- Similar to many other African countries, Somaliland
enjoyed traditional mechanisms of conflict resolution and
peace-building processes led by Somali traditional elders in the past
centuries. The elders had exercised comprehensive informal systems and
regulations to address the community conflicts including clan conflicts,
land disputes and livestock fights. Traditional elders practiced the
Xeer-Law to govern the social issues, harmonize the conflicting
interests of the community and building consensus to their differences.
Sultans and Aqils particularly have been the main source of upholding
reconciliation processes, bringing stabilization initiatives,
maintaining peace and building safer lives to Somali community. They
served as a connection bridge between the government and the communities
and built sustainable relationships to collaborate their respective
roles.
After the collapse of Siyad Barre’s
regime in 1991, Somaliland successfully passed different stages of
conflicts and encountered a period of civil wars that led to the
emergence of number of clan violence triggered by the lust for power and
worldly resource allocations. During that episode, they actively
engaged in the processes of peace-building, disarmament of rebel groups,
re-building of government institutions and healing the trauma of civil
wars. For instance, one of the most remembered tasks of Somaliland
traditional elders was the holding of Somaliland peace forums from 1991
in an attempt to mark the return of Somaliland Independence from Somalia
all the way to setting up the foundations of nationhood to total
independent governance. They co-organized peace forums held in the six
regions of Somaliland including Burao, Borama and Sahil peace-making
conferences. Since then, they have been a point of reference to end any
disagreements, and this has made Somaliland to effectively exercise
traditional mechanisms of conflict resolution that have many times
worked to create a lasting peace and harmony among the parties.
Since
the adoption of multi-party systems in 2002 according to the referendum
of Somaliland Constitution on May 31, 2001, the role of traditional
elders substantially changed as it marked the introduction of new formal
governance systems. Somaliland tried to combine democracy and
traditional governance structures and this formed the basis of the
traditional elders’ confusion to adjust their role in order to maintain
their significant leadership position within the community. Yahye Xanas,
the Executive Director of Somaliland Journalists Association (SOLJA)
argues that “…the leaders shifted their role to align themselves with
the new system and the hybrid governance system brought a system of
confusion to clearly create borders between the two systems”.
They
failed to keep their original role and dived to the politics, engaged
in political campaigns, thereby creating a source of tensions to the
community – as most of them have nepotistic in they styles and manners
of leadership. They now place their interests to come before the
interest of the public and the government. Nowadays, traditional elders
talk about sensitive issues through media and spread wrong messages to
their target audiences bringing divisions and destroying the peaceful
cohabitation of Somaliland community.
Also, a
significant number of postgraduate students of University of Hargeisa
opined that the involvement of traditional elders in the politics is a
means of paving ways for political conflict as they bring divisions to
their followers. For instance during the 2017 Somaliland Presidential
Election, some of the most prestigious Sultans publicly came out to open
up long forgotten sensitive hidden issues that created political
conflicts, and consequently put a long-lasting negative impact at both
regional and district levels. Some of the traditional elders are
official agents of political parties and as a result directly perform
political party tasks, for example by mobilizing and indoctrinating
voters to enable the party to win the election.
However, a few of them are working on their
original mandate(s) and have the trust of the wider population, whereas
majority of them are no longer working with the values and customs of
the people. Barkhad Batun, a senior political and civil right activist,
once said, “It seems that society have lost their trust to the
traditional elders as public institutions are getting strong to take the
role of conflict resolution, arbitration and problem solving.”
It
is pathetic to note that the shifting of the majority of traditional
elders’ role didn’t occur overnight, but the main reasons contributing
includes the following:
1. Politicization of membership:
For the last two decades, many elders have been elected without
considering their knowledge, experience and leadership qualities.
Previously, elders were elected based on unbiased selection criteria
which ensured that every leader meets the minimum requirements to
traditionally lead that clan. However, nowadays most of the newly
elected elders are wrongly position and have not come through the
unanimous vote to represent their community. This has questioned the
legitimacy and representation of the elders, and this is why most so
called traditional elders act out of the norms and values of core Somali
society.
2. Insufficient Knowledge:
Majority of traditional leaders had rural background and didn’t come
through the formal system of schooling. Hence, this makes hard for them
to adjust to modern democratic governance systems, and become unable to
cope with the desired changes. They remain seated with traditional way
of dealing conflicts and are reluctant with democratic values and
principles.
3. Economic Opportunities:
the Ministry of Interior provides inadequate budget to finance the
operations of the traditional leaders and their personal needs, so they
always seek other sources of income to counterbalance their needs. They
shape the politics in any manner that suits their interests and use
politics as a source of money. This is where the new name of “Koofiyad
Bacle” originated describing that they are money oriented rather than
providing leadership to their followers. “Previously, when the
traditional elders were elected, they were given number of livestock as
source of wealth but now that habit is no longer common. Most of
traditional elders are now involved in politics as economic shelter and
as source of wealth.” said by one the Aqils who resides in Hargeisa.
4. Misrepresentation:
About 98% of Somaliland politicians always use the traditional elders
as a tool of passing their message to the community and engage them in
wide and bastardized politics to serve their interests. In fact,
Politicians finance the traditional leaders to mobilize the community to
get acceptance and convince them on their ideologies and principles.
Both ruling and opposition parties heavily rely on the traditional
elders to convey their message, and even sometimes involve them in
issues which could have otherwise been officially handled and solved by
an institute under formal governance systems. In a nutshell, it seems
that majority of traditional elders are a point of extremely standing
with one party which has actually divided their followers.
Way Forward
It
is obvious that there are still few traditional elders who are working
on the basis of values and norms of Somaliland community, however there
are significant unpalatable changes when compared to the trend of
traditional leadership in the past. The government institutions need to
be strengthened to limit the role of elders in the decision making
processes, and direct their operations toward peace, security, justice
and development of the state. In addition, Somaliland traditional elders
should be selected on the basis of defined leadership criteria to
positively influence their followers and guide them toward the right
direction. More so, the government should organize education programs of
conflict resolution, peace and Justice to the traditional leaders and
train them on their ideal roles and responsibilities to align the
informal Justice system with that of formal system. Lastly, Elders must
play within their mandate and desist from acting as politicians who
negatively engage through dividing the community and fuelling conflicts.
This would help the nation to create peaceful and just societies in
accordance with Somaliland National Development Plan II and global
Sustainable Development Goals.
Mohamed Raygal, "MA Candidate in Governance and Leadership at University of Hargeisa".
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