By Rhoda A. Rageh

A dead man does not fart. This Somali aphorism simply means when one dies all vital signs of life leave him and it is impossible for him to do normal bodily functions like farting. The dead union between Somalia and Somaliland was in fact dead before it started and Somalilanders were trying to make a dead man fart for thirty years. The coffin was nailed in 1990 and the dead man is now a corpse six feet under the ground. The desperate cry of the so called UNS is for something that will never be. And unlike in 1960 when vote rigging shocked the people in Somaliland and the overwhelming ‘no’ vote to the constitution turned into overwhelming ‘yes’ Somalilanders said ‘no’ to that union and it will remain ‘no.’ Now the world experiences and understands what Somaliland had for over thirty years. More than 15 peace plans and several transitional governments have done nothing to change the situation in Somalia. I think it is time, that Somalia becomes a trustee of the United Nations to save the innocent civilians dying everyday that have no government to protect them. Fortunately, Somaliland is peaceful and needs no unionists or agitated aggressors to oversee its affairs.

The African Union sent a fact finding mission in which its senior intellectuals worked very hard to get the facts from the horse’s mouth. They have spoken to the government, all political parties, NGOs, individuals on the streets and they have turned every stone to check if Somalilanders are sure of their choice to start afresh. The ICG Report translates into words what the reality in Somaliland expresses. The new formed UNS group that is so agitated about the secession of Somaliland know the people of Somaliland whether in Awdal, Sool or any other part of Somaliland chose to leave that union more than ten years ago but like those mentioned in the Verse in the Qur’an these Somaliland haters are deaf, dumb and blind to the reality of the people of Somaliland. The African Union cannot suppress the will of the people. That is the style these Somaliland haters represent and applied in Siyad Barre’s regime. They should stop slandering, serious academics like Matt Bryden, Iqbal Jhazbhay and Ali Mazroui and the ICG mission who voice their opinion about the political situation in Somaliland. If and when these academics travel to participate in conference like SOPRI in LA and others, they go to observe the situation and follow progress. This is what academia is all about and what genuine intellectual curiosity means. These intellectuals are not paying dowry to Somaliland. They are voicing serious analysis about a serious situation and the world turns to their kind for help and listen to what they say.

Those hate mongers have their full right to be where they want to be but it is unintelligent and rude of them to insult professionals, academics and fact finding missions who interpret the realty in our country. If they are sincere Somalis, they should take action to change the situation in Somalia. Mogadishu is burning like a volcano throwing more hot ashes and towards the safe haven in Baidoa, the hideout of the transitional government. Right now, the civilians in Mogadishu celebrate no government. Whose civilians are those dying in Mogadishu every day? Isn’t the transitional government the one that should have protected them? It is bizarre for the government of the people to be protecting its skin while the people its represents die every day and the capital is burning. The possessed unionists who are slandering Somaliland and its friends seem to be suffering from a condition called Transference in psychology, a distortion that misplaces reality into a distorted past. They want Somaliland to plunge into civil war and they ignore the one that is already raging in Somalia. Somaliland will not plunge into civil war insha Allah if it gets its deserved recognition. Recognition is a credit we earned. It does not determine our will.

Like George Wallace once said in another place and time and for a very different reason, I would like to remind the agitated unionist: secession for Somaliland today, secession for Somaliland tomorrow, and secession for Somaliland forever. Even if something like the Berlin wall is going to partition once same cities to satisfy the wishes and the will of the people, there will be no union.

Long Live Somaliland