Mohamed_Mahmoud says:

Mr President, this is an open letter to you. Sir, you are starting the most important phase of your long political career. I bet you don’t know how exhausting it would be to rule Somaliland when you will be sworn into office soon. That’s because, unlike your predecessors, you will take over a less despotic state, and a more irreverent populace. History books will record your achievement as your legacy.

The legacy of Riyaale, is that under his watch, reformers of yesteryear became the villains. If it wasn’t for the election which brought in to the office, we were at risk because with Riyaale very soon we could not distinguish between those we had fought against to oust from power from those with whom we had fought. Villains and heroes became interchangeable. But the most troubling development, has been the further tribalisation of the state and society under Riyaale’s watch. Tribal feelings have coarsened and ossified. That’s why the electoral campaigns were fought largely on ethnic lines. The result was a near civil war. Their purpose and intent then, as now, is to conquer, divide and rule.

I have written before that Somaliland has very few Somalilanders in it – most of us are tribal bigots without a sense of the nation. That is truer today than it was at independence. Now, sir, let’s look forward. What would you like to accomplish before your term expires?

What, in a word, do you want to be known for? Will your legacy be the one I have sketched above, or do you wish for a more benign treatment by historians? Forefront for you will be to bring back some economic sense to Somaliland. But those gains will not been felt by the masses of the people.

This will not all be your fault. The drought and the great recession have taken a huge bite out of the GDP. But these are excuses, not reasons for the national malaise. I say so because dealt the same hand, other countries did not do as poorly as Somaliland.

This is how you can salvage your legacy.

1.Make sure your have economic blue print which will lead the nation into economic stability.
2.Pursue all corruptions deals with view of seeking all tax payer’s money to be returned to the Treasury.
3.Lead the way by showing a work ethics of hard work, dedication and determination – stopping the nonsense of khat chewing wasted afternoons.
4.Rejuvenate, and build a new infrastructure likes roads, hospitals, schools.
5.Provide mechanisation for farmers, with irrigation and start co-operative movement for farmers, after all they feed the nation.
6.Streamline public servants – making sure services to the people are efficient and avoidable.
7.Dis-encourage scheming, deals and broker mentality – rather encourage and give incentives to straightforward business and enterprise.
8.Forge alliance with neighbours with a view to propagate our agenda
9.Befriend all but remember and never forgot past atrocities against our people
10.Listen to all but remember you are the leader and must make decisions and judgement