Men will not accept truth at the hands of their enemies, and truth is seldom offered to them by their friends: for this reason I have spoken it. Alexis De Tocqueville March, 1840
The above stated statement is from Alexis De Tocqueville’s remarkable work, Democracy in Americaand the reason I have consumed it is only to show my readers that I am not from that part of Somalia. I am a Mogadishu-born Somali and am proud of that, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t care the people of other parts of the all the Somali territories.. As a matter of fact, I do pay serious attention to all simply because they are my people too and that is why I dare to write an article about Somaliland’s future by commenting on, my friend,Professor Ahmed IsmailSamatar’s last lecture delivered at Stockholm, Sweden. I am not aware of how the audiences of that day or even those who have gotten the possibility to watch that lecture in YouTube have understood the central point of the lecture. For me, however, what I have deduced from the dense lecture is this: Somaliland acutely needs,before anything else,to comprehensively repair itself in order to successfully tackle the supreme challenges facing the country. The whole lecture of the Professor bore this message. I commented on his lecture and sent it to him. As is usually the case with him, he responded with respect and gratitude.Although I don’t want to share with you his specific answers to my perspectives without his knowledge, I can share with you the contents of my own comments:
“My professor, I think that you are already your way back home to St. Paul, in Minnesota.. I am really sorry not to have been there during your lecture at Stockholm, but I have watched it carefully on YouTube. It was not only, as usual, captivating and insightful; but it also extensive and, therefore, covered many crucial areas. If I just try to summarize, it was about practical yet high politics, economics, and collective social advancement. In short, it was abouthow to live well. I really don’t know how many of the audiences managed to grasp the central point of your presentation, but one thing is certain: you were speaking to them with a pure language they could understand. Not only did you underscore some of the poor actions of their present leaders but you, more importantly, warnedSomalilanders about the detrimental consequences that have followed and will continue to do so. You expressed clearly, if they could understand, that Somaliland needs to repair itself. Alexis Carrel in his book, Man, The Unknown, has put in this way:’ To progress again, man must remake himself. And he can’t remake himself without suffering. For he is both the marble and the sculptor, in order to uncover his true visage, he must shatter his own substance with heavy blows of his hammer.’ Theselines are replete with profound wisdom, so did your lecture on that day. Thank you, thank you, and thank you!”
If the people of Somaliland not only listen attentively tothe professor but also act accordingly, they would achieve their major domestic and wininternational approval. You have now a precious opportunity that the South, where I come from,failed toseize. If you give the Professor a chance, he would actually make many of your dreams come true. What you really can learn about his lectures is that a nation especially “a new nation” can’t be created without astrong social contract among its citizens(shareholders). Such is the durable civic wisdom of the enlightenment era. I conclude, then, that the Professor is a hope for you, people of North. I urge you to grab it right away…
