President Hassan: No Car Can have Two Steering Wheels

By Abdi H. Duale
Oct 31, 2012
“A whitewashed crow soon shows black again” Ancient Chinese Proverb
The jubilations and the welcome parties Somalis were throwing out across the globe, on the eve of
the inauguration of President Hassan, is unfortunately not heralding the golden change the nation
was yearning for  years. Instead, he is coming across as a man of limited political foresight and
acumen which as consequence quickly watered down the confidence the citizens pinned on his
untested leadership. Unlike the speaker of the house who worked for, and rightfully earned, the
votes that took him to the office, the President was propelled to the presidency by accidental mass
protest vote for change. It was true that he was elected constitutionally by sovereign parliament,
but comparing his ascent to power to the Islamist parties that govern Egypt, Tunisia and Turkey is
not correct at all.   The Islamist rulers in the said countries were elected through an Islamist parties
and  with clear manifesto to replace−or modify− some of  the secular political values  of their
respective countries, but the case of President Hassan was the opposite in every sense of the word.
In contrast, he was elected by voters  running away from Islamists. For the President to strategize to
bring the Islamists through the back door is a mockery
of the highest standard and a broad day light robbery
which will not  cheer up the masses that  pooled their
voting power to oust the Union of Islamic Courts(UIC) .
If the first words fail, ten thousand will
then not avail
Its shame that the President, who was trusted by the
nation to save it from the madness of the inept
Islamists, to contemplate that Dam Jadiid (the new blood Islamists) platform has landed him in this
job. The author was there at the time of his selection and the voters that supported him didn’t even
know him, but they  were scared from the return of the then incumbent  president who came to
power on UIC ticket. In the run up to the Presidential election, he was pleading for Dr Abdiwali Gaas
(former PM) to let him join his camp on the understanding that he gets a Ministry or PM. With
mysterious money of shadowy origins, he manipulated Dr Abdiwali’s data base of supporters to his
advantage – in politics there is nothing wrong with that.  Reliable sources in the parliament
confirmed to the author that President Hassan was giving away money in the order of $10,000 to
any MP that stepped in to his house, and this partially explains why, as novice, he ended up as the
second highest runner in the first round.
He might be confused, but the people are sober and are as vigilant as a gazelle that sniffed the scent
of a lion. Every word or act from his office is closely monitored and analysed in light of the
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