Myths about Federalism in Somalia

Mohamud M Uluso —— In the context of Somali political culture and discourse, it should be clear by now that the meaning of the principle of “federalism in Somalia” is completely different from the one of political power decentralization for governance explored in the legal and political literature.

Article Keydmedia Online
16 February 2014

The Somali federalism legitimizes territorial allocation for “clan ownership or dominance” and it does not recognize “the concept of citizenship” adopted in the provisional constitution. This allocation of territories to specific clans is having far reaching negative implications on the political and security stability, socio-economic development, and resource sharing and distribution among “citizens.” The efforts of the international community to enforce the conflict-ridden federalism in Somalia with the tweak of appealing for democratic values and constitutional rights are patently hypocritical.

Not surprisingly, federalism in Somalia is hitting rock-bottom for new challenges. Some of the challenges include:

(1) New Puntland strategy of claiming an equal footing with the federal government as a regional and national power center.  President Abdiweli M. Ali included in his new Cabinet ministers from clans not formally constituent stakeholders of Puntland state.

(2) Continuation of Jubbaland crisis on multiple fronts (escalating assassination of prominent personalities and widespread clan based human rights violations, President Ahmed Madobe refusal to engage the federal government as a party not as a leader, and the six regions conference in Baidoa, etc.);

(3) Hawiye’s scramble to create four federal member states with the center in Mogadishu; This will fundamentally alter the federal government’s raison d