Citizens of Bay must determine their own stipulations

With the recent opportunity created by the withdrawal of Alshabaab, citizens of Southwestern region must not only formulate their own security prerequisite but to provision their future system of governance as well. Of course, this is not an encouragement of Somali disunity as many people may assume. But it is a declaration obliged by the Charter of the Transitional Federal Government, TFG, and agreed by almost all Somali people. It is not either, in any way acknowledge the dual-track policy that proposed by the Obama Administration on September, 2010. It is indeed a basic promise that both the Somali government and its people have quite conscious about it. That is all the administrative units of the country must be from bottom-up rather that top-down approach. With this regard the residents of Southwestern region in general, and those in Bay specifically must benefit from the past experience and exploit the current opportunity of the security shift in Baidoa city.  

It is undeniable fact that the people of this region have had indispensable proportion of Somali history promoting peace and unity among Somali nation. It is similarly a well-known phenomenon how dwellers of those regions are kind and generous toward other Somali communities, both intermarriage relations and guest commemorating. Form pre-independence to the post-Colonial regimes, to this current date the people of Southwestern have performed and secured a collective vision of national cohesion, an effective local administration that was accountable to its people and at the same, being subject under the mandate of the national authority. Their respect to the central government was absolutely a core principle for the national pride.

Given to this trajectory, it is necessary for the above mentioned citizens to preserve this dignity and stand for upgrading an effective local autonomy that would once again restore the law and order of the entire region of Southwestern, and the regional city of Baidoa in particular.

The intellectuals, politicians, Diasporas, traditional elders, civil society individuals, Journalists and other citizens of the region composing of all stakeholders of the region must come together and capitalize ways of forming an administration that would be liable to the all areas of the region. Any differences within the community must be resolved through negotiation process. A general conference that is inclusive and open to any group facilitated by the stakeholders of the region must be established soon. It is not necessarily that the current TFG politicians who hail from this region do lead the initiative. Other principal stakeholders should take the lead either from the Diaspora or within the locals, or even both. The TFG shall play its role with accordance of its charter and stand impartial to the local affairs of the region. It must not impose any regime that would not respond and acceptable to the people of this region. In any effort suggesting such performance initiating by the government would only impede its efforts of restoring law and order into the country.   

Likewise it is urgently needed for the establishment of security forces similar to the RRA police forces in earlier 2000s that would be responsible for the maintaining of permanent security in the urban cities. Neither the proposed 2700 deployment of the AMISOM troops to the region nor any other forces would be capable of securing the requirement policing in the city and its sorroundings. Only empowerment of the locals and letting them settle their domestic issues would be the real path to the way forward. And the locals must exercise their utmost wisdom through reconciliation, cooperation and collective vision toward the future.

Abdulkadir Sulieman

Researcher at Pakistan Institute of International Affaris         

"Didiinglay dhamaateih"