Introduction
Somalia has in the recent past come to the limelight for all the wrong reasons and most recently after the seizure of a Ukrainian ship carrying military weapons destined for Kenya in the Indian Ocean by Somali Pirates. The rampant increase in the pirate related cases is due to the lack of a stable government in the country since independence. This has lead to mushrooming of a number of militant groups that are now attacking ships using the Indian Ocean and demanding ransoms as a way of making a living. Are the political problems in Somalia linked to colonialism? We discuss.
History of Somalia
The country is located in what is famously known as the horn of Africa in Eastern Africa neighboring Kenya, Ethiopia and Djibouti and enjoying a long seafront into the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden. It has a population of approximately eight million people sharing a common religion (Islam), language and sharing relatively the same cultural beliefs and practices. The proximity of the country to Asia and its strategic position in controlling the waters connecting Asia, Africa and Europe made it a “hot spot” during the scramble for Africa by European powers in the late 19th and early 20th century.
Three countries were locked in disagreement over who was to take control of the country; these were Britain, Italy and France. The greed of these three countries found no middle ground and hence they divided the country into three parts each controlling hers. With time France was to back out the country leaving behind Britain and Italy to share the spoils. Consequentially, the seed of division was planted.
Division of country
During this period of colonization the country was literally divided into three territories each occupied and governed by the respective European power. As a result there were three parallel governments in the same country. Their operations and management were totally different and all the three of them had total disregard for the traditional form of governance existing earlier. This led to resentment against the foreigners.
The traditional political organizations in Somalia were organized into clans with each clan having smaller clans and led by a leader. Taxes in these traditional governments were paid and they generally used the Sharia law as an Islamic nation. Pastrolism and nomadism as the major economic activities in the arid country were marked with inter-clan raids and warfare. With the coming of the colonizers this was to change as the westerners could not understand the logic in waging warfare against each other.
Unfortunately, some of the Somalia clan leaders were lured by the western civilization and were gradually adopting some of the impositions by the foreigners. In return, they received gifts in terms of weapons and finances. The three groups of colonizers also noticed this as an opportunity to expand their territories. They therefore used collaborating clan leaders to wage war and raids on other clans under a different colonizer.
Britain was the most notorious colonizer in doing this. They targeted clans under the Italians in a bid to drive the Italians out of the region. Another alternative method that they used was funding some of the clans to rebel against their colonial masters. However, this trick was not as effective as the former one. As a result, hostilities between clans were to continue with each clan trying to subdue the other. The story continues today.
Nevertheless, the magnitude of these hostilities have escalated from mere cattle raids in the pre-colonization era into full blown conflict reaching genocidal proportions. Minority clans are making efforts to completely wipe out minority clans that do not tow their line. Again errors committed during the colonization era are being corrected now through revenge attacks. In most cases, clans that were friendly to colonizers during the colonialism era are perceived as traitors and are alienated up to now. When such factors are put into consideration, we understand why there seems to be no cohesiveness in a country that during the pre-colonization era had one of the strongest traditional forms of government.
On attainment of independence in 1960 as a unified nation, the British and the Italians left behind a very weak parliamentary democracy form of governance. This was because neither the Italians nor the British could take the full responsibility of fully instilling a strong government that would stand the test of time and unite the various clans in the country. As a result there was hostility by other clans towards the clan in power.
This was because there was a lot of nepotism in government and in the appointment of senior government positions. The disgruntled clans thus formed countless militia groups to help fight for their rights. It was in 1969 that the nascent government was dethroned through a coup headed by General Said Barre who took over the presidency. Once he occupied the top seat, General Said Barre banned all political parties and dismantled parliament in his first step in creating one of the worst tyrannies of the 20th century.
Another perspective attributes the woes ailing Somalia to neocolonialism especially during the Cold War era. The rivalry between the US and the Soviet Union saw the flooding of weapons in the area again due to its strategic position in a bid to win favor from the country leaders. It is reported that in the 1970’s, the USSR gave Barre a consortium of lethal weapons and in return the dictator professed socialism.
A note worth mention here is that Somalia by then was seeking weapons and military aid in preparation to attack Ethiopia and reclaim the Ogaden region, which Somalis recognized as ethnically theirs. According to a report by the Africa Rights Group of 2006, the influx of weapons in the region is the key driver to social, economic and political instability in the region. To blame for this influx of weapons is the US and the USSR. It height was reached in 1988 when a full blown civil war broke out pitting one militia group over another. As a result famine was to follow leading to massive relocations in hundreds of thousands into neighboring countries.
Attempts to consolidate a stable government with the current transitional government brokered with the intervention of Kenya facing massive challenges in containing violence and famine. On the other hand the US has distanced itself from the country claiming to have played no role in creating the current crisis in the country. England and Italy on the other hand have not in the slightest attempt reached out to salvage the country as a former colony the way Britain has to some of her former colonies like Zimbabwe and Kenya in time of a crisis.
An expert in African politics and affairs Biyi Bandele says that “You can’t overestimate the impact of colonialism and how much it damaged the continent, but is it now being used as an excuse by some voices in Africa?”
“Can African leaders really go on blaming the past for the challenges and problems which now confront them?” The question posed by this analyst should help African leaders visualize the way forward. As much as colonialism and its impacts still affects Africa, means and ways to go around the problems that ail Africa. The damage has already been done and only the after effects remain. So it is up to Africans to solve their problems with the assistance of the colonizers and as the initial causers of the current situation in Somalia in this case.
The British and the Italians disorganized traditional governments in Somalia to suit their interests and upon leaving, did not leave behind strong institutions to help carry on with a parliamentary form of governance or if not the case, reintroduce the traditional system of governance. Therefore colonization contributes heavily to the current political and social crisis in Somalia.
References
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