Report on the Decline of Violence in Iraq

Introduction

Formerly Mesopotamia or the “Land between two Rivers”, the current modern state of Iraq is situated in the Middle East. It is bordered by Syria to the West, Turkey to the North, Iran to the East, Kuwait to the South-east, Saudi Arabia to the South, and Jordan to the South-west. The country descended into anarchy and insurgency when the former President of the United States, George W. Bush, ordered a U.S.-led invasion in 2003 under the pretext of destroying Saddam Hussein’s Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD). Iraq has been under the dictatorship of the Baath Party from 1979 until the subsequent capture of Saddam Hussein in 2003 by U.S. troops. This article looks at what led to the reduction of violence in Iraq in 2008.

Misconceived Notions about Iraq

Once considered a homogenous Arab Nation and a beacon of peace and stability, the nation-state of Iraq, has, since 2003 (with the exception of 2008), transformed into a safe haven for hard-line insurgents and turned out to be a nation composed of various social structures or social strata each with its unique culture. To the north are the Kurds who consider themselves to be non-Arabs with their own distinct history and culture. Among the Arabs there are two Arab societies: the Shiites in the South and the Sunnis who populate the middle of the country and who had a bigger stake in the running of the country during the reign of Saddam Hussein. [1]

The terms Sunnis and Shiites refer to different religious sects within the Islamic faith. Despite contrasting views among U.S. citizens, according to popular opinion, the “troop surge” implemented during the presidency of George W. Bush is reputedly thought of as being behind the drop in violence in Iraq since 2008 even though there is no way to prove or measure such claims.

The Evolution of a new Political State

Pioneered by the United States, her allies, and the coalition of the willing, the evolution of the current Iraqi state with its multiple political parties came to the fore after the subsequent departure of Saddam Hussein and his Baath party elites from the political spectrum. Likewise, the creation of new democratic institutions of governance and the restoration of freedom and liberty to the Iraqi populace, the formation of northern Kurdish prefectures and the taming of the Peshmerga [ii], and the curtailment or defeat of the predominantly Shia Mahdi Brigade, shepherded the progression of a new Iraqi state. It was Lt. Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal who was credited with finding and capturing Saddam Hussein and with tracking and killing Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the Jordanian-born leader of Al-Qaida in Mesopotamia.[iii] Only 20% of the 479 districts of Baghdad known as Mahallas were free of organized crime before a year-long operation by the U.S. military and Iraqi security forces (ISF) brought safety to the capital and improved the situation. According to Brig. Gen. Mike Milano, a top U.S. military official tasked with restoring security to Baghdad, nearly 80% of the capital's districts became free of organized extremist activity.[iv] The most comprehensive report on the decline of violence in 2008 appeared in the July issue of the Weekly Standard in which the author, Kimberley Kagan, attributes political maturity to be the cause of the partial cessation of hostilities for that period.[v] The establishment of many political parties along tribal lines laid down the groundwork for stable, nonsectarian, and at least cross-sectarian politics.

Decline in Violence

Many may wonder why Iraq got immersed in a sudden sagging political quagmire immediately Saddam Hussein was removed from the helm and why there was a semblance of peace in 2008. The countless spates of reprisals seen in Baghdad before the surge were caused by the bitter hatred that existed between the Sunnis who had a stake in the running of the Iraqi government during Saddam’s 24-year reign of terror and the Shias who profoundly felt marginalized. The bombing of the golden Shia Mosque[vi] on February 22^nd, 2006 culminated in the launching of attacks that resulted in retaliation by Shias against Sunnis. After stabilizing the chaotic situation in Iraq, Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, the man who came to be the progenitor of what came to be known as the Petraeus Doctrine, turned over the reins of power to Army Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, in October of 2007. [vii] Figure 1 features the overall weekly Iraq trends beginning September 25, 2004 to December 7, 2007 while figure 2 shows coalition, Iraq security and civilian deaths from January 2006 to November 2007.

Professor David Siddhartha Patel of the Department of Near Eastern Studies at Cornell University, commenting on the insurgency in Iraq, had to say this: “The fighting in Iraq really isn’t motivated by Islam. It’s really motivated by politics; it’s about economics; it’s about money. And that divide between Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds that we hear so much about … that doesn’t really capture what’s going on. Just as much, the violence is within groups as between groups”. [viii] Consequently, the following factors could be attributed to the decline of the insurgency: [ix]

v  The weakening of Al-Qaida and the collapse of tribal coalitions;

v  Sunni Arab parliamentarians’ acceptance of the Iraqi constitution;

v  Coalition forces’ defeat of Iranian-supported “special groups” and the engaging of Muqtada Sadr’s Mahdi Army/Jaysh al-Mahdi (JAM);

v  The establishment of tribal “Awakening Councils” and the formation of Concerned Local Citizen (CLC) groups to fight Al-Qaida in Iraq;

v  Coalition forces’ collaboration with the civilian population led to torrents of fresh intelligence that culminated in the containment of hostile forces;

v  The intensification of military operations against Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq by Turkey and Iran;

v  The diminished flow of foreign fighters from Syria and Iran led to reduced suicide bombings, IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devices), and EFPs (Explosively Formed Projectiles/Penetrators);

v  The training of a more effective Iraqi Security Force (ISF);

v  The transformation of the coalition forces from an army of occupation to an army of collaboration.

Conclusion: Though there is no way of measuring the causes of the decline in violence in Iraq in 2008, on the other hand, the escalation of retributions, hostility, and tribal hegemony diminished because the warring parties became exhausted and wary of war after much damage was done to both sides of the isle. The famous saying among Arabs that states “me and my brother against my cousin; me, my brother, and my cousin against the world”, seems to have been the driving force behind the complex divisions, mistrust, and negative cultural attitudes that resulted in the dragging of Iraq into the senseless cycle of abyss that left thousands dead and an equal number unaccounted for.

Figure 1

 

 

Figure 2

 

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[1] Charles W.L. Hill, Global Business Today, McGraw-Hill Companies Inc., 1221 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY, 10020 (pp. 91-92)

[ii] Peshmerga is the name of the Kurdish guerilla army.

[iii] Stanley A. McChrystal: http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/m/stanley_a_mcchrystal/index.html?inline=nyt-per

[iv] U.S. reports violence decline in Iraq, 2-23-2008: Read more http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2008-02-23-saturday_N.htm

[v] The Future of Iraq: The decline of violence, the rise of politics by Kimberly Kagan, July 28, 2008, Vol. 13, No. 43: http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/015/345jfuan.asp?page=3

[vi] United States Condemns Bombing of Important Shia Mosque in Iraq. http://www.america.gov/st/washfile-english/2006/February/20060222110625cpataruk0.9421808.html#ixzz0kj9pg5hN.

[vii] Gates Notes Shift in Mission as Iraq Command Changes Hands by Jim Garamone of the American Forces Press Service: CAMP SPEICHER, Iraq, Sept. 15, 2008 http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=51170

[viii] Professor Discusses causes of Iraqi insurgency by Ian Wells, November 2, 2007. http://cornellsun.com/node/25728

[ix] John T. Rourke, Taking Sides: Clashing Views in World Politics (14 ed.), The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc., 1221 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.

Regional Politics

 https://www.voasomali.com/a/3413094.html

Political Analysis

 https://www.voasomali.com/a/4840952.html

South Sudan: Africa's Newest Republic

By Adan Makina

March 14, 2020

 

Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability but comes through continuous struggle. And so, we must straighten our backs and work for our freedom. A man can't ride you unless your back is bent---Martin Luther King, Jr.

After two-decades of armed insurrections, rebellious transgressions, and wanton belligerence, representatives of the Sudanese government and the Sudanese People’s Liberation Army/Movement (SPLA/M) finally signed a peace treaty in Naivasha, Kenya in 2005 under the auspices of the United Nations (UN). Led and represented by Dr. John Garang de Mabior (June 23, 1945 – July 30, 2005) in the historic signing ceremony, the inhabitants of South Sudan looked forward to a day when they would cast their votes in order to determine their future. That anticipated time has finally come. An internationally supervised voting referendum was held from January 9 to January 11, 2011 on

whether Southern Sudan should remain a part of Sudan or become independent. Consistent with reports by the global media, the week-long voting has so far been peaceful apart from a few isolated incidents. According to Jimmy Carter, former President of the United States, the referendum met all expectations and international standards. On the other hand, the inhabitants of the natural resources rich Abyei region of Sudan are also expected to hold a referendum at a later date to establish their wishes. South Sudan is expected to become Africa’s newest republic on July 9, 2011.

Modern Sudan evolved from the ashes of the collapsed Ottoman Empire. It became part of the Anglo-Egyptian condominium that lasted from 1898 to 1955. Colluding powers England and Egypt set two separate administrative arrangements for the north and south. Sudan, Africa’s largest country has been through two devastating wars: the first lasted from 1955 to 1972 and the second and the longest from 1982 to 2005.

Since gaining independence in 1956, Sudan has been led by a system of government dominated by leaders claiming Arabian decent. Demographically, north Sudan is dominated by people of Arab origin who are for the most part Muslims while the south is divided between followers of Christianity

South Sudan President Salva Kiir Mayardit

and traditional African religions. For over half-century Sudan has been at the mercy of a succession of military leaders with appalling human rights records. Unequal distribution of wealth and imposed hierarchy practiced by north Sudanese leaders plunged the nation into systemic violence. Following the toppling of Prime Minister Sadiq al-Mahdi in a coup d’état instigated by the current sitting president Hassan al-Bashir in 1989, Sudan descended into a cycle of violence consequently setting the stage for a prolonged conflict. In 1981, President Ja’afar an-Nimeiry, working in cahoots with the Islamic Brotherhood, the world’s largest and oldest Islamist group, endorsed a dramatic shift toward Islamist political governance. An-Nimeiry’s staunch Islamist views culminated in a clash with modernism and reformism. An-Nimeiry was once described by New York Times writer Dennis Hevesi as a “leader with shifting politics”. [1]An-Nimeiry was a man of shifting alliances such that he switched from being an ardent supporter of Arab nationalism to socialism, from having friendly relations with the Soviet Union to being pro-Western and a close ally of the United States. The imposition of Islamic Shariah and the discovery of oil in the south agitated the predominantly black population who aggressively intensified their fight for self-determination. The application of defensive realism (a variant of political realism) by the bureaucracy in Khartoum resulted in protracted security dilemmas. Thus, too much emphasis on security by the state set the stage for greater instability. Likewise, northern Arab rulers applied Hobbesian anarchy as the

The Late Dr. Garang de Mabior

dominant instrument to dominate the southerners. Successive administrations inclined to various theoretical thoughts ranging from realism, constructivism, and Marxism. Foreign powers driven by raison d’être also defined as national interest which incorporates a country’s political, military, and cultural goals and ambitions jumped on the bandwagon to scavenge for available scarce resources in South Sudan. The primary historical contention in a nation’s survival depends on the search for wealth, economic growth, and power.

In his book, Conflicts and Politics of Identity in Sudan, Amir Idris describes how northern Sudanese rulers manipulated black Sudanese Muslims. The author describes tormenting inhuman practices employed by northern Arab leaders that were aimed at crippling all forms of insurgency by black Sudanese confessing faiths other than Islam. By conscripting black Sudanese Muslims into the army to fight black rivals who did not profess the Islamic faith, northern Arab leaders employed a strategy

Hassan al-Bashir

that became known as “Aktul al-Abid bil Abid”-a phrase that translates to-“kill the slave through the slave”. [2] In response to the north’s forcible imposition of Shariah law and gross injustices against fellow Christians in the south, right-wing Christian groups pressured the U.S. Government for intervention. To avoid a repeat of the Rwanda massacre of 1994 in which majority Hutus slaughtered over 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus, the United States applied international diplomacy to find an everlasting solution to south Sudan’s simmering political imbroglio.

According to American national security policy, sovereign states are categorized as either being allies, adversaries, potential adversaries, or others. NATO member states are best described as allies; potential adversaries are those countries that explicitly display open hatred to the U.S. and at the same time possess military muscle; and with the exception of some friendly nations in the Middle East (Egypt) that fall under the “allies” category, almost the entire third world belong to the “others” category. [3] Accordingly, the United States, working in concert with the United Nations, made a smart move against the government in Khartoum by using the United Nations High-Level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Changes which led to the successful mobilization of the United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS). UNMIS was established by resolution 1590 of the Security Council on 24 March 2005. [4] Other than having national interests in Sudan, the U.S. is driven by moral responsibility to prevent human rights abuses in South Sudan and as well to end the genocide in Darfur. Further institutionalized by the UN reform effort in 2005, The Responsibility to Protect-or ‘R2P’-report of 2001 by the International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty (ICISS) established the intervention of the international community should nations fail to protect their citizens. The statutes of ICISS promoted and strengthened America’s resolve in Sudan. [5]

Salva Kiir Mayardit, the current president of the semi-autonomous government of Southern Sudan and the Vice President of Sudan-the man slated to be the future president of Southern Sudan-has in the past called for the separation of the south from the north. While commenting on the recent referendum in 2009, Kiir admonished southerners to either choose being “a second class in your country” or “a free person in your own independent state”. Political analysts and commentators and media personalities who have been closely watching the political events in southern Sudan, noted unifying sense of euphoria and a yearning for national sovereignty that was visible on the faces of millions of southerners casting their votes.

Countries like Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo DRC), and the Central African Republic (CAR) that share border with Southern Sudan have a lot to gain from Africa’s newest republic. For example, apart from having cordial relations with the anticipated republic, Kenya has vast business dealings ranging from banking, energy, transportation, and education in Southern Sudan. An estimated 70,000 Kenyans reside in Juba alone. In the past, the Kenya government played a major role in Sudan’s quest for peace and reconciliation. Top SPLA/M cadres established residences in Kenya’s major cities with top cadres owning palatial homes in Nairobi and other cities. Likewise, Kenya resettled thousands of South Sudanese refugees in its northern camp of Kakuma and a vast number of Sudanese students call Kenya home. Chances are that thousands of ordinary Kenyan citizens will flood Southern Sudan once Africa’s newest proclaims independence. There was even mention in the Kenya press about modeling future Southern Sudanese education from the Kenyan system. The East African Community (EAC), a regional body whose members have been drawn from nations within East Africa for the purpose of boosting the regions economy with an eye on future confederation, has reserved a space for the newly emerging nation of Southern Sudan.

Final Voting Results

As a final verdict, global media reported that voting results exceeded international expectations. After decades of armed struggle, the new nation of Southern Sudan is now ready to embrace the international community of nations. And as its people rejoice in adulation and collectively celebrate with melodious applause, the type of political culture and mode of administration to be charted by the nation's technocrats will determine its future. For now, the nation's leadership is in the hands of Salva Kiir, doyen of political and armed struggle. Presumably, the way forward for a region like southern Sudan that has been devastated by military incursions, carpet bombings, inter-clan rivalry, disease and malnutrition, drought and locust invasions, is to embrace liberal democracy. Respect for the rule of law, educating ordinary citizens as a means to combating illiteracy, enhancing the foundations of the economy through aggressive agriculture, land consolidation and soil conservation, advancing political deliberations for the attainment of political maturity, inviting credible foreign investors, exploiting potential natural resources, and equitable distribution of the nation's wealth should be the foremost priority.

The writer is a frequent contributor to www.wardheernews.com. He can be reached at adan.makina@gmail.com

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References

[1] Gaafar al-Nimeiry, “a Sudan Leader with Shifting Politics, Dies at 79” by Dennis Hevesi, New York Times (June 11, 2009),  http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/12/world/africa/12nimeiry.html

[2] Amir H. Idris (2005), Conflict and politics of identity in Sudan,

Palgrave Macmillan, New York.

[3] Sarkesian, Sam C. and Williams John A. and Cimbala, Stephen J. (2008), U.S. National Security: Policymakers, Processes, and Politics, Lynne Rienner Publishers, Inc. Boulder, Colorado.

[4] United Nations Mission in the Sudan, http://www.un.org/en/peacekeeping/missions/unmis/background.shtml

[5] Pease, Kelly-Kate S. (2008), International Organizations: Perspectives on Governance in the Twenty-First Century (3^rd Ed.), Upper Saddle River, In., New Jersey

An Eye On Workforce Bureaucracy

As years progress, the nature of bureaucracy and the workforce that surround them either undergo transformation or may remain stagnated depending on the effectiveness of the leadership empowered to implement strategic planning initiatives. Popular leaders of the past viewed American government bureaucracy from a different perspective.

In the era of Wilson, there was constant competition among groups competing for scarce resources. On the other hand, there were the political spoilers who took advantage of the patronage politics that was rampant in the infant American democracy. Wilson complained bitterly about the massive influx of European immigrants flooding the country.

Currently, according to Governing (2018), when postal services workers are excluded, approximately 2 million serve as full-time federal government employees. This is a large force that needs to be handled with prudence. To overcome tensions in the nation’s superfluous bureaucracy and keep a lid over future racial altercations, the best method would be to create a harmonious balanced bureaucracy drawn from people of walks of life. To be surrounded by ‘gentlemen’ as was during the reign of Washington can be a recipe for disaster in modern American politics. Washington believed in the use politics to select the best candidates to run the affairs of his government.

To ensure citizen safety and protection, agencies like the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Center for Disease Control (CDC), Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) among others, should be run by the best of the best. Selecting personnel should be based on merit and not on political inclination and favoritism. One factor that seems to be the cause of the problems associated with public personnel administration is related to shifting policies and alliances. Diminishing political participation result from the lack of national political coherence and meddling by greedy bureaucrats, lobbyists, and industrial magnates driven by the urge to either climb the ladder of success or cause political disunity and entanglement.

Rosenbloom (2009) feels the term “merit” to be a misnomer. The examination factor used to generate the best public service personnel demonstrated that it was a means to marginalizing select communities like Latinos and African-Americans whose representation in the workforce was limited. In essence, the merit factor was a handicap to equal employment. To ensure American public service personnel stay up to the task, the laws and regulations that call for equal pay for all citizens regardless of age, creed, color, national origin, political and religious affiliation, sex and gender should be enforced.

References

Governing: the State and Localities (2018). Federal Employees By State. http://www.governing.com/…/federal-employees-workforce-numb…

Rosenbloom, D.R., Kravchuk, R.S., & Clerkin, R, M. (2008). Public Administration: Understanding Management, Politics, and Law in the Public Sector. New York: McGraw-Hill

At the invitation of Libyan strongman Muammar Qaddafi between May and June of 1990, Sultan Deghow Sambulmet with several African opposition figures. Among them was Charles Taylor of Liberia. The Sultan lived in the same residence with Charles Taylor in Tripoli. According to the Sultan, Nelson Mandela had earlier departed Libya after being hosted by Qaddafi. Also, the Sultan met a delegation from Gibraltar known to the Arabs as Jabal Tariq before jetting off for London to met with a world renown African literary doyen who is a novelist, and as well a professor. Authoritarian Colonel Muammar Qaddafi, the man who wanted to crown himself the Shahanshah of the African Continent, had African opposition guests from almost every African nation engulfed in political upheavals. The amalgamation of opposition warlords hosted by Qaddafi–a man who wielded tremendous power over the Black Race in the African Continent, was at peace with himself and his oil-rich nation. Qaddafi had monetary clout, black gold, and material and moral support for any African struggling to overcome oppression by dictators back home. Qaddafi embraced the ancient political ideas and military tactics of Hannibal–the ancient Carthaginian General who waged war against the Roman Republic in the Second Punic War (218-201 BC) using a strong dedicated army and a herd or parade of domesticated elephants. However, after fifteen years of dominating the Roman territories excepting Rome, Qaddafi's Mentor and General Hannibal was decisively defeated by the Romans through the application of the Fabian Strategy–a psychological military strategy and warfare where forces avoid frontal assaults (direct or face-to-face contact) and pitched battles (disengagement over fighting location and time). Hannibal has been quoted to have said regarding his scuffles with the Romans: “I am not carrying on a war of extermination against the Romans. I am contending for honor and empire. My Ancestors yielded to Roman valour. I am endeavouring that others, in their turn, will be obliged to yield to my good fortune, and my valour.” Hannibal is historically regarded to have been in par with Scipio Africanus, Julius Caesar, and Alexander the Great and his father Philip of Macedon in terms of military prowess, even though Hannibal and Scipio shared virtus–a composition of courage, manliness, and excellence of character and courage. As if following the footsteps of his much-adored Ancient Carthaginian Hannibal, Qaddafi named his fifth son Hannibal Muammar Qaddafi. Young Hannibal Qaddafi joined the Libyan Navy, majored in Marine Navigation in his baccalaureate degree and eventually rose to the rank of Chief Officer and Master Mariner. A child of Hannibal Qaddafi whose name was Carthage (b. 2 August 2008) died 30 April 2013 after a raid on their family-owned compound. NB: This is an excerpt from my upcoming book.

A FEMALE APPROACH TO PEACEKEEPING

“A Female Approach to Peacekeeping”[i] by New York Times reporter Doreen Carvajal illustrates the leaps and bounds taken by women globally in peacekeeping operations especially in the West African nation of Liberia currently headed by Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf-an astute woman who is known by the nickname “Iron Lady”.  According to the writer, women started pioneering in peacekeeping missions during the Balkan Wars of the 90s and their numbers continue to skyrocket. By the time the article was written in 2010, the Head of the U.N. Mission in Liberia was Ellen Margrethe Loj of Denmark, a woman who was dedicated to the preservation of peace and nation building in countries ravaged by wars. By then, Nigeria and India were the leading contributors of women peacekeepers in the world.

According to figures released by the U.N., women are edging closer to men in peacekeeping missions. In the past five years alone, the number of female police officers serving U.N. peacekeeping operations around the world doubled with Liberia and Darfur taking the lead. Of the 12,867 men and women serving U.N. peacekeeping missions around the world as police officers, women account for roughly 6% or stand at 833.  Of the 1,159 peacekeepers from Nigeria currently in Liberia, 5% or 59 are women. The need for the service of women in peacekeeping activities has gone global. Women account for 14% of the 1,354 peacekeepers in Liberia.

Men peacekeepers tend to behave better when women peacekeepers are present. Since women peacekeepers started arriving in Liberia, crimes like armed robberies, rape of women and girls, child molestations, and other types of startling transgressions have been considerably reduced with the help of the locals. After a long day patrolling the dusty streets of Monrovia, Syalus Maharana, an Indian operations commander, spends an hour of her time to mother her child in India by telling bedtime stories via video conferencing.

Even though women peacekeepers suffer nostalgia and depression during their tenure of duties overseas, to the locals they remain intimidating and sober. The major endearing factor driving women to such strenuous peacekeeping missions is the appealing financial opportunities offered by the U.N.  

Having marked the 100^th anniversary of International Women’s Day on March 8, the United Nations is intensifying its recruitment efforts by finding more women for its global peacekeeping missions. For many poor countries, contributing women peacekeepers to the U.N. global peace efforts means added value in terms of moneymaking. As it already pledged, the nation of Bangladesh is expected to dispatch a new unit of women peacekeepers to the U.N. peace initiatives. Thus, we learn from this story that women peacekeepers are as effective and efficient as their male counterparts in global peacekeeping operations if not profoundly more effective and that the demand for women peacekeepers will rise in the future.

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Sources

[i] http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/06/world/africa/06iht-ffpeace.html?ref=africa

A LOOK AT SULTAN DEGHOW MUHUMED SAMBUL’S POLITICAL STRUGGLES

Upbringing and Surrounding Natural Habitat

Sultan Deghow was born around Wakaab Xaareey (Fecal Pond) in Garissa town that is currently nonexistent as the entire area has been transformed into a sprawling urban neighborhood. The result of human population explosion, town expansion, and drastic metropolitanization are some of the factors that brought about the unavoidable physical land feature transformations, ecological grafting or the unanticipated fissures visible to this day. At the time of his birth, the natural habitat was untouched having the semblance of an equatorial forest; it was purely an ecological environment free from deforestation or desertization­­­–unlike the current uncontrolled, human-enforced encroachment and fast-paced transhumance that has rendered the once natural picturesque denuded of the vital nutrients that could support the surrounding ecosystem.

The piece of land that he once called home during his childhood years is now a big farm producing mangos, bananas and other types of farm produce. The farm contains palatial houses owned by distant relatives while other portions have been turned into government offices. Gone are the varieties of tree species he would climb and play hide-and-seek with his age mates in the olden days. Tree species such as the Cordia sinensis that is known in Somali as Mareer and the shady Dobera glabra (Garas), the thorny Acacia Senegal (Cadaad), and the incredibly towering Hyphaene compressa (Baar), and Ziziphus mauritiana (Gob)—a tree with substantial horticultural importance, provided edible fruits and nuts while Acacia tortilis (Qurac)—also known as Gum Arabic—whose dark and reddish sap had been a remedy for eye diseases for centuries, grew in abundance where the Sultan-to-be resided from birth to adolescence. For a long time, pastoral Somalis harvested Gum Arabic, an acacia species whose ophthalmological benefits is mentioned in the famous book,  Ten Treatises on the Eye, by the celebrated Nestorian Christian and Arab physician Abu Zayd Hunayn ibn Ishaq al-Ibadi (809-877 A.D.).[i]

Commiphora myrrha or simply Myrrh—a tree native to the Horn of Africa and known to Somalis as Malmal or Dheddin, alleviated female Dysmenorrhea—a gynecological terminology pertaining to menstrual cramps or painful periods during menstruation.[ii] In Somali nomadic pharmacology, Myrrh has been used as an analgesic (pain killer) to treat abrasions, bruises, and to tranquilize toothaches, and contain sprains. To control or contain young bachelor males showing signs of Hyperspermia—an abnormally excessive sex drive or semen ejaculation[iii], conservative peripatetic parents consulted traditional herbalists to administer liquefied Myrrh to overcome the horrors of unanticipated rape and sexual molestation of innocent Somali girls and adult females.

Besides, Salvadora persica (Cadey), a natural toothbrush that has been in use since the time of the Babylonians as a preventive herbal medication against tooth decay and plaque—a species unique to the ecological environment of that time, has been replaced by the locally insignificant, little known Prosopis juliflora—an infuriating weed and a pernicious invader having dreadful economic and negative environmental influence in many parts of the world. Even to this present day where the majority of the urbanized global human population use toothbrushes that are made from nylon bristles and plastic and the varieties of irritating toothpastes that are readily available in every store, Sultan Deghow’s constant use of Salvadora persica before every salah (Islamic prayer) as admonished in the Hadith (Islamic tradition), has enabled him to keep sparkling white teeth and endearing, affectionate smile. Salvadora persica is a common toothbrush in regions where its use is widespread and customary. The historical significance of this natural toothbrush, has given it international recognition such that the World Health Organization has recommended its daily use for tooth cleaning.[iv]

Heavy livestock and wildlife concentration metamorphosed the once crystal clear manmade dam where young Deghow was born and raised by his loving parents in to a pulverulent, murky, and fecal-soiled water catchment devoid of human glance and praise. Thus, Somalis who are masters of nicknaming pejoratively gave it the peculiar, funny name that became a permanent, irreplaceable epithet or mark of distinction. In the olden days, Deghow’s birthplace teemed with friendly and ferocious wildlife and untouched natural botanical gardens that were a delight to the sightseer. Succulent roots and tubers that relieved the hunger pangs of the obstreperous kids on exploratory missions experimenting on the techniques of miniature wild game hunting, flourished in their natural habitat. Using bows and arrows crafted from wood, kids hunted the Dik-dik, Guinea fowl, and smaller antelopes. Beautiful sceneries and plenty of water and pasturage for the wild and domesticated animals created an environment akin to the equatorial African jungle.

The endangered, often mispronounced Hirola antelope or the Hunter’s Antelope whose scientific name is Beatragus hunter, burgeoned in their thousands around the Sultan’s neighborhood in his heydays. Carawle, as it should be rightly called in Somali, is now an endangered species secluded in a conservation resort far away from human encroachment.

Besides the Hirola Antelope, the white-stripped, irascible Somali skunk thrived along the Tana River which was a stone throw away from the young Sultan’s pastoral residence. Though primarily carnivorous, the Somali skunk—an animal that feeds on select fauna—has the tendency to supplement its diet with insects, birds’ chicks and even mice and cherries when beset by food scarcity. Polygamous in nature, the skunk, whose scientific name is Mephitis mephitis, is an animal despised by Somalis for its vociferous and ferocious attacks and braggadocious approaches when agitated. Somali myth has it that the Somali skunk applies explosively ballistic fart to blow up and fumigate the colonies of bees from their hives before embarking on the strenuous effort of sucking honey out of trees.

While the ecology of those days teemed with varying wildlife sharing identical or opposing phylogenic specifications, one exemplary animal that is worth mentioning for its gripping appearance and graceful look is the giraffe-necked Gerenuk or the Litocranius walleri. Undoubtedly, this animal is endemic to Somali inhabited regions and surprisingly, it is the intimate friend of the reticulated giraffe. Since the Gerenuk browses with the Somali Giraffa Camelopardalis reticulata and that its position to the giraffe makes an onlooker envision an act of feeding or suckling, the name Gerenuk should be replaced with Geri-Nuug—which simply means suckling a giraffe.

Less than a mile from the meandering Tana River that split the former NFD from the Tana River District, Deghow’s neighborhood teemed with mammals of varying colors, shapes, sizes and distinct taxonomies. The Tana River, Kenya’s largest and longest river that originates in the Aberdare Mountains, drains into the Indian Ocean near the town of Kipini. Somalis and the Orma or Oromo and other ethnic groups, call this river Webi Galana or Galana Maro. Overgrazing and deforestation were uncommon those days; domesticated and wild game, amphibians and reptiles and a plethora of bird species flourished in their thousands. The deadly spitting cobra and the venomous puff adder zigzagged through the forests and surrounding arid areas while the massive hippopotamus and the crocodile waded through the reddish waters of the nearby river.

The largest and the most beautiful flightless bird in the world—the Somali ostrich (Struthio molybdophanes)–a bird species phylogenetically portraying distinct heritable traits after mitochondrial DNA testing in 2014[v] separated it from other living and extinct species–danced in the wild while the gregarious Marabou Stork or Leptoptilos crumeniferus, either flew heavenwards or hideously perched on select acacia tree species to evade alien encounters. By hiding its eggs and newly-hatched chicks from human and animal infiltrations, the Marabou Stork has experienced exponential growth in numbers in recent years.  

Education and Mental Healing

As the Sultan reminisces, education in the former NFD collectively started in 1946 in all the six districts that included Garissa, Wajir, Mandera, Moyale, Marsabit, and Isiolo. However, according to Turton, Wajir, which falls to the north of Garissa where the Sultan was born, had its first primary school in 1948. [vi] The year 1946 corresponds to an era when Somalis in Kenya were marginalized by the British colonial administration–a year after the end of the Second World War–a period of pan-Somali upheaval that was rejuvenated after the recommendations of the British Foreign Secretary, Ernest Bevin, who proposed the creation of a ‘Greater Somalia’ state to seal undeterred Somali pastoralists’ movement across unguarded colonial borders.[vii]

Deghow recalls starting his formal education at an intermediate colonial government private school that same year. After eight years of hard work and dedication to his secular education, Deghow successfully completed his primary education. On the other hand, while pursuing his primary or intermediate education—a trend common among modern Somali school-goers, young Deghow attended an Islamic school that was run by his father who was a Maalim­–a term originating in Arabic that translates to a ‘teacher’. Besides specializing as a teacher, Deghow’s father was a man of scholarly repute and as well one who memorized the entire Qur’an at a tender age—a uniform tendency that was unique to Somalis practicing sedentarization—a term interchangeably used in this book to connote pastoralism, nomadism or mobility that is mainly practiced by people whose lives were dictated by changing weather patterns, rivalry, cattle rustling, territorial competition and transhumance.

Such living conditions consequently lead to the search for water and pasturage for the herds of livestock that sustained people falling under such social category. Even at this time and age, Deghow, who is a few years short of attaining the feeble octogenarian age, quotes specific Qur’anic verses when explaining major subjects under discussion—an indication he has a good grasp of Qur’anic exegesis, Islamic jurisprudence, empyreal or stratospheric knowledge and other divine thoughts and principles.

Life father like son, it is the ingrained spiritual limpidity inherited from his spiritual father that gave him unfathomable outspokenness and adeptness of vulnerary remediation between pastoral conflicting parties. His tenderness of heart and compassion for innocent humans besieged by the inflicting horrors of European colonialism gave him the human resolve to embark on a political path of self-determination through armed struggle that lasted almost half a century in later years.

Since the colonial administration practiced divide-and-rule tactics, majority of the teachers who taught in secular and religious schools in Garissa District were primarily Muslim teachers brought from as far as Zanzibar. Zanzibari pedagogues managed and operated the few Madrassas in the district using Arabic as the medium of instruction.

People of Bantu extraction—whether pedagogues or others espousing distinctive educational backgrounds—regardless of whether they were males or females, were not allowed in to the former NFD. On the other hand, Somalis and the Oromo were restricted from crossing the Tana River to other parts of Kenya for fear of exporting hostilities to peaceful southern regions that were haven for European settlers.

Ironically, rather than instituting novel administrative measures and injecting visionary leadership styles, the same stringent restrictive measures that were borrowed from the departing colonial master continued unabated even after Kenya’s attainment of independence in 1963 up to the Jomo Kenyatta and Arap Moi eras. Prior to taking office in the volatile, segregated NFD, British colonial administrative designates sent to the region to take over from their counterparts would exclusively be provided with Somali or Oromo cooks, drivers, and security guards, as the Sultan recalls.

Thus, the exclusive transfer of Zanzibari Muslim teachers to NFD was a way of enticing people belonging to the Hamito-Cushtic race to embrace British Colonial system of education while allowing Islamic education and Christian missionary activities to run side by side unrestrained.

While Christian education and missionary activities were inessential in areas heavily populated by people of Somali ethnic origin in the former NFD, traces of Christian evangelical activities remained visible among people practicing paganism and other African religious beliefs. The Somali disdain for other religious beliefs and their ardent desire to hold on to their Islamic beliefs, rendered Christian missionary proselytization efforts an impossible task.

After wrapping up his intermediate education, the youthful Deghow enrolled for secondary and university education through correspondence in Nairobi as it was the only way to enlighten his quest for higher education. While the Portuguese missionary activities were the first to inject formal schooling in Africa in the middle of the sixteenth century, the British and the French and later on the Americans laid down the foundations for some form of authoritative European system of education in the nineteenth century.[viii]

Adan Makina

WardheerNews

adan.makina@gmail.com

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References

[i] Nagamia, Husain F., and Nasir Puyan. "Abū Zayd Ḥunayn ibn Isḥāq al-‘Ibādī: A Physician Translator Par Excellence." Journal of the Islamic Medical Association of North America 40.1 (2008).

[ii] Osayande, AS; Mehulic, S (1 March 2014). "Diagnosis and initial management of dysmenorrhea."  American family physician. 89 (5): 341–6. PMID 24695505.

[iii] Cooke, S., J. P. P. Tyler, and G. L. Driscoll. "Andrology: Hyperspermia: the forgotten condition?." Human Reproduction 10.2 (1995): 367-368.

[iv] Khatak, M. et al. “Salvadora Persica.” Pharmacognosy Reviews 4.8 (2010): 209–214. PMC. Web. 2 Oct. 2016.

[v] BirdLife International (2014). "Struthio molybdophanes". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2014.2. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 8 October 2016.

[vi] Turton, Edmund Romilly. "The introduction and development of educational facilities for the Somali in Kenya." History of Education Quarterly 14.3 (1974): 347-365.

[vii] Whittaker, Hannah. "Pursuing pastoralists: The stigma of shifta during the 'shifta war ‘in Kenya, 1963-68." (2008).

[viii] White, Bob W. "Talk about School: education and the colonial project in French and British Africa (1860-1960)." Comparative Education 32.1 (1996): 9-26.