Mogadishu (Remark) — Almost two years in the past after Boqor Osman Buurmadow unreservedly declared in Mogadishu that “there are two parallel governments in Somalia: The Federal Authorities of Somalia, and Al-shabaab; we run Al-shabaab”—he gave an interview to a Somali politics YouTube Channel. The gist of the interview revolves round a listing of federal appointments that Boqor Osman Buurmadow sees as nepotistic. “President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud appointed lots of his shut and distant family to ministerial, ambassadorial and particular envoy positions” he mentioned.
Why now? Boqor Buurmadow will not be complaining of nepotism, however the coverage that arguably denies his clan its share of appointments primarily based on the discriminatory 4.5 system. He talked about privately owned homes illegally occupied in Mogadishu by highly effective, native squatters, a home that belongs to the household of the late patriot Micheal Mariano, for instance, as Boqor Buurmadow claimed.
Why did he not converse up in 2022 when he was being feted in Mogadishu by the native notables? His argument is a subtext of a rejectionist argument he advances within the interview to defend the unlawful maritime Memorandum of Understanding that the Prime Minister of Ethiopia signed with Muse Bihi Abdi, the President of Somaliland Administration. Boqor Buurmadow comes out in defence of the MoU to the purpose of arguing that Somaliland has the best to lease a coastal district to Ethiopia for 50 years.
Since Somaliland claims to have unilaterally seceded from the Federal Republic of Somalia almost 33 years in the past it has no authorized rights to lease a portion of Somali territory to any nation. The absurdity of the secessionist administration’s sovereignty declare makes the illegality of the unilateral secession poignantly clear: Somaliland didn’t solely declare to have seceded from Somalia however it additionally tried to lease a coastal district of the Federal Republic of Somalia to Ethiopia in return for diplomatic recognition. Ethiopia can’t violate the Constitution of the African Union. It’s extra susceptible to secessionist fervour; its structure comprises an article on the best to secede.
What would occur if a conventional chief from the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples’ Area defended an unlawful and geopolitically destabilising determination to lease agricultural land in Ethiopia to the United Arab Emirates with out the permission of the Federal Authorities of Ethiopia? Boqor Buurmadow doesn’t perceive the which means of sovereignty and independence when he, out of solidarity with Muse Bihi, defends the unlawful maritime Memorandum of Understanding that neither Ethiopia nor some other nation can implement. The sovereignty of the Federal Republic of Somalia is indivisible and inviolable.
Adan M. S. Hussein teaches historical past at a college in Mogadishu.
