do not belong to them and that had gained them names such as fascists and nazis that send shudder down the back of anyone even today.

The same goes to the Ethiopians, because it will not do them any good knowing that they are badly in need of a seaport, because the price they will have to pay will be ten folds. As it is now, it is expensive for the Ethiopians to use the port of Djibouti and getting their own sea outlet by annexing Somalia might not be the best solution, as it will stretch their limited resources, because they are not going to get any payoff immediately that will compensate for what they would incur, such as already developed oil fields that will put money in the government coffer. There is a huge responsibility of administrating the people that this individual had completely forgotten. As to the not proven natural resource he claims, they are also available in Kenya and Ethiopia in plenty. The only problem is both nations do not have the expertise and the capital to exploit them. Therefore, although the Ethiopians fancy to have unrestricted sea outlet without even considering the use of a port, there is no need to add more responsibility to both shaky economies that have serious problems of supporting their own people adequately, since there are people that are going without food in both countries. The Somalis, with the problem that is engulfing them are still faring better as he admits it, because their per capita income is more than Kenyans at $600. What this shows is the problem is elsewhere and the individual does not seem to see what it is.

The main problem of the Somalis emanates from the clan system that is in place where instead of people who have similar ethnic origin working together toward a given goal, they just happened to prefer a sub system that focuses on the clan and they wanted it to be the major method to be used while doing things in the nation. That particular nation had a very effective government not long ago that had come very close to annex the Ogaden region if the Ethiopians did not get help from Russia. Probably they might have done it again if not with the aid of the USA, the Ethiopian government in office intervened and put a stop to an Islamic based fundamental governmental system from taking root. The minute such an administration unites the nation it would have made gaining back the regions the nation claims to have lost to Kenya, Ethiopia, and Djibouti its priority, because this particular nation seems to live for this particular cause, as it had been manifesting it through its flag. What this means is this small nation is a threat for these three nations that at least have somewhat functioning and effective governments.

The question now is what does Somalia need to come out of the quagmire it had found itself in? It is not the first time when well functioning nations and people somehow found it difficult to administer themselves because of irreconcilable differences. It is possible to mention Russia as an example where some centuries ago it had to invite outsiders to come into the country and sort out their internal problems, because the local people just could not do it. Without even going that far the same had happened in Ethiopia where the people in the north had to invite the Yeju Oromos to take charge of the administration responsibility because of differences that had made it difficult for them to run an effective government.

What this shows is Somalia is also at such a crossroad where the differences that have strapped the people had made it difficult for them to create an effective government. This happened after they had effective governments for many years that were serious threat for their neighbors whom they claim had annexed part of their country and the Somali people living on it. Therefore, at a time when they are forced to drag their feet because of minor misunderstandings that emanate from their preferred way of doing things, it is not fair to dismiss them as a failed people or nation and rush to dismantle them. If it is the Americans or any advanced nations such as Europeans that were taking charge it would have not been a problem, because their success and riches could easily be rubbed off on them. But when nations that have difficulty to keep their own house in order are contemplating to annex sovereign nations it shows that there is something wrong and it might be an intended prank, because no one will allow it.

Consequently, the experiment to salvage the Somali governance system should continue and the next phase might be to recruit experts, three-fourth from Africa and one-fourth from around the world, including the Arab world and let these experts be given the mandate by the UN to go in and govern the country. The government in office could change its form where it could even make some arrangement with the Islamists and together can continue to play a similar presidential role the Ethiopian presidential office is playing, which is a ceremonial role of representing the Somalis around the world and try to solve some of the softer social problems and strains. That means it might be possible to turn around the situation and there is no shortage of people in Africa or around the world who are qualified and would like to do the job, because it will turn out to be a lucrative employment that could span two, three or four years. There are well-qualified individuals such as the UN secretary general Kofi Annan and South Africa’s Thabo Mkebi who could volunteer to put the groundwork because they have the experience and expertise and eventually things could be run by professional experts. We can also add the Ethiopian PM Meles Zenawi since he could retire at the end of this term and there cannot be a better insider than him. When that is the case the focus will be the economical, social, and political well being of the nation where people would start getting what they need to better their existing lives, although they are not faring that bad with all the problem that had afflicted them. Eventually, it does not matter after how many years, the people might find a way of taking back their government and whether they would be ready or not will be decided by international bodies such as the UN.

In the meantime, all problems related to terrorism and the new pirating problem eventually could disappear as the people start to have other meaningful ways of making a living. To make such a drastic step a reality the Somali people will have to be willing and should cooperate with those who are trying to help them. Especially, the Isalmists would have to curtail their drive of making the nation a theocratic nation that harbors fundamentalism and should focus in modernizing the nation that would fall behind its neighbor unless they clean up their act quickly. The outrageous suggestion made by this individual might sound practical because nations or peoples of a nation are not allowed to participate in any illegal activity that is becoming dangerous by the day, although everyone understands that they could be doing what they are doing because of survival reasons that had gone out of proportion, because it seems that they are making a lot of money that enables them to live a luxurious life. The better choice is to continue to work to help the nation overcome the temporary problem it is grappling with by introducing the next phase. Other steps might be taken only if the nation with its people fails miserably and refuses to get help, where the whole world might be forced to disregard the refusing people and would introduce a measure that will bring the menace they are causing to an end. In a situation like that what Donald Kipkorir suggested might make sense even if it will be feasible at a very steep cost for all involved.