Resignation of the Somali President Yusuf: a timely blessing in disguise

Jeffrey Gettleman is quite right to point out in his New York Times piece of December 29 that the resignation of Somali President Yusuf, who had become a stumbling block in the efforts to end the paralysis of the ailing Somali government, was indeed a significant step forward for Somalia. I have made this point on several occasions, and even correctly predicted the resignation in my recent interview with BBC TV on December 21st [video to follow].

In the interview with BBC, I argued that Yusuf's resignation was both a viable and a possible solution to the crisis, with the subsequent formation of a national unity coalition government made up of different political groups plus the moderate elements of the "Islamic Courts" led by Sheik Sharif Ahmed.

I disagree with Gettleman's remark that Sheik Sharif Ahmed, whom he calls "a well-respected, moderate Islamic cleric who has struggled to walk the tightrope between negotiating with the transitional government and being dismissed as a sellout," could be the unifying figurehead that Somalia so desperately needs. He will surely be a rallying factor for Islamic as well as anti-Western groups and elements but not a unifying one. The moderate Islamic Courts though their nature remains unknown are better than the radical El Shabbabe. Whether Sheik Sharif Ahmed will prove a unifying force remains to be seen but leaving him and his supporters out in the cold and not drawing him into the Somali political system is for the long run detrimental to the Somali body politic.

Another pillar of the incoming and soon-to-be-formed national unity government is the well-educated and professional technocrat group, like the unceremoniously dismissed former Prime Minister Nur Adde. Adde must be given credit and be recognized for standing against the warlords and swimming against the tide to make a difference and to bring change. This group, along with the clan elders, has the potential to think transcendently, and it is perhaps the one last hope for Somalia's future.

During the BBC interview, I was asked whether Ethiopian troop's threat of withdrawal from Somalia is a bluff. I said it is no longer a bluff but a realistic last exit strategy of the Ethiopian government. The exit of Ethiopia in a hurry would leave a huge political vacuum, which would be difficult to fill by the national unity government supported by troops of the African Union. If that government is successful it would be the country's 15th or 16th government. My advice to that government is: Share power; don't monopolize it. Let all Somalis -- the Hawiye, Darod, Isaaq, Dir, and Rahanweyn -- transcend narrow clan mentalities and instead recognize the primacy of the Somalia they love and cherish. Only then will Somalia's future be secure.