Most Somalis are information-oriented,
for they are very much interested in
how power is achieved and used in their
country.
As Somalis are culturally oral society, reading books and papers is not the element that totally made them information-oriented. Oral conversation, a two-way flow of information, between two or more people, is the means in which Somalis habitually exchange ideas, opinions and news that relate to politics and its accomoanying episodic events.
A discussion about the negative and positive attitude of the incumbent leadership is often the driver of the information that Somalis seek out and the centrality of what they always talk about is “‘how the affairs of their country are run” in most of their time.
But so much of what Somalis say, do,
and act upon is based on he-she-says ambivalence, when it comes to political power. Which literally means that Somalis judge things as they are imagined rather than as they are in real truth. What makes that allegation even more intriguing is that Somalis cannot convince each other, when they come together to have a political conversation, particularly when there are two sides from two fronts (one group that supports the incumbent administration and another that opposes it).
Without keeping that allegation in mind, a number of Somaliland scholars have made several observational researches on how political power functions and how those
who are in control use it, to ensure
whether or not power is used one-on-one differences to force all disagreeing sides
not to act in ways they normally will not.
Hanad, who majored in social science and specialised in social and public policies analysis, is among the scholars who gave much of their time and effort to finding out the root of national evils through observational researches.
Before going into what Hanad’s research is
all about, let me begin by giving you a brief background of who Hanad is as a person; what his aim in the research is; what exactly he wants to discover and dhig out of Somaliland political system.
Hanad is Somaliland citizen who born in Hargeisa in the late fiftieth. He began his education at Hargeisa city and after
finishing secondry School, Hanad was
eligible to pursue graduate work in one of
the three “‘higher” disciplines – law, medicine or sociology. In accordance with his own wishes, he commenced the study of social problems – the study of the development, structure and functioning of human society – aspects of what makes us human..
Hanad is a man of principle, a religious man at that, who never walks in the counsel of the wicked. He never stands even in the way that criminals and crooks walk. He never sits in the seats of scoffers. He usually supplements whatever he does with virtues, and virtues with integrity, and integrity with justice, and justice with fraternity, and fraternity with love.
Hanad’s behavior is reflected in the prayers he performs on a daily basis, in which he humbly asks God, “Lord make me an instrument of virtue. Where there is hate, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy.”
Hanad’s prayer gives us a code of a religious conduct. It shows us that prayers can be performed before a presage and that it is probably right to pray for hope and harmony when there are bad signs in how humans
rule themselves and run their affairs.
Hanad did his research at the end of 2017,
when ignorant people had the upper hands, when it was obligatory that Somaliland citizens should pause until certain events should turn up before making what they were not sure they should not be accused of never being able to
be on the right side about the things happening before them.
Literally it was a period when there was
no possibility for good people to be able to become neither a president, nor a minister, nor a mayor, nor a mentor, nor an MP, nor a trational elder. Explicitly it was a time when Somaliland has lost its vital hold on its past and only people of ill-will had the courage and capability to rush in where angles feared to tread and then what was ethically and morally wrong turned out to be right and vice versa.
Morals and ethics are actually more meaningful culturally than politics. Principally they are the anchor of every one’s “whys”, the essence of what makes one take decisions; what determines desirability does not toss one around; what really governs a person’s do’s and donts; one’s courage and commitment to react and rationalize whatever experiences life throws at them.
Hanad is among the rare intellectuals who felt ahead of all other people the reflection
of what that blasted period in the history of Somaliland would bring to Somaliland country and its people. He sensed that bad public figures can be more harm than good to the country. He felt that bad leaders can sow discord and disunity among societies and create distress and disarray. Hanad didn’t only predict a divided nation, but he imagined even a presage of conflicts and clashes that could cause casualties.
Proceeding from that prediction, Hanad began his research from the government offices, particularly those that are responsible to provide services intended to serve all citizens of the country.
Hargeisa Local Government is the first
public service provider where Hanad
began his research. Hanad had decided
to begin his investigating research from Hargeisa Local Government because he identified eye-catching dismal and disarray
that made him settle on a topic and find a
niche and what exactly will his research investigate.
It took Hanad almost one year to study
how Local Government offices have been rendering public services, taking note of
whether or not government employees were task-oriented, serving ethically and with integrity, loyalty, impartiality and objectivity, putting the interests of the public and the public services ahead of their own personal interests, with the initiation or attentiveness to maintain and enhance the citizens’ trust and cinfidence in
the public service.
In his research Hanad selected a specific criteria to measure the quality of the services local government offices provide or perform and how they provide or perform them.
At the start of his research in Hargeisa Local Government, Hanad focused on many means to measure the efficiency Hargeisa Local Government System, but he put specifically a special emphasis on two measures:
Attentiveness and Responsiveness.
Hanad was asked what he meant by attentiveness and responsiveness?
“The two words can be used interchangeably in certain domains to indicate an approach which means making eye contact, listening to what the citizens demand, following the conversation, and responding appropriately”, replied Hanad.
“The government employees”, Hanad elaborated, “should not ignore the people, look elsewhere, focus on something else,
and only hear part of what the citizens say
or require.”
Hanad didn’t have an interview for the
public service with any one from the local government. He just carried his own observation, keeping a steady watch on
what could really cause the death of government system even more quickly
than a failure to evolve.
Out of that priliminary observation and analysis, Hanad gathered that defects in any system demands open minds and a real desire to check out in how people usually do things, and a willingness to acknowledge and learn how the information in improving performances for providing service is formulated.
To organize his research and make it systematic guideline of finding answers to questions, Hanad formed following defects from the Hargeisa local system.
a) Lack of Public Service Rules (PSR) – work guidelines commonly known as standard operating procedures and policy statement that regulate work and the condition of service in the public sector.
b) Public resentment – public outrage
c) Disorganized Government offices
d) Poor work ethics.
e) Intolerable staff disengagement
f) Irresponsibility – irresponsiveness
g) Disloyalty and widespread dishonesty.
The hardest part begins when Hanad takes interviews with local authorities, particularly the mujahids who have not yet recognized that the session of boasting won’t attract any real man, that what is passed is passed and that what is always interesting is what is still to come.
By : Jamafalaag
jamafalaag@gmail.com
Hargeisa, Somaliland
As per usual the opinions expressed in this articale are those of the author and do not reflect the opinions of qarannews.com
