Mogadishu must not be the capital of Somalia.

Mardoof Gushaa

MOGADISHU MUST NOT BE THE CAPITAL OF SOMALIA

The most notorious European colonizers of the Africans were the British and the French, followed by the Portuguese and the Spanish. Of course, we know the Germans and the Americans were also part of it, as in Kinshasa, Dar es Salaam, Monrovia, and Bujumbura. To make it short, for 80 years, more than 80% of Somalis’ wealth was invested in Mogadishu. But what happened in 1991 must have made Mogadishu turn wild. In 1991 Ali Mahdi Aideed led a massacre, leveling the city, killing thousands of innocent people. In January 1991 the evacuation of 400,000 Somalis from Mogadishu and the deaths of 30,000 there in 2 weeks was likely the largest blood bath ever seen in Somali history, arguably in the world. Somalis are the oldest people group in Africa. Excuse me, but who the hell cares which tribe they belong to? They are Somalis, and we have to feel their pain.

The aftermath was that the killings in Mogadishu have continued up to today. Although the world sees Mogadishu as the center of Somalia, Mogadishu took internationally donated money and guns against their own people from both Shabelles to Kismayo; that has been going on now for 24 years. The man we recently elected, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, has started attacks there against his own Somali people. It is coming up day after day.

I would suggest that Mogadishu cannot be the Somali capital. Mogadishu has been from 1991 to 2014 a city of bloodshed. The blood flows like streets and rivers. It is a city where people’s rights have been forcefully denied. Mogadishu became a city unlawfully occupied by a group of Somalis claiming legitimacy above those who originally built the city. All the original owners fled the city, or are sitting aside due to the oppression. The people who came in through the bloodshed are claiming to be Mogadishans, and now have been elected as mayors and other government officials for the 16 towns of Mogadishu. These “guests” are there enjoying respect and power, never being challenged by the system. In this city all the bad politics of Somalia have been created- divide and rule, etc.

This is my conclusion, with all I said above. For the sake of saving Somalia, our country, our people- Mogadishu cannot be the capital of Somalia. I may be bringing this discussion here tonight, but please read about it in the books. History tells us the truth. In 1991 400,000 Somalis were forced to evacuate and 30,000 were killed- Somali against Somali. That cannot happen. The distrust and agony between Somalis must never come back. We know who the perpetrators are, and the crimes they committed against the Somali people. They must be brought to justice in order for genuine reconciliation based on solid political principals.