Thread by @Abdirik

@AnalystSomalia
Debunking Old Myth:Thread.
At independence, traditional elders & religious leaders were excluded from the process of state formation. The power struggle was between what What Qasim described as "colonial offspring,' the Italian & British educated Somalis.

https://twitter.com/1PolicyWonk/status/1378111731503796225

These colonial offspring are framed as "modernists," & they adopted the colonial laws & institutions without single modification. However, the dream for greater Somalia generated enthusiastic public support & but the state was insufficiently democratic. The same modernists..

who had access to state resources become corrupt to the core. In fact, Sharmarke & Egal deliberately conspired to steal the election in 1969. The traditionalists, on the other hand, had no access to state resources & authority & were not a threat to it at all...

the political practice of the so-called modernists & the colonial features in the "postcolonial" state institutions alienated the Somali public & by 1969, they were praying for its downfall & God accepted their prayers! The military staged a coup & Barre,

a colonial foot soldier & the so-called Kacaan (revolutionary vanguards) rode on popular public support, embarked major developmental projects & revived the dream for greater Somalia which gave an impetus to the process of state-building & ethnic nationalism 1969-1977

But as the famous statement goes "revolutionaries devour their own children" & Barre wasn't an exception. He started eating his own colleagues from the beginning. Overall, the military regime promoted Somali culture & language but oppressed Islam, the essence of Somali

identity. The regime's consistent attempts to marginalize Islam further alienated the populance from the state. #Lenin & #Marx could not replace Prophet Maxamad (SCW) in the hearts of the Somalis. Religious scholars & everyone who disagree with Barre found

himself in prison, exiled or executed, regardless of thier clan-families. By 1978, Barre also completely 're-tribalised' the state structure from A-Z, decentralised despotism, to borrow from Mamdani & the shenanigans of socialism hit a dead end. Alarmed by the speed & the

extent of re-tribalising the state, a poet asks : ..Dad Soomaliyaa wada lahaa, calankan doogaye
Maxaa keenay Daarood hadday, dawladnimo joogtay..(Dhoodan).

In this regard, who was/is a threat to state-building in Somalia between the traditionalist & the modernist?

The religious & traditional elders form the basis of authority at the societal level & not at the state level. The distinction between the two (societal authority & state authority) is very important. The latter involves in collective governing. Therefore, the argument..

that the traditionalist oppose "modernity" in the context of Somalia is an old colonial school or in the words of Abdi Samatar a "staunch myth" that chastises the social structure of the Somali people without giving an adequate evidence that, it is..

indeed an obstacle to state-building. Fuether, the traditionalist is democratic in discharging societal authority or even political power & bides by his customary laws. It is because of the traditionalists' approaches to power & governance that the concept of "pastoral democracy"

emerged while the modernists' attitude towards governance has been either awfully corrupt or unbearably dictatorial in Somalia. So, who is more progressive between the two, the modernist or the traditionalist?
Way forward: I agree that that it is up to the Somalis

to experiment what works for them but no doubt that Somalia's political predicament stems from lack of able leadership. It is not the societal structure of the Somalis. The modernist is able to lead neither his clan nor the country but blocks the traditionalist from

the national political platform. On the other hand, the traditionalist is able to lead his clan & if given an opportunity might as well lead the nation, way better than the modernist. The role of the traditionalist in solving conflict & establishing some sort of

governance in Somaliland & Puntland regions is indeed a case to study.
Lastly, regardless of (the system), the state has to reflect the cultural & religious values of the Somali nation, otherwise, it will not be durable & the modernist must realise that imitation is

not always a success story.

*further