Sheikh Sharif: The Airborne President

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Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, Somalia’s Transitional Federal President has become a habitual traveler. Every now and then he is on the move traversing thousands of miles by air across continents. Whenever he prepares to depart the presidential palace, armed opposition groups lob artillery fire at his entourage and the AMISOM troops guarding him. And whenever his plane touches down the runway at Mogadishu airport, insurgents greet him with barrage of artillery fire. Somalia’s presidency may be described as the most dangerous executive position in the world. Villa Somalia-Somalia’s Presidential Palace-has become the most unpredictable place for any president to reside. The security of the president is so much at stake such that even the most finely hand-picked tribal warriors most closely related to the president may not provide guaranteed security due to bickering over resources and nonpayment of wages.

Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed, Sheikh Sharif’s predecessor, set base in 2004 at a warehouse in Baidoa after finding Villa Somalia a risky place to operate from. In Baidoa, President Yusuf was provided with a strong security detail manned by heavily-armed Ethiopian occupation forces. Mockingly, even the forces of the Lion of Judah could not provide President Yusuf the security he looked forward to. On one occasion suicide bombers infiltrated a ceremony presided over by the President leaving behind a bloodbath. On the other hand, Professor Ali Gedi Mohamed, Yusuf’s hand-picked Prime Minister once escaped a similar suicide bombing in Mogadishu though one of his relatives perished in the premeditated blast hatched by Somalia’s foreign fighters. Both President Yusuf and Prime Minister Gedi left the political spectrum disgraced and dejected.

Sheikh Sharif’s administration lacks rigid Foreign and National Security Policy operations for sustaining compromise and stability. Majority of the opposition leaders have been in the same camp with Sheikh Sharif before partying ways. By picking moderation to fundamentalism, Sheikh Sharif suffered the brunt of the opposition for deviating from the initial extreme Islamic concept of Jihad they previously advocated together during their joint struggle against the dreaded Somali warlords and the Ethiopian occupation forces. Thus, to the opposition, Sheikh Sharif is an obstacle to national stability and a proxy figure who is serving un-Islamic foreign forces opposed to the establishment of a collective Islamic state for Somalia and the Horn of Africa.

Determined to frighten the increased AMISOM force destined for Somalia, al-Shabab, the strongest jihadist faction in Somalia recently forged alliance with Hizb-al-islam- a smaller group with a long history of armed resistance. Both groups have been calling residents to join the broader jihad being implemented in the country while at the same time conscripting young Somalis into their fold in the regions they control. In Yemen al-Qaida is sending material and moral support to both groups for the sake of keeping its global insurrection alive. On the other hand, the disappearance of 1,000 Somali police officers trained in Ethiopia and funded by the German government could be an added advantage for the two factions should this new force be received with open hands.

The major cause of defection in the army and police is due to nonpayment of salaries and arrears. Often, government soldiers defect with their weapons and significant intelligence tidbits that boost opposition acumen and fighting power. The current Somali government lacks accountability and no wonder embezzlement is rife and that corruption has grown roots everywhere. Somalia is on the top of the list of the most corrupt states in the world. While Somali leaders travel around the world with empty begging bowls in hand, the disappearance of donor funds earmarked for the welfare of the suffering mass exacerbates the withholding of intended philanthropic gestures by foreign entities.

The prime responsibility of any head of state is to safeguard the security of the state. Unfortunately, for Somalia, the picture is different as both the president, prime minister, and the speaker of parliament have little time sitting in their offices-not because they are overburdened by national policy issues-but because they spend most of their time leaping from one foreign airport to the other. For any nation determined to prosper politically, socially, and economically, it is of paramount importance that a strong security force be in place. The rule of law must be held in high esteem so that businesses may operate without encumbrances.

Of late, the nation’s 550 members of parliament have not resolved a single conceivable legislative draft nor have they unanimously passed any bill as majority are either illiterate or semiliterate, harbor divergent political views or are divided along clan lines. The persistent division visible within the TFG gives the insurgents more clout and unanimity in their endeavors to eliminate any existing government hierarchy and establishment. As long as the leaders of the TFG continue treading blatantly their peripatetic lifestyles and globetrotting attitudes, remorseless pounding of government positions by the opposition will continue unabated.

Uganda’s Museveni Promises to Finish Somalia’s al-Shabab

Uganda’s president, Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, came to the throne of Uganda’s highest office in January of 1986. Ever since, besides skirmishes with the Lord’s Resistance Army of Joseph Kony, Uganda has remained at peace not until last week when two well-coordinated simultaneous suicide bombs thought to have been planted by Somalia’s militant group al-Shabab shuttered the tiny nation’s capital Kampala at a time when Ugandans were glued to their televisions in anticipation of the final world cup soccer match between Spain and the Netherlands in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Saddened by the heinous crime that crippled his nation on that fateful Sunday, Yoweri Museveni has promised to send extra troops for the AMISOM mission in Somalia. In an African Union meeting convened in Kampala this week, Museveni asked union members to allow AMISOM troops to pursue al-Shabab militants anywhere and anytime inside of Somalia.

For sure, Museveni does not understand the enormity of Somalia’s instability and the strength of al-Shabab as a force. What Museveni fails to understand is that al-Shabab is a splinter group from the former Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) that routed Ethiopia’s occupation forces a few years ago in the streets of Mogadishu. For sure, Museveni’s wild imaginations are easier said than done. The man must be daydreaming.

Joseph Kony, the atrocious warlord who wrecked havoc in Uganda for many decades and aided by an army of Ugandan child-soldiers and sex slaves, remains on the run in the jungles of the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Leg-and-hand-slashing Joseph Kony has evaded all kinds of international dragnets. In order to turn a blind eye on the plunders of the LRA's ragtag militia, Yoweri Museveni feels its time to open a new warfront.

Alice Lakwena, the prophetess who shared the same views as Joseph Kony and who aided him in his war operations, miraculously died in Dadaab Refugee Camp in Kenya. Let it be known to many that the plunders of the natural resources of the Democratic People's Republic of Congo by the Uganda army has not been forgotten.

Despite the west seeing Museveni as a ‘promising African leader’, for many in Uganda he is nothing but a criminal whose days are numbered. Under Museveni, Uganda enjoys little political freedom. Many in the opposition feel suppressed by the biased state security apparatus.

Twin Blasts Rock Uganda

The Ugandan capital has been rocked by twin blasts that left 64 people and many others injured. According to BBC reports, one of the blasts happened at a rugby field while the other occured at an Ethiopian restaurant. While it is premature to speculate at this time those behind the carnage, fingers are being pointed at Somalia's al-Shabab who have in the past threatened Uganda. Uganda has peacekeeping troops representing the African Union in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia. In the past, al-Shabab has been battling AMISOM troops from Uganda and Burundi and those of Somalia's Transitional Federal Government (TFG).

Immediately after the blasts in Kampala, a representative of al-Shabab heaped praise on those who engineered the plot. The chief of police in Kampala thinks it is al-Shabab that carried out the bombings. It is being reported that an American from Pennsylvania was among the injured. The President of the United States, Barack Obama and his Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton deplored those who carried out the despicable acts in Kampala saying that help is on the way to apprehend those suspected of being behind the heinous acts.

Despite al-Shabab calling for vengeance against AMISOM troops in the past, it has never explored extremist avenues outside of Somalia. If proven beyond reasonable doubt that al-Shabab had a hand in the Kampala bombings, then it will have demonstrated its capability of inflicting harm in places previously thought of as beyond its reach. Al-shabab and its sister faction Hizb al-Islam believe in the creation of a greater emirate for Somalia. Leaders of Islamist groups fighting in Somalia are known by their nom de guerres which often have Arabic rhymings.

In southern and central Somalia where the two factions control large swathes of land, the institution of Islamic sharia seem to hold for now. Many towns have been given Arabic names; residents have been instructed to observe Islamic etiquettes and shun colonial or European-imposed ways of life. Women are required to wear full hijab and separate quotas have been assigned for their use in public transportation; men are required to keep beards and shorten moustache; the carrying of the rosary is forbidden; ringing of school bells are unacceptable; watching of the world cup soccer games is forbidden; women may not wear bras nor wear make-up; and it is compulsory for all able-bodied men and women to partake in jihad agaisnt the enemies of Islam.

Uganda is a small country in East Africa and is a member of the Intergovenmental Authority on Development (IGAD)that comprise founding member-states Kenya, Djibouti, Sudan, Somalia, and Ethiopia. Many innocent civilians have perished in the frequent skrmishes between the Islamists and AMISOM forces prompting leaders of the Islamists to issue fatwas or religious edicts calling for revenge against the nations of Uganda and Burundi. In a meeting recently held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, member-states agreed to send extra 2,000 troops to Somalia to boost the 6,100 force already in Mogadishu. The agreement signed in Addis Ababa triggered widespread demonstrations in areas under the control of al-Shabab and Hizb al-Islam-the two formidable factions fighting for control of Mogadishu.

Increased IGAD Troops will not Stabilize Somalia

In a hastily convened meeting in Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa last week, Somalia’s president called for the immediate deployment of extra troops from IGAD member states to confront the threat of al-Shabab that has been battling Somalia’s fragile government. Attending the meeting were leaders from IGAD member-states. They included Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed of Somalia, Prime Minister Meles Zenawi of Ethiopia, Yoweri Museveni of Uganda, and Kenya’s Mwai Kibaki. After lengthy hours of deliberation, IGAD member-states agreed to the deployment of 2,000 extra troops to be drawn from states neighboring Somalia so as to boost the 4,500 overstretched and exhausted AMISOM troops from Uganda and Burundi who remain besieged on all sides by opposition armed groups who are battling Sheikh Sharif’s otiose government in Mogadishu.

Formerly the Intergovernmental Authority on Drought and Development (IGADD), IGAD, which stands for the Intergovernmental Authority on Development was founded in 1984 and incoprporates the Horn of Africa nations of Ethiopia, Djibouti, Somalia, Kenya, Sudan, and Uganda. IGAD works in concert with international organizations, has a secretariat headquartered in Addis Ababa, and routinely convenes consultative meetings to discuss issues affecting member-states. Almost every IGAD member-state is confounded by insecurity. Ethiopia, a country synonymous with starvation also remains unstable because of the several armed liberation movements that are fighting for separation. Ethiopia's hotly contested 2005 presidential and parliamentary election became a subject of international condemnation after the ruling party indiscriminately jailed or killed many members of the opposition. Ethiopia has gone to war with neighboring Eritrea twice over a stretch of dusty land where an estimated one million people perished. Djibouti, a tiny former French colony bordering Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Somalia has been emroiled in a bitter war with FURD-a rebel faction dominated by the Afar tribe who feel marginalized by the ruling Issa clan of president Ismail Gelle.

Somalia has been described as a "failed-state" for it has been without a central government since 1991 when the last military government fell to a ragtag milia commanded by the notorious General Mohamed Farah Aidid. Uganda has been in the midst of armed struggle with Joseph Kony-a rebel commander who is thought to be hiding in the tropical forests of the Democratic Republuc of Congo (DRC). On the other hand, Uganda has its own restive Karamoja region populated by the wretched Karamojong tribe. Sudan has been a victim of military coups for decades; the north of the country is occupied by Arabs and the south by black Africans. The SPLA, a rebel movement that operated in the south of the country has now laid down arms after the guarantee of some form of autonomy. Currently, it enjoys relative peace Salva Kiir as Vice President of Sudan as well as president of autonomous southern Sudan. A referendum is expected to be held soon to determine the fate of the southerners. On the western corner of Sudan is the restive Darfur region whose inhabitants have been subjected to years of torture by the dreaded Arab Janjaweed militia. Kenya can explode anytime because of the hatred that exist between the president's Kikuyu clan and the Prime Minister's Luo. A disputed presidential election in 2008 left over a thousand dead and hundreds of thousands displaced.

Upon IGAD releasing a hastily-crafted communiqué about its decision to send more troops to Somalia, demonstrators in several towns inside Somalia took to the streets to protest at what they termed as “IGAD’s bad intentions”. In separate strongly-worded messages aimed at dissuading IGAD member states from interfering in Somali internal affairs, the spiritual leaders of Al-Shabab and Hizb-al-Islam-the two major factions leading the onslaught against the fragile Somali government-decried IGAD’s ill-intentions toward Somalia. A former interim president of Somalia, Abdiqasin Salad Hassan, speaking to a local radio station in Mogadishu, voiced his objection at IGAD’s troop increase. Likewise, some members of Somalia’s parliament voiced similar sentiments.

Meanwhile, the Somali general leading the fight against the Islamists has come-up with a fighting strategy that will limit the degree of harm inflicted on innocent civilians. He was quoted saying that in the future forces under his command will be required to confront the opposition in their hideouts and away from civilian populations. For many war strategists, how to implement the general’s new approach to war may seem impervious to reasoning. What the Somali general fails to grasp is that even distinctive surveillance and special reconnaissance applied by advanced armies in Afghanistan, Iraq, Bosnia, and Kosovo have failed to preserve civilian lives.

As a regional bloc IGAD has preposterously failed in its Somalia operations. For the moment, the best it can do is to open direct negotiations with the opposition-a proposition that will obviously end in disarray-because the ultimate goal of the Islamists is to impose Islamic sharia in Somalia. For Sheikh Sharif, because all your good intentions of establishing an all-inclusive government have been out-rightly rejected by the opposition, the best option you can do is relinquish power so as to allow fresh blood take over the helm.

Fireworks, Noise, and Extravagance: American way of Merrymaking

The way Americans commemorate yearly special occasions is cause for alarm. With the most memorable days in the U.S. being Christmas Day, Labor Day, and Independence Day, what troubles many who choose to remain on the sidelines is how celebrations are conducted on these special days. Statistically, Americans spend millions of dollars on booze, barbeque, and fireworks in a matter of hours; Americans consume three times more beef than the rest of the nations of the world combined; and it has been proven that Americans consume more alcohol than any other nation during special occasions like Independence Day and Labor Day. On the other hand, the number of revelers involved in road fatalities exceeds those of many countries. Usually, all hell breaks loose after midnight when the sky is lit with displays of fireworks that continue late into the night if not the wee hours of the morning. Then it is booze as usual. Despite increased police surveillance, criminal activities such as burglaries, robberies, vehicular theft, purse snatching, arson, rape and murder become an observable factor. Neighborhoods most affected by acts of criminality are poor neighborhoods populated by blacks and Hispanics. For the media fraternity, after the dust settles, key discussions that attract attention include the terrible nature of startling incidents recorded nationwide. Thereafter, as usual, breaking news broadcasts, commentaries, analyses, and endless ballyhoo about crime statistics in the nation receive weighty reflection.

For many with heart ailments, the sounds of fireworks make their nights and days unbearable if not deadly. Most affected by the tremendous echoic vibrations and reverberating decibels are the elderly, young children, women in labor, and the sick whose body metabolism may not bear the deafening impacts. Businesspeople engaged in the fireworks trade pitch tents days before the projected celebrations. Advertisements on television and radio proliferate and billboards are erected to lure the unsuspecting extravagant consumer. Since Americans are known to be way ahead of the times, individual families may purchase stocks of firecrackers to the tune of hundreds of dollars as early as several months before in anticipation for the ceremonial occasion. And when the day comes, regardless of rain or shine, the blast of epic firework displays radiating from every direction of every city and dwelling would obviously put a newcomer into hasty retreat. Upon wrapping the ceremonial occasion, used crackers of every shape, size, and color strewn everywhere become challenging and eyesore for pedestrians of all walks of life. No wonder when the occasion comes to an end, with the exception of business operators, millions of consumers may remain penniless until the next paycheck. Some businesses may slowdown or come to a standstill for a while until the economy resuscitates again for the better.

U.S. Foreign Policy toward Africa

With 17 African countries celebrating 50 years since the first proclamation of independence from colonial European powers in the 60s, the administration in Washington, DC feels its time to celebrate with African youth leaders to commemorate the significant gains made by Africans and Africa’s increasingly important voice on the world stage. With the opening of the annual U.S.-Africa Economic Forum expected to kick-off August 2, cabinet members from 38 African countries and high-level American officials will convene to deliberate on themes based on youth, governance, and opportunity.

According to Benjamin Chang, spokesman for the National Security Council (NSC), the venue will bring together young Africans, the Diaspora Community, U.S. Government officials, civil society organizations, and the private sector. The first part of the economic conference will be held in Washington, DC and will be attended by the U.S. secretaries of State, Commerce, Agriculture and the administrator of U.S. Agency for International Development. The theme of the conference will be “AGOA at 10, New Strategies for a Changing World.” The second part of the conference will be held in Kansas City, Missouri, on August 5-6. To be attended by U.S. companies and private sector representatives from a number of 38 AGOA-eligible countries, the main focus will be on agri-business.

To the serious observer of African politics, the mention of the phrase "significant gains" may seem ludicrous and out of the ordinary. Instead, what comes to mind is the horrendous political miscalculations, abject poverty, shameless totalitarianism, endless misrule and communism, protracted developmental retardations, misguided principles, vestiges of colonialism and hosts of endless political plunders wrought on the poor continent for over a half century. Instead of African youths sitting side by side with the same barefaced African leaders who fleeced the African continent, is it not better they hold these bogus leaders accountable for their breach of contracts? In anticipation of aid, for sure these 38 Afican heads of states eligible for AGOA beneficiaries will assemble with 38 empty begging bowls and shoddy projects. Because the United States prefers authoritarianism to totalitarianism for the sake of its foreign ploicy interests, no wonder many totalitarian rulers will arrive in Washington, DC in authoritarian regalia.

A New Era for Somaliland?

In a recently-concluded presidential election in Somalia's breakaway region of Somaliland, a political party known as Kulmiye (unity in Somali) elected political doyen Ahmed Silanyo as new president after trouncing incumbent Dahir Riyale Kayin by a wide-margin in a free and fair election supervised by international observers. Ahmed Silanyo held several ministerial positions during the reign of the military junta that ruled Somalia with ironfist from 1969 until 1991. A holder of two college degrees obtained from educational institutions in Britain, Mr. Silanyo brings with him a wealth of knowledge and years of experience to Somaliand's stable but economically handicapped peripatetic citizens who have been victims of endemic corruption and gross economic mismanagement since declaring separation from Somalia proper in 1998.

Preceded in office by Dahir Riyale Kahin, a ruthless former colonel in the now-defunct Somali army, Mr. Silanyo inherits an enclave beset by many conflicting factors. A founding member of the Somali National Movement (SNM), Silanyo, in his heydays as a guerilla fighter, brushed shoulders with the likes of the despised warlord General Mohamed Farah Aideed-the man responsible for much of Somalia's unending political entanglement. The acclaimed Hollywood movie Black Hawk Down features the disastrous American intervention in Somalia during Operation Restore Hope in 1993 and the hunt for General Aideed.

Somaliland's quest for separation from Somalia remains an issue of profound importance among Somalilanders who predominantly make the greater population of the former northwest and togdheer regions of Somalia. Despite the election that brought Silanyo to power remaining free and fair, absolutely no voting took place in the expansive Sool, Sanaag, and Cayn regions populated by the Dhulbahante and Warsengeli tribes who belong to the majority Darod clan. In fact, there have been reports of ballot confiscations, armed skirmishes between forces from Hargeisa and those of the Dhulbahante, and cases of defections from Somaliland armed forces.

In broader political science and macro-economics, the notion that the bigger the land mass of a state the better the prospects for economic prosperity seem to evade the thoughts of the feverish and shallow-minded usurper driven by opportunism, greed, and petty politics. Nations like the United States, Canada, Russia, China, Brazil, and India remain a force to reckon with in economics, education, and global politics. China, Russia, and the U.S. enjoy significant veto powers and have to their credit advanced technology, military muscle, and scientific explorations while tiny nations like Djibouti and Eritrea lag behind in all aspects of life. Some economists even call for the removal of Africa's imaginary barriers imposed by colonial powers.

The dismemberment of Somalia into cantons will only benefit those few wielding considerable powers; the rest of the citizenry will undoubtedly live in abject poverty. A case in point is a coverage posted on http://www.wardheernews.com and referenced from IRIN news in which the pathetic living conditions of Hargeisa's marginalized minority Gabooye people are highlighted. Somalilanders consider the Gabooye as inferior, filthy, and outcasts who may not intermingle with nor intermarry other major clans. Despite being Somalis and Muslims, these people are to remain poor, helpless, and ostracized forever.

IRIN, the refugee online news source put the number of Gabooye living in Hargeisa at 8,000 families (48,000 people) mostly living on the fringes of poverty. Since the propspects of the Gabooye securing white-collar or blue-collar jobs have been restricted by ceturies-old Somali social classifications in place, their survival depends on the preservation of skills inherited from their ancestors. What remains left for them include routine house-to-house begging, work as blacksmiths, shoemaking, work in slaughterhouses, work in pathologically and epidemiologically disastrous environments, and anything else deemed unacceptable to the upperclass Somalis.

While we welcome Silanyo's election as president of Somaliland, what is worth comprehending is the importance of the wise saying, "unity is strength." About Silanyo's election, for sure we know one thing about African politics: not one single African leader has been credited with delivering his/her people from the bondage of corruption, mismanagement, embezzlement, clanism, and general decay. It would be an illusion to expect Silanyo to deliver fresh Manna and quail to the poor unrecognized state of Somaliland for now and for the foreseable future.

Mansa Musa

Another great king ruled Mali from 1312 to 1337 and his name was Mansa Musa. Crowned “Mansa”-meaning “king of Kings”- Mansa Musa was the grand-nephew of Sundiata. A Muslim himself, Mansa Musa embarked on the greatest Islamic pilgrimage by caravan ever recorded in history between the years 1324-1325 in a journey spanning thousands of miles through the stretch of the massive and expansive Sahara desert. Reputedly the most lavish pilgrimage in the world, Mansa Musa’s entourage carried 100 camel-loads of gold, each weighing 300 pounds; 500 slaves, each carrying a 4-lb. gold staff; thousands of his subjects; as well as his senior wife, with her 500 attendants.

According to the Arab historian Al-Umari, Mansa Musa and his retinue gave out so much gold such that the value of gold in Egypt drastically fell rendering the Egyptian economy in decline for many years. Al-Umari further states that Mansa Musa had to borrow from well-wishers at usurious interest rates for his return journey to Mali. In return, Mansa Musa brought back with him an Arabic library, religious scholars, and most importantly the renowned Muslim architect al-Sahili who built him a majestic royal palace and two great mosques at Gao and Timbuktu.

In the aftermath of Mansa Musa’s travel to Mecca and Cairo, the Kingdom Mali became a center for commerce, education, and trade followed by diplomatic exchanges with Morocco and other Islamic nations. Mali enjoyed remarkable peace, stability, and profound prosperity for the forty-seven years between the time of his grandfather’s brother, Sundiata, and his accession to the throne. Mansa Musa ruled the Kingdom of Mali for twenty-five years finally leaving the political spectrum in 1337 when he died of natural causes. According to E.W. Bovill, author of The Golden Trade of Moors (1958), Mansa Musa’s kingdom was "remarkable both for its extent and for its wealth and a striking example of the capacity of the Negro for political organization".

The Lion Prince Sundiata

In the first half of the thirteenth century, a notable king by the name Sumaoro Kante of the Ghana Empire, ruled over the populous Mandinka tribe of Mali against their wishes. The Ghana Empire or the Wagadou Empire lasted from c. 790 until 1235 of the Common Era. The Mandinka remained in a state of bondage and helplessness until a powerful prince by the name Sundiata returned from exile thus becoming the undisputed celebrated hero of the Malinke people of West Africa. Known for his courage and unmatched vigor in battle, the Lion Prince as he was called, Sundiata, remained remarkable in his pursuit of leadership even while away from home in exile. By forging judicious alliances with local rulers, Sundiata assembled a large army comprising mostly cavalry and by 1235 his sphere of influence encompassed the modern states of Mali, Mauritania, Senegal, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, and Sierra Leone.

After overthrowing the Kingdom of Ghana, Sundiata governed from his capital city Niani that featured buildings of brick and stone. His Malian kingdom controlled and taxed the trade caravans passing through West Africa. Often, caravans as many as twenty-five thousand camels heavily-loaded with miscellaneous cargo traversed the trade routes. The cities of Gao, Timbuktu, Jenne, and Niani became important trading centers populated by indigenous people and merchants in pursuit of the gold trade. Under Sundiata, Mali immensely profited from the trans-Sahara trade such that it benefited far more than Ghana did in the past. Malian rulers practiced Islam and provided security, accommodation, and luxuries to Muslim travelers from further up north. Sundiata reigned from 1230 to 1255 of the Common Era. In terms of sphere of influence, the Mali kingdom was the second largest kingdom in size in Africa (1.1 million sq km), with the Kingdom of Songhai being the first and the most extensive in land mass totaling 1.4 million square kilometers.

The Travels of Ibn Battuta

The history of generosity to foreigners in Africa goes along way. In 1331, Ibn Battuta, a learned Moroccan traveler, Islamic jurist and scholar, during a visit to Mogadishu, was accorded the best form of hospitality by being fed, clothed, and entertained for free. Perhaps, had he paid visit to any European land, he would either have been held captive as a slave indefinitely or he would have been killed right away. In his famous Rihla or travels, Ibn Battuta reported, “we stayed there for three days, food being brought to us three times a day, following their custom. On the fourth day, which was a Friday, the qadi and students and one of the sheikh’s viziers came to me, bringing a set of robes, these [official] robes of theirs consist of a silk wrapper which one ties round his waist in place of drawers (for they have no acquaintance with these), a tunic of Egyptian linen with an embroidered border, a furred mantle of Jerusalem stuff, and an Egyptian turban with an embroidered edge. They also brought robes for my companions suitable to their position. We went to the congregational mosque and made our prayers behind the maqsura [private box for the sultan]. When the sheikh came out of the maqsura I saluted him along with the qadi; he said a word of greeting, spoke in their tongue with the qadi, and then said in Arabic “you are heartily welcome, and you have honored our land and given us pleasure.”

Ibn Battuta’s hosts never turned out to be the apes, beasts, and baboons recorded in many obnoxious European accounts of Africa. Instead, he found people who were resilient, affectionate, modern, and perceptive of travelers’ needs, punctilious, and above all religious and not blasphemous as the Europeans would have us believe. Ibn Battuta was a guest to a Somali sheikh (Islamic scholar) and a qadi (magistrate) both of who observed all the values, creeds, and customs of Islamic way of life especially in reference to etiquettes relating to hosting guests or visitors. Even before disembarking ship, Ibn Battuta and his companions or crew, were accorded a high degree of respect on board ship. Ibn Battuta was accorded the respect reserved for a doctor of the law. He became a guest of the sheikh and not the guest of an ordinary man or woman. Born in Tangiers, Morocco in the year 1304 C.E., Ibn Battuta descended from the Lawati Berber tribe in a family of lawyers and judges. The full name of this dedicated lone-traveler was Abu Abdullah Muhammad Ibn Abdullah Al Lawati Al Tanji Ibn Battuta; he died about 1368 or 1369. In a period spanning 29 years, Ibn Battuta covered approximately 75,000 miles by ship and on dhows, on horseback, on foot, and riding donkeys and camels to mostly Muslim lands. He traveled three times the distance covered by the celebrated European discoverer and explorer Marco Polo!

In reference to past African political organizations, contemporary scholars and writers often use the terms stateless society and segmentary society. Far from the truth, Africans enjoyed elaborate hierarchy of officials and bureaucratic apparatus in the management of their daily affairs. Between the years 800-1500 C.E., great kingdoms, empires, and city-states flourished in sub-Saharan Africa with scrupulous trade routes traversing the massive Sahara desert culminating in the profusion of immense wealth to West Africa, North Africa, Middle East, and Europe in what came known as the trans-Sahara trade routes. Whether in the coastal plains or in the lush hinterlands, Africans executed complex and organized central governments ruled by powerful kings with administrative divisions overseen by prominent figures representing the head of state. Long before the birth of Islam, a mighty kingdom existed in Ghana (not related to the modern state of Ghana). Even before the Islamic Hijra in 622 C.E. (Common Era), as many as twenty-two kings ruled Ghana. As reported by Al-Bakri, a mid-eleventh century Spanish-Cordovan traveler, the seat of the Kingdom of Ghana was at Koumbi-Saleh-a flourishing city containing elaborate buildings and over a dozen mosques. During its height of power from the ninth to the twelfth century, as many as fifteen thousand to twenty thousand people populated the city of Koumbi-Saleh.

To maintain order in the kingdom and protect the city and the state from external aggression and to safeguard the trade routes from marauding hooligans and highway robbers, the Kingdom of Ghana had as many two-hundred thousand well-armed and well-trained armies of warriors. To support such a large army, the administration in Koumbi-Saleh levied taxes on trade caravans passing through the kingdom. During this period in time, the headwaters of the Niger, Gambia, and Senegal rivers contained the largest deposits of gold. The demand for economic development and dwindling resources in the eastern hemisphere lured merchants in the Mediterranean basin and the Islamic world to the vast resources that was available in the kingdom of Ghana. In exchange for gold and other precious minerals, trans-Saharan merchants from as far as Europe and Arabia brought in horses, cloth, manufactured wares, and salt-a crucial commodity that was in short supply in the tropics. Besides Koumbi-Saleh, other prominent trading towns were Timbuktu in present-day Mali, Gao, Jenne, and Niani. Never at time has the history of the African continent been contrasting as European explorers of the past envisaged. Instead, Africa enjoys a history full of intricate governance, distinct civilization, elaborate terra-cotta craftsmanship, magnificent trade routes and abundance of wealth, and endless stories.

Arabs and Persians in Africa

If there be any reliable truth-telling society that can shed light on historical African social life prior to European incursion of Africa, a glimpse at past Arab and Persian chroniclers would without an iota of doubt prove remarkably useful. The Arabs have in their libraries vast array of materials of historical significance that has either been out-rightly rejected by the Europeans because of the profound impact they incur on African historical perspectives or said other way, because these materials continue to rot in libraries devoid of translations.

Arab proximity to African coastlines enabled Arab philosophers, historians, adventurers, religious scholars, traders, and seafarers to crisscross the Indian Ocean on dhows aided by the Indian Ocean seasonal monsoon winds. Likewise, Persians were the very people who preserved and translated the vast knowledge of Greek philosophy we cherish today so much so that the philosophical foundations we inherited from Greek philosophers like Aristotle, Socrates, Aristophanes, Thucydides, Anaximander, Plato and others serve actors in the governing of world democracies; they also remain the nerves behind the continuation of the much-admired theatrical performances seen the world over, and subjects of profound solace in global academia. Despite coming to Africa way after the Arabs and Persians had bonded with the mighty continent through concrete reciprocal friendship, later European travelers to Africa drew gloomy pictures about the people they interacted with and the lands they traversed regardless of being accorded outstanding reception.

Long before the birth of Christianity and long before the rise of the succession of Roman empires that came to wreck havoc in Asia Minor, Arabia, and northern Africa, a dedicated Greek mariner produced the useful historical document we know today as the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea. This internationally-acknowledged historical magnum opus details the existence of thriving cities and societies straddling the eastern and southern Africa coastlines with mention of commerce and trade and ocean mercantilism in the year 1 B.C. Similarly, in the 14th century, a Chinese navigator by the name Admiral Hwang Ho or Huang He, sailing on behalf of the king of imperial China, paid a courtesy call to Somalia’s coastline presumably landing either in Mogadishu, Berbera, or Zeila where he was given on his return voyage a giraffe as a gift by the sultan of Somalia at that time. The history of Arabs, Persians and other Asian societies most notably Polynesians plying the African coast long before Europeans mastered the art of sail-making, may not be taken lightly because the footprints these people left behind are quite visible to this day from further up north in Zeila in Somalia to further south in Sofala in Mozambique.

The Axumite Kingdom of Abyssinia
The current state of Ethiopia has seen dramatic historical experiences that stretch back to three-thousand years corresponding to the era of the Biblical Queen of Sheba who ruled ancient Yemen and King and Prophet Solomon whose reign encompassed a greater part of the Arabia landscape, the Levant, and parts of Asia Minor. Abyssinia (currently Ethiopia) enjoys historical significance such that its majesty in ancient architectural engineering is the envy of many past civilizations. With the ancient city of Axum or Aksum as the capital city of the Kingdom of Axum-a civilization that flourished in the current Tigrey region of Ethiopia from ca. 400 B.C. up until the 10th century-the eponymous kingdom of Axum had a strong naval and trading power that stretched to as far as modern-day Yemen in the Middle East right across the Gulf of Aden. Ancient Abyssinia was home to the renowned “Lucy”-a presumed hominid fossil who is a Gracile Australopithecines represented by bones from single skeleton-specimens discovered in Ethiopia’s Afar region. Ethiopia’s Afar region has long been an area famous for volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, and blanketing lake sediments and slow accumulation of sediments.

The recent discovery of another skeleton thought to have died 4.4 million years ago-a fossil named Ardipithecus ramidus or in short “Ardi”-is estimated to be a million years older than the famous Lucy find of the 70s. Pioneered by the Middle Awash research project and co-directed by Tim White, a paleo-Anthropologist from the University of California at Berkeley and assisted by his Ethiopian colleagues Berhane Asfaw and Giday WoldeGabriel, the team believes that the Afar region of Ethiopia holds paleo-anthropological treasures.

With a long historical journey and many ruins comprising churches carved-out of mountains and steel structures dotting the countryside, undoubtedly, ancient Abyssinia was once a seat for mighty emperors who carried the ceremonial title “Ras” until the last ruling dynasty, Emperor Haile Selassie, was overthrown and murdered in cold blood in 1974 by a military committee known as the Derg that was led by Lieutenant Mengistu Haile Miriam. Colonel Mengistu, having himself been removed from power in 1991, is purportedly hiding in obscurity in Zimbabwe at the behest of authoritarian ruler Robert Mugabe. Among the most striking ancient structures remaining in modern-day Ethiopia include the monolithic obelisk that in the course of time collapsed and subsequently broke into three parts.

Ethiopia survived foreign manipulation for over 3,000 years especially the so-called Scramble for Africa until the Second World War when Italy’s fascist ruler Benito Mussolini occupied it for a few years despite bitter resistance that culminated in the defeat of the invading forces by Ethiopia’s combined local gallantry. Mussolini’s war with Ethiopia was to avenge the Battle of Adowa which took place in Abyssinia on March 1, 1896. It was Mussolini’s desire to revive an empire reminiscent of the Roman

Introduction to Upcoming Book on African History

For thousands of years when the people of the Europe lingered in an observable fact of savagery and barbarism, the African continent enjoyed remarkable peace, prosperity, and good governance until poor and famished Europe woke up to an era in the 15th century that came to be known as the Renaissance with France becoming the first in continental Europe to seize the opportunity to effect change to its people’s living conditions politically, socially, and economically. Despite being called names pejoratively by the people of Europe, the inhabitants of the mighty African continent have never at any given time in history sought the help of Europe in any way whatsoever in the past. Instead, after suffering unmitigated hunger and general deprivation for many years, it was the leaders of Europe who embarked on surreptitious projects that in the end reduced the African continent into a bleeding mess.

Until we realize what the major factors are that continue to hold back the poor African continent through the eyes and mind of the African intellectual, we may never understand the general dilemmas of the African and Africans. From the very moment when Europeans started to involve themselves in African affairs, the rate of human suffering has been quite alarming. While the rest of the world is accelerating in terms of development, to the contrary, the African continent has experienced tremendous deceleration-not because of scarcity of natural resources and human capital, but because of European mistreatment.

After unleashing slavery and slave trade as a precursor to its protracted ravenousness and profligacy, the leaders of Europe persistently plundered Africa through imperialism, colonialism, neocolonialism, commercial misgivings, trade imbalances, the World Bank (WB), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and most recently through the World Trade Organization (WTO)-an organization whose mode of operations favor allies of the United States and the European Union while imposing hefty tariffs on African raw and manufactured products that are perceived as having inferior quality.

With the exception of oil and other industrial mineral exploits and rubber plantations that are either owned by or managed by western multinational corporations (MNC) and Coffee, Tea, and Cocoa that is farmed by underpaid Africans in Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Mali, and Ivory Coast respectively and consumed heavily as beverage in the western hemisphere, Africa’s vast natural resources-exploited and unexploited-remain in commercial limbo for failing to secure internationally accepted legitimate market value.

Despite the abundance of diamonds in Sierra Leone and Namibia; gold in South Africa; rubber in Liberia; oil in Nigeria, Chad, Niger, Libya, and Tunisia, persisting colonial vestiges, embezzlement of state coffers and despicable corruption hinder prospects for progress and serendipity. It is quite common for the very African leader who is himself a product of colonialism to heap blame on his nation’s former colonial master be it be Britain, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Germany, or France respectively. Britain and France, the two major colonial powers that are central to the adulteration of African affairs continue to misguide their servants through the formation of proxy blocs known as Anglophone and Francophone where participating states are required to comply by laid down rules and regulations dictated from London and Paris. Ironically, majority of African leaders who subscribe to any of the two opposing rims, Anglophone or Francophone, came to the helm through vote rigging or through coup d’états. Thus, aspects of political and historical significance that failed to capture the imaginations of many writers in the past will be unveiled as you read the pages of an upcoming book on the history.

The subsequent rise of the Axumite Kingdom of Abyssinia before the advent of Christianity and Islam, the golden age of the Kingdom of Ghana, the wealth of the Kingdom of Mali under Mansa Musa, the Songhai Empire, the thriving civilizations on the Swahili coast of Eastern Africa, the great ruins of Zimbabwe and the forces that built it along the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers will be thoroughly scrutinized in the most scholarly manner.

Human Rights Abuses in Somalia

The issue of human rights abuses in Somalia goes back to the days of the military junta when select clans were targetted for voicing their concerns. The worst form of human atrocities, extrajudicial killings, trial without legal representation followed by prolonged jail terms, denial of freedom of speech, arbitrary arrests, and other forms of cruel and dehumanizing punishments including aerial bombing of densely populated places, forceful conscription into the armed forces, lack of reliable healthcare facilities, poor infrastructure, lack of clean tapped water, and the forceful adaption of communism and Scientific-socialism that were contrary to Islamic values remained prevalent up until the fall of Somalia's last central government.

The fall of the military government in 1991 exploded intertribal and interclan rivalry leading to the worst form of humanitarian crisis never before witnessed in modern human history. The rise of dreadful warlords culminated in the formation of fiefdoms and eventual cantonization of the once unified and homogenous state of Somalia. The rise of startling crimes of extortion and murder, rape of young girls and women, destruction of the nation's infrastructure, pollution of the environment, destruction of national forests through charcoal burning, dumping of toxic wastes, and the indiscriminate killing of defenseless civilians opened a path to the most grueling mass exodus of people and wild animals inside and outside of Somalia's borders such that Dadaab refugee camp in Kenya has become home to 300,000 refugees mainly of Somali origin. Dadaab refugee camp is reputedly the biggest refugee camp in the world according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR.

International, interregional, and intraregional migration became the only possible means of escape for those with the willpower and resolve, energy and drive. Hundreds of wild animals including elephants, giraffes, buffalos, rhinos, zebras, and other bigger animals who could cover longer distances sought refuge in countries neighboring Somalia. In the Diaspora, the number of Somali teenagers langushing in foreign jails for felonies and misdmeanors is hard to grasp. Somali youth in the Diaspora have become victims of crime because their illiterate or drugged parents have failed to guide them and act as role models.

Currently, Somalia remains the most dangerous place to live. It is a place where life has no meaning at all. Regardless of where one lives in Somalia, the truth of the matter is, peace, liberty, and happiness remain elusive. In the areas controlled by the Islamists, uneducated and brainwashed young men wielding considerable power have made life unbearable for the millions who look to them for protection. In their attempts to consolidate power, the Islamists have become adept at imposing unbearable rules and regulations that are an impediment to peace and progress.

Almost all Somali factions, religious or secular, continue to exploit and suppress even the most vulnerable of their subjects-children. Children as young as ten carry AK-47s in the streets imposing strict rules and lashing unobservant, defenseless civilians. What the west refers to as child labor has become a common practise for armed groups. The absence of human growth and develpment has depleted Somalia's human capital such that even those who have been hale and healthy at one time, have lost their mental and moral fiber.

Disruption of humanitarian supplies, exposure to hazardous waste, the defeaning noise of artillery and gunfire, and a host of undiagnosed and protracted maladies leave many reeling in pain on a daily basis. Theocracy, authoritarianism, and pseudo-democracy are the only forms of leadership styles currently existing in the Somali landscape.

Women and girls escaping the mayhem in Somalia, often find themselves abused, roughed-up, or raped by the security personnel of the host country. The political imbroglio in Villa Somalia and the Transitional Government's failure to capture lands in the hands of the opposition, will excercabate the current negative trends and alien traditions the nation is engulfed in.

Somali Child Soldiers

A recent report by a New York Times reporter that the current Transitional Federal Government of Somalia employs child soldiers to keep the peace in the areas it controls has become a subject of discussion in the global media. Images of dishevelled underage Somali children carrying AK-47 rifles raise questions about the ill-intentions of the besieged Somali government.

Taxpayers in the West perceive hippocracy and deception on the part of their governments for recklessly dishing out their hard-earned monies to a government that does not respect the rights of the child. According to some estimates, 20% of Somalia's children are engaged in conflict as child soldiers. These children are either orphaned, abandoned, homeless or have been forcefully conscripted against their wishes or have been attracted to the meager wages offered by heartless militia commanders including Somalia's national army that is short of willing recruits.

As a result of push-pull factors, these children are being lured either by the desire to win their daily bread or the urge to satisfy their drug addictions. Somalia is synonymous with the consumption of Qaad-a narcotic leaf grown in the highlands of Kenya and Ethiopia-a drug that contains fatal ingredients of cathinone (or cathonine)and known to induce euphoria, insomnia, and hypersensivity.

On the other hand, the absence of social activities, lack of schools, abject poverty, and massive unemployment opens a path for competition, survival, and bitter struggle among those who don't have relatives in the Diaspora. Often, children with no guardians or role models find themselves left with options other than fending for themselves. Strange as it may seem, the main perpetrators who exposed these children to such horrendous living conditions and untold suffering, have taken their children out of harms way and settled them in far away peaceful lands.

News that the president of Somalia has ordered a thorough investigation of New York Times' damaging revelations about Somali child-soldiers be carried could be welcoming if only we knew the effectiveness and impartiality of the final findings. Though it is easy to verify the number of child-soldiers serving in Somalia's army, what makes the veracity of the anticipated final report unconvincing even before it is made public, is the current government's past investigative failures. Perhaps, fearing public scrutiny, the current government is yet to deliver the results of investigations into past horrific incidents including the deadly suicide bombing of Hotel Shamo in December of last year where prominent public figures, university leactures, and graduating students met their untimely deaths.

Beledweyne for al-Shabab

The strategetic town of Beledweyne which previously served as the main hub for Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys' Hizb al-Islam militia has finally fallen into the hands of al-Shabab. With only Ceelasha Biyaha-a massive camp for the Internally Displaced located outside of Mogadishu remaining as the last bastion for Hizb al-Islam-undoubtedly, one could conclude that Sheikh Aweys' faction is headed for total dismemberment and absolute involuntary dissolution. To add insult to injury, the number of Hizb al-Islam forces defecting to the opposition is siad to be explosive finally leading to HI's top brass disbanding and bringing to an abrupt end the Sheikh's uncalled-for loquacity, rhetorics and innuendos of the past. With HI out of the political spectrum, what everyone has to keep an eye on is how the next battle will be fought between the Transional Federal Government and Ahlu-Sunna-Wal-Jama'a on one side and al-Shabab on the other.

Somalia Government Flexes Muscles

The current Transitional Federal Government of Somalia (TFG) headed by Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed has long been accused by the international media and by a cross-section of impatient Somalis as being inept, incompetent, and corrupt. For some, the TFG has been a government only in name; its sphere of influence is restricted to the presidential palace-also known as Villa Somalia-which translates to a few blocks in a city of eighteen counties and a population exceeding over a million inhabitants.

Besieged by armed insurgents on all sides, the president and his retinue of dignitaries remain under the protection of AMISOM-an armed contingent provided by the African Union and funded by the international community. Perhaps a little less than a division and a legion, AMISOM is an amalgamation of select forces from the nations of Uganda and Burundi. The roughly 8,000 AMISOM force currently in Mogadishu remain guardians of the harbor, the airport, and the presidential palace. Lack of effective management and scarcity of funds has hindered the TFG's prospect of ushering in the much-needed peace and security.

Bickering and clan affiliations remain the major destructive tool for disgruntled parliamentarians with intent to further divide and plunge the nation in to a cycle of abyss. Rival militias integrated in to government forces switch sides by joining the Jihadists who continue to wage war on all fronts with the ultimate goal of toppling the infant and fragile TFG.

With patience and constancy the TFG is headed to reversing previous negative trends that posed a threat in the past by winning the hearts and minds of its war wary citizens. With thousands of newly-graduated troops and committed commanders on the ground, the TFG has now flexed muscles by covering and capturing new ground.

In the past few days, loyal government forces overwhelmingly captured the strategic city of Beletweyne from Hizbul Islam militia. Likewise, government forces and AMISOM troops have been pushing back the confrontational al-Shabab militant group from various segments of the city of Mogadishu thus allowing the safe return of displaced persons to their rightful homes.

Besides, the TFG has become a beneficiary of millions of dollars from the international community earmarked for the reconstruction and development of Somalia-the latest being money to the tune of $300m. The recently concluded conference in Ankara, Turkey, will be followed by a similar one to be held in Spain before year end. Which brings us to the conclusion that Somalia will in the long run reclaim its lost glory and once again become a major force to reckon with.

The Impact of Globalization on Somali Culture

Abstract
The impact of globalization is being felt almost everywhere in the world including the “stateless” nation of Somalia whose economy is spiraling at a tremendous pace even with the absence of an effective central government and escalation of war. The purpose of this paper is to examine the positive and negative impacts of globalization on the Somali culture.

What is Globalization?
The term globalization resonates with a novel and emerging global topic whose definition in the myriads of available international relations textbooks and dictionaries conjure up varieties of rudimentary connotations. Charles W. Kegley, Jr. and Shannon N. Blanton, in their book, World Politics: Trend and Transformation (12ed), describe globalization as the integration of states, through increasing contact, communication, and trade, to create a common global culture for all humanity.[1] Globalization has been around the world for a long time since the interaction and integration of different societies through international trade and investment.

Somalia: A Brief introduction
Somalia got its independence in 1960 with Aden Abdille Osman as its first head of state. Situated in the Horn of Africa, the Republic of Somalia has a land area of 637,540 square kilometers which makes it slightly smaller than the U.S. state of Texas. Its terrain mostly consists of plateaus, plains, and highlands. Measuring 3,025km, Somalia has the longest coastline in the African continent followed by South Africa (2,798km). It is bordered by the tiny nation of Djibouti (inhabited by Somali-speaking people) to the northwest, the Gulf of Aden and Yemen to the north, Kenya to the southwest, the Indian Ocean to the East, and Ethiopia to the West. The population of Somalia was estimated by the United Nations in 2003 at 9,890,000 and is placed at number 80 in population among the 193 nations of the world.[2]

Colonial environment and Somali Language
With the exception of Somali which is the national language, other languages spoken in the country include Arabic, English, and Italian. The Somali peripatetic way of life accelerated economic interdependence and regional dominance making Somalis to inhabit the most expansive land that stretch from the Somali-inhabited region in Ethiopia to as far south as Kenya’s eastern and Northern provinces while in between traversing Djibouti and Somalia.

It was only in 1972 when the Somali language came into the glare of publicity after the official writing script developed by Shire Jama Ahmed became the unanimously accepted version in favor of the Latin and Osmaniya scripts-orthography invented in the early twentieth century by the Majeerteen poet and ruler, Osman Yusuf Kenadid.[3]

The Dynamism of Somali Culture
Somalia is a homogenous nation with a mix of rich culture. Somalis speak the same language which is Somali; they have one religion which is Islam, and they enjoy similar customs. It is the clan that determines one’s place in society. In modern times, Somali exposure to foreign ways of life has tremendously altered the previous dividing factors that existed between its various clans. Improved intercommunication due to amalgamation of communal groups alleviated major barriers pertaining to intermarriage. Clans who exclusively observed endogamous marriages due to customary restrictions have eased imposing constraints by allowing partners to partake in the formulation of exogamy thus leading to the creation of a wholly new concept of marital relationships never before seen in Somali culture.

Perhaps, the first European to venture into Somali territory who meticulously described the culture and language of the Somali people was Sir Richard Burton. About the people and their language, he wrote: “The country teems with “poets, poetasters, poetitos, and poetaccios:” Every man has his recognized position in literature as accurately defined as though he had been reviewed in a century of magazines-the fine ear of this people causing them to take the greatest pleasure in harmonious sounds and poetical expressions, whereas a false quantity or a prosaic phrase excite their violent indignation.”[4] Somalia has been described as a “nation of poets”. The most famous Somali poet was Seyyid Mohamed Abdille Hassan who was dubbed “mad mullah” by the British colonial administration in the late 1900s. Poetry and prose play great roles in Somali daily life even in this era of globalization where it is used as a means of communication.

Natural Resources
Somalia is endowed with unexploited mineral resources and vast maritime resources that have been a source of contention since the collapse of the central government in 1991. The absence of a strong and effective central government has left Somalia’s coastline prone to illegal fishing and dumping of toxic waste by foreign trawlers and the dreaded Mafia-an issue even voiced with deep concern by Mauritanian-born Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, the UN envoy for Somalia.[5] Somalia’s eastern coastline overlooking the Gulf of Aden has become a hotbed for piracy.[6] Oil explorations carried out by Conoco, Amoco, Chevron, and Philips before the military junta fell point to a strong possibility Somalia could contain significant reserves.[7] In modern times Somalia remains a strategically, economically, politically, culturally and religiously sensitive region.

Globalization and Somalia
Somalia’s proximity to the Middle East and North Africa made it a center for commerce in historical antiquity. During that era, Somali sailors and merchants traded in myrrh, frankincense, and spices with ancient Egyptians, Phoenicians, Mycenaeans, and Babylonians.[8] Even though there could be similarities between Somalia’s previous era of globalization and the current one, today’s experience with globalization is to some degree more intense for Somalia and her trading partners. Somalia’s trial with capitalism got off the ground immediately it gained independence in 1960 when the nation’s leaders adopted democracy as the form of governance for the country. That dream was shuttered by the arrival of a military government in 1969 that changed the nation’s governing style to Leninism-Marxism which ended in 1991 a few years after the collapse of the Berlin Wall.

Preservation of Somali Literature
Several major universities across the globe have taken the responsibility of either teaching or collecting materials related to the advancement of the Somali language. One such example is the University of Indiana in Bloomington which boosts a large collection on Somali literature deposited by the Somali Studies International Association. These materials were acquired by the university with support from the US Department of Education Title VI grant.[9] The University of Ohio has included the teaching of Somali into its African studies program.[10] Several European countries teach the Somali language to Somali children. Higher institutions of learning such as the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) which is part of the University of London, the Swedish Academy in Uppsala, and Rome University have specialized study programs preserved for the Somali language.[11]

Improved Telecommunications
Somalia has seen dramatic improvement in communications. According to a study carried out in sub-Saharan Africa by Benjamin Powell who is an Assistant Professor of economics at Suffolk University and a senior economist with the Beacon Hill Institute, Somalia moved from the 29th place to the eighth in terms of telephone landlines use per 1,000 of population since it became stateless in 1991. It ranks 16th in phone mobile use, 11th in internet users, and it ranks 27th in households with televisions. It takes three days for a telephone line to be installed; the bill for a monthly land-line costs $10 which includes unlimited local calls while international calls cost 50 cents a minute. Due to the explosion of internet cafes, web access costs 50 cents per minute. Using a mobile phone in Somalia is “generally cheaper and clearer than a call from anywhere else in Africa”, according to the economist.[12] The nation’s three biggest mobile phone companies, Hormuud Telecom, Nationlink, and Telecom Somalia have 1.8 million customers who enjoy some of the cheapest rates in the world.[13] Currently, Somalia has a varied and vibrant news media including 12 radio stations, and a handful of newspapers mainly written in the Somali language.


Positive Implications of Globalization
The thousands of Somalis who settled outside Somalia’s borders tremendously altered the political, social, and economic landscape of the Somali nation by injecting millions of dollars in the form of remittances into a once beleaguered, impoverished, and war-ravaged nation thus opening the gates of globalization. In its March 2009 report, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) office for Somalia, estimated that Somali Diaspora remittances to the Horn of Africa nation amounted to over $2 billion in remittance flows. According to the authors of the UNDP report, Somali Diaspora organizations may be credited for supporting or establishing service delivery facilities by providing regular funding flows meant for the payment of salaries to schools or hospitals. The significance of globalization and international political economy has necessitated the transfer of goods and services. Somali businessmen have found it easier to balance supply and demand in almost every region of the country regardless of daily hostilities.

Depending on the size or intricacy of developmental assistance, various Diaspora groups fund multifarious schemes not only in the health and education sectors but in construction, feeding centers, orphanage homes, digging of water wells, farming, banking, manufacturing, fishing, and the transportation sector. In the unrecognized breakaway republic of Somaliland and in the eastern autonomous region of Puntland, the semblance of peace has triggered a progression of various competing air travel companies, foreign-funded educational institutions, maritime trade and investment.
Thanks to the generous contributions of the Somali Diaspora and international organizations currently Somalia has over a dozen universities. When the military junta was in power, Somalia had only one national university. The fall of the Berlin Wall, the break-up of the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) and the collapse of the military junta in Somalia have made it easier for Somalis to turn to the West for educational opportunities. Every year, in the US, EU, Canada, and Australia, hundreds if not thousands of Somali students, graduate from colleges and universities. The thousands of Somalis educated in the West and elsewhere will undoubtedly spearhead the concepts of globalization in Somalia as the years go by without encumbrances.

Islamists and anti-Globalization
The rise of religious militancy in Somalia has set bad precedents and adversely impacted globalization. The two strongest factions opposed to the current Somali Transitional Federal Government have imposed stringent measures on schools funded by the Diaspora by placing a ban on the teaching of English and the Science and they have prohibited the ringing of school bells during school breaks. They have also slapped a ban on western-style haircuts, western fashion, and western manners; in their efforts to fight vice, all cinema halls and video dens remain closed; all men are required to have their trousers above the ankle otherwise they risk flogging or imprisonment or both; owners of television and radio stations have been told to refrain from playing music or else risk arrest and to make matters worse, the local VOA and BBC transmissions have been taken off the air and their equipments transferred to other radio stations owned by the Islamists. It is worth noting that Islamists only dominate the southern part of Somalia and that they have no stake in Puntland and Somaliland.

Despite acrimony, fear, and division, Somali culture will immensely benefit from Globalization whenever a stable government emerges from the ashes of destruction. Through the concept of convergence and economic growth, Somalia will eventually catch up with richer countries. Its hale and healthy human population will unlock the mysteries of sustained economic growth. The future of globalization in Somalia depends on Muslim-Somali’s ability to wed western-style modernism with Islamic principles, or, in other words to develop Islamic-style modernism without sacrificing Muslim values.

References
[1] Charles W. Kegley, JR. and Shannon L. Blanton. World Politics: Trend and Transformation (12ed.), Wadsworth, 20 Channel Center Street, Boston, MA 02210
[2] Encyclopedia of the Nations:
http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Africa/Somalia-POPULATION.html
(accessed 20 April, 2010)
[3] Shire Jama Ahmed:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shire_Jama_Ahmed/
(Accessed 23 April, 2010)
[4] Richard F. Burton: First Footsteps in East Africa; Or, an Exploration of Harar. London, Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans. 1856
[5] ‘Toxic Waste’ Behind Somali Piracy by Najad Abdullahi, Aljazeera. October 11, 2008. http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2008/10/2008109174223218644.html
(accessed 20 April, 2010)
[6] Helen Kennedy, Piracy big boon to Somalia economy; hotels, restaurants sprout in port of Eyl in pirates' presence, nydailynews, April 9, 2009 http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/2009/04/10/2009-04-10_piracy_boon_to_somalia_economy.html
(Accessed 21 April, 2010)
[7] Natural Resources (Somalia), Natural Resources.
http://www.janes.com/articles/Janes-Sentinel-Security-Assessment-North-Africa/Natural-resources-Somalia.html
(Accessed 22 April, 2010)
]8] ^ Civilizations: Culture, Ambition, and the Transformation of Nature By Felipe Armesto Fernandez
(Accessed April 20, 2010)
[9] History of Indiana University’s Somali Collection. http://www.indiana.edu/~libsalc/african/Digital_Somali_Library/history.html (Accessed April 24, 2010)
[10] African Studies director honored by Somali president,Youtube.com, www.ohio.edu/outlook/09-10/October/79a.cfm
(Accessed 24 April, 2010)
[11] Mohamed H. Rabi. The Institute of Practical Research and Training: The Role of Somali language in Education http://www.iprt.org/role_of_somali_language_in_educa.htm
(Accessed 29 April, 2010)
[12] Mohamed H. Rabi. The Institute of Practical Research and Training: The Role of Somali language in Education http://www.iprt.org/role_of_somali_language_in_educa.htm
(Accessed 29 April, 2010)
[13] Abdi Sheikh and Ibrahim Mohamed. Somali mobile phone firms thrive despite chaos Reuters. Nov 3, 2009. Retrieved May 1, 2010 from http://af.reuters.com/article/investingNews/idAFJOE5A20DB20091103
(Accessed May 1, 2010)

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Rachel Swarns, “Africa’s Lost Tribe Discovers American Way,” New York Times, 10 March, 2003.

Sir Richard Burton, First Footsteps in East Africa, Tylston and Edwards, The Meccan Press, 3 Soho Square, London, WMDCCCXC1V.

Natural Resources (Somalia), Natural Resources. Retrieved April 22, 2010 from
http://www.janes.com/articles/Janes-Sentinel-Security-Assessment-North-Africa/Natural-resources-Somalia.html

Helen Kennedy, Piracy big boon to Somalia economy; hotels, restaurants sprout in port of Eyl in pirates' presence, nydailynews, April 9, 2009. Retrieved April 21, 2010 from
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Natural Resources (Somalia), Natural Resources. Retrieved April 22, 2010 from
http://www.janes.com/articles/Janes-Sentinel-Security-Assessment-North-Africa/Natural-resources-Somalia.html

Shire Jama Ahmed. Retrieved April 23, 2010 from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shire_Jama_Ahmed/

History of Indiana University’s Somali Collection. Retrieved April 24, 2010 from
http://www.indiana.edu/~libsalc/african/Digital_Somali_Library/history.html


Mohamed H. Rabi. The Institute of Practical Research and Training: The Role of Somali language in Education. Retrieved 29 April, 2010 from
http://www.iprt.org/role_of_somali_language_in_educa.htm

Benjamin Powell, Somalia: Failed State, Economic Success?, Freeman: Ideas on Liberty, April 2009 • Volume: 59 • Issue: 3. Retrieved May 1, 2010 from
http://www.thefreemanonline.org/featured/somalia-failed-state-economic-success/

The World's Longest and Shortest Wars Revisited

Man has been at war with himself since time immemorial. Some wars have been short; others lasted many, many years. Some wars have been quick and decisive while others continued until the emergence of a conqueror; other wars dragged on for centuries even after the death of the masterminds. Usually, a war may be ignited by flimsy issues like a love affair, competition for scarce resources, and rivalry over leadership, disagreement over ideology or it could be over major issues like retaliatory measures over grievances, religious superiority; it could be a row over diplomacy, forceful annexation of new lands, and territorial expansion. Wars may result from internal turmoil leading to civil disobedience or it could be caused by external aggression. In almost all wars, clever men intervened to reconcile warring parties. Some wars end for good after warring parties opt for an armistice or negotiated settlements.

The longest war in human history erupted during the reign of Alexander the Great III who succeeded the throne after the assassination of his father Philip of Macedon II in 336 BC. Alexander the Great III waged war against Persia between the years 320s and 330s BC. The man who would claim the titles Hegemon of the Hellenic League, Shahanshah of Persia, Pharaoh of Egypt and Lord of Asia died at age 32 in 332 BC after capturing Syria, Egypt, Mesopotamia, Persia, and Bactria. His short-lived reign lasted only 13 years. His ambition of capturing India ended in disarray after his soldiers mutinied prompting him to turn back thus shuttering his dream of capturing Arabia. Alexander’s desire was to reach the "ends of the world and the Great Outer Sea". Thus, the wars inherited from Alexander the Great left a geopolitical vault that continue to drag on 2,500 years later between the forces of Europe and the Middle East.

In the past, many battles exploded between Europe and the Middle East with North Africa, Spain, France, the Balkans, Palestine, and Asia Minor serving as battlefields. The rise of Islam in the 7th century consolidated and strengthened the forces of Western Asia by significantly Islamizing the Middle East and tipping the poise in support of Mid-Eastern superiority for several centuries. The falling behind of the Arabs and the Turks in economic and military terms in the 19th century enabled the French and the British to impose colonialism on Muslim lands.

Another prolonged war worth mentioning erupted between the Netherlands and the Isles of Scilly (Dutch: Driehonderdvijfendertigjarige Oorlog) which lasted for three hundred and thirty five years. Strange as it may seem, not a single shot was fired for 335 years making this war the longest war with the fewest casualties. This war ignited during the Second English Civil War between the Royalists and Parliamentarians in 1642 to 1652. It was Oliver Cromwell who pushed the Royalists and secured Cornwall for the parliamentarians in 1648. Under the command of Admiral Robert Blake, the Parliamentarians finally forced the Royalists to surrender in 1651.

Because of the exact dates remaining sketchy, many historians are of the view the Vietnam War was fought against the French for 11 years (1946-1957) and 18 years against the United States (1957-1975). In total, the Vietnam War lasted 30 years. The Korean War was far much shorter than the Vietnam War as it lasted from 1950 to 1953.

Of all wars the world has seen and recorded by historians, World War I (1914-1918) and World War II (1939-1945) left unforgettable scars in the memory of humanity. Industrialization, abundance of resources, advanced military technology and the mastering of modern tactical warfare by the nations of the western hemisphere, the former U.S.S.R, and Japan culminated in the speeding of aggression that led to the loss of life and property on both sides of the warring parties.

The shortest war recorded in history occurred on 27 October, 1896. Known historically as the Anglo-Zanzibar War, it was fought between the Sultan of Zanzibar and the powerful United Kingdom. This war is said to have lasted 38 minutes and has been documented to have started at 9:02 AM and ending at 9:40 AM-approximately 38 minutes though many disputes exist among historians as to the exact timing of this brutally devastating war that took tremendous life and property.

It all started after the sudden death of Sultan Hamad bin Thuwaini who died on the 24th of August, 1896. At this time in history, the British monarchy was pushing for an end to slavery in Zanzibar that was started by Omani Arabs in the 17th century. The British were in favor of Hamud bin Muhammed for the throne because he was a royal cousin of the deceased and because he did not extremely support the advancement of slavery.

However, a hot-blooded nephew of the deceased sultan, a man named Khalid bin Bargash who was an extreme supporter of slavery seized the throne in a coup. At this juncture, the British colonial administration delivered an ultimatum to Bargash ordering him to give up the throne. The big-headed Bargash challenged the British by hurriedly assembling an army of 3,000 men; he ordered the fortification of his newly-usurped Beit el-Ajaib palace or the House of Wonder; he also put into action a hurriedly-created navy in the form of the ex-Sultan’s yacht, HHS Glasgow.

At this juncture, the Royal Navy of Britain, the strongest navy in the world at that time, deployed two warships in the harbor aiming their heavy guns at Bargash’s newly-usurped abode-the Beit el-Ajaib. By now, the Royal Navy had three ultra-modern cruisers in action: the Edgar- class armored cruiser HMS St. George, the pearl class protected cruiser HMS Philomel, and the archer-class cruiser HMS Raccoon and two gunboats, the HMS Thrush and HMS Sparrow.

On the other hand, the British dispatched a landing party under the command of General Lloyd Mathews. By the time the war ended, Bargash’s palace had been razed to the ground, approximately 500 of his poorly-trained soldiers perished, and his navy was obliterated. Bargash sought refuge in the German embassy. Eventually, he escaped to Dar es Salaam in mainland Tanganyika where he was captured by British forces in 1916. Finally, the imposing but trounced Bargash was released by the British. He died in Mombasa, Kenya in 1927.

Whether short or prolonged, in essence, wars are catastrophic in nature for they exacerbate death and destruction and accelerate human suffering. Wars are known to be agonizing for fauna and flora alike and never at anytime nurture living things. Had there been no wars for all the years men have been up to their throats, the shape of the current world would have been habitable.

In the current era of globalization, the prospect of the world experiencing another major war remains slim mainly due to internalization of trade and investment and the interconnectedness of nation-states through mutual cooperation and the observance of internationally-sanctioned organizational commitments which ultimately will put an end to the concept of unilateralism and hegemony experienced in the past.

The current politically motivated wars raging in Afghanistan, Iraq, Darfur, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and Somalia will come to an end in the near future. The only wars that will remain mind-boggling to the international community will be the current unsolvable Israeli-Palestinian conflict whose ideals rest on religious and ethnic dividing lines and China's domination of the world's economy 2050 and beyond.

Somalia: Back to pre-Islamic Era of Ignorance

Just today, in Somalia's wretched City of Mogadishu, two remote-controlled bombs simultaneously went-off in the famous Ali Shideye mosque crowded by worshippers killing over 30 people and injuring almost 100 others. The prime target of the bomb was Sheikh Fuad Shongole, a naturalized Swedish citizen and a high profile in al-Shabab's assembly of sheikhs. According to a spokesman for al-Shabab, Sheikh Fuad survived the bombing though he sustained injuries to the hands and other parts of the body. So far no one has claimed responsibility.

Today's bombing of a religious stronghold manned by al-Shabab demonstrates the emergence of a powerful opposition force that is capable of inflicting considerable damage to any future militaristic ambitions by al-Shabab and her allies. Forces opposed to al-Shabab seem to be reinventing their war strategies by coming up with superior tactics that could cause collateral damage to where unleashed.

Of late al-Shabab has been capturing new grounds from AhluSunna Wal-Jama (ASWJ) in the central regions. Al-Shabab's provocative actions prompted ASWJ to join the Transitional Federal Government (TFG). This collective initiative will empower the unified government to marshal a dependable, effective, and loyal force to counter al-Shabab's continued aggression. According to media reports, leaders of ASWJ have been quoted as saying that they will entirely eradicate al-shabab from Somali territorial soil through coordinated efforts. Perhaps, it could turn out to be a dream come true.

Besides al-Shabab, another faction by the name of Hizbul Islam (HI) has its head up in Somalia's mangled politics. HI is headed by Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, a former Somali army colonel who fought the government of Ethiopia in his heydays with al-Itihad al-Islami. Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys and the current president of the TFG, Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, under the banner of the Union of Islamic Courts hereafter referred to as UIC, meticulously executed the defeat of the dreaded warlords in 2006. The two buddies parted ways when Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed was inaugurated president of the TFG a year ago in a ceremony conducted in Djibouti under the auspices of the international community.

HI is closely allied with al-Shabab in ideology though the two technically remain at war. In the past HI lost large swathes of land in the southern part of the country to the forces of al-Shabab. Recently, Sheikh Hassan Turki, formerly a staunch ally of HI and leader-founder of Muaskar Ras Kiamboni, after thorough negotiations and tough deliberations, switched sides by pledging allegiance to al-Shabab in a well-arranged ceremony. Such is the ideological delicacy and political intricay of the lackadaisical multifarious forces josstling for power in the name of Islam in Somalia.

One other ideological reject is Sheikh Ahmed Madobe who is holed up in Somalia's southern border with Kenya. Rumor has it that Sheikh Ahmed Madobe is a close relative of Sheikh Hassan Turki. What prompted Hassan Turki to abandon his brother when he needed him most will remain shrouded in mystery. In the meantime, Sheikh Ahmed Madobe conducts guerilla raids on villages and towns straddling Somalia's southern border that are predominantly inhabited by his tribesmen but under the control of al-Shabab.

As you can see from the topic above, Somalia is headed for the era of ignorance-the era before the forces of Islam swept the Arabian peninsula. It was an era when women had no discource; children suffered at the hands of their own biological fathers especially girls who were buried alive in the scorching sands of the Arabian desert; tribal wars erupted frequently and the golden rule was "whoever has the gold rules". The hostile tribes of pre-Islamic Arabia committed excesses that included worship of idols, highway robbery, plunder, murder, and a host of crimes equal in enormity to what is happening now in Somalia.

Dear reader, the sanctity of houses of worship have been violated and human life given to the dogs. Can you imagine at the time this ugly incident happened hundreds of people had gathered for the obligatory noon prayers and all of a sudden a deranged person detonates devastating bombs just to seek revenge. Revenge in the House of Allah? To what religion do they belong those who commit such crimes? Can we call them Muslims?

Islam means peace, submission to the will of Allah; it means obedience. When inside a mosque a Muslim is supposed to submit wholeheartedly to Allah with sincere devotion and forget the allure of this world. A Muslim is the one who observes the divine laws stated in the Qur'an and the Hadith. Furthermore, according to Islamic teachings, the punsihment for killing an innocent person in the hereafter is to dwell in hell forever.

Somalia has been without a central government since 1991 when the ironfisted military government paved way for clan warfare, warlordism, and anarchy. The succession of administrations in the name of Transitional Federal Government never had complete control of the country except being holed-up in Villa Somalia-the delapidated presidential place.

It is a clear fact that war can only be declared by the head of a sovereign state and not by criminals forcefully imposing unjustified laws in a lawless country. The current transitional president, Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, because of his unending adventure travels, remains a president in name only otherwise he is a president-in- absentia.

Unless someone claims responsibility, it will be absolutely hard to uncover the perpetrators of today's bloodshed. To this day, last year's unsolved despicable crime that cut short the lives of a dozen graduating doctors remains a mystery. A government that controls a few blocks in a city of a million people whose survival is at stake must not be expected to avail a comprehensive and conclusive forensic report now and in the future because it is already showing signs of imminent departure from the political spectrum.