Somalia has Turned 60 Years in 2020

On this special occasion, I would like to share with you how my beloved country Somalia, is turning the pages and is on the course of re-writing the history in the horn of Africa once again.

This article is quite special considering the topic I have decided to write about. It is just amazes me how my own beloved country has turned 60 years, while I am on the course of turning thirty years old in one month's time.

In other words, it means 60 years ago in July 1st, 1960 the British Somaliland territory which gained independence earlier on June 26th plus the Italian Somaliland territory that followed suit a few days later on the 1st of July 1960 were united as planned on the same day to form new modern-day Somalia.

This day also marks the end of colonization by the two European powerhouses, Britain and Italy to this beautiful, peaceful east African country that many of its people have long suffered miserably during their colonization period from the late 19th century to mid 20th century.

I am not going to discuss historical details here about what has happened before independence was attained, or what the colonials did to us, but rather I want to shed some light on what has happened since then in a very brief way possible and I would like to apologize for any shortcomings in advance.

Following the independence

Let us begin, seven years after the independence, In 1967 when the first President of Somalia Adan Abdulle Osman lost the Presidential elections in free and fair elections, he respectfully accepted the choice of the people of his nation and peacefully transferred the power to his predecessor Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke.

This was clear evidence that the Somali politicians were politically and intellectually matured compared to many of their counterparts in various countries around the world at the time when the majority of the countries around the world rarely practiced any form of democracy when it comes to governance and leadership.

Unfortunately, two years later in 1969, President Sharmarke was assassinated by a policeman who was assigned to protect him. Following his death Coup d’état was carried out by the military and General Mohamed Siad Barre later became President.

President Barre ruled the country for the next 21 years until late in 1990, when some army veterans who took part in the Ogaden war in 1977 with Ethiopia and some other political factions which had various names and motivations led a violent rebellion against his rule that eventually caused the collapse and fall of the only strong central government of Somalia in 1991.

Shortly afterward, the largest and strongest national army in Africa was disbanded. Chaos followed the country has erupted into a civil war that would continue for around the next thirty years.

During these years of civil wars and foreign interventions, many different governments were formed; mostly transitional ones that were powerless but somehow vitally played an important role that laid the foundation for the establishment of the Federal Government of Somalia in 2012.

Five years later on the 8th of February 2017, indirect elections were held through the parliament that was won by the current President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo. A very popular figure among the Somali people in and outside the country.

Fast forward, 60 years later after gaining independence from the European colonials, things are not much more different than they were back then. Back then people were eager to gain independence, simply because they suffered, struggled, and waited for more than for a half-century to gain their freedom from the European colonials.

Yet here were are today struggling against the intervention of many foreign countries new and old ones who are trying their best to influence some of our corrupt politicians for their own interests while putting so much pressure on our government leaders in order to pursue their own political agenda.

If you compare this with the situation 60 years ago from today, it seems we're not yet fully independent as we were supposed to be. This has to stop at any cost if we are truly willing to flourish as a nation.

Colonialism caused us drawbacks to more than a century from the rest of the world in the past, yet only thirty years of stable governance after independence propelled us to become one of the leading nations in Africa. Imagine where we could have been if we had 60 years of continuous peace, stability, and governance.

I have no doubt we could have been amongst the most advanced and developed nations in the world. Although the process of recovery from the catastrophe of the civil war is slow, it’s very evident that the situation has been dramatically improving internally and externally in the last few years.

The enthusiasm and the desire to celebrate on the occasion of Independence Day is totally different from the past years.

You will see boys, girls, and even elderly people wearing flag clothes across the streets of Mogadishu. We will rise from the ashes.

Final Thoughts

I am very optimistic that if we manage to maintain a stable government without foreign interference in the next thirty years, we should and can become among the most prosperous nations in the world we live in today.

I would like to conclude my final thoughts on this special post in the words of our Finance Minister Dr. Abdirahman Beileh when he tweeted the following:

“Happy Independence Day #Somalia! We, as Somalis, can proudly celebrate 60 years of independence today. It has been a struggle at times but we are now on the road to recovery. Resilience, courage, and innovation: this is our true character !”

Thank you for your precious time.