The Legacy of Garaad Cabdiqani Garaad Jaamac
By Liban Ahmad
May 09, 2006
Garaad Cabdiqani Garaad Jaamac who died on 9 February of complications from diabetes in Djibouti was one the most well known and influential traditional leaders in Somalia. He assumed chieftaincy in 1985 following the death of his brother, Cali Garaad Jaamac, a veteran politician and co-founder of now defunct United Somali Party.
Garaad Cabdiqani was born in Laas Caanood city in 1935. He was among the first batches of pupils to join Laas Caanood primary school early 1940s.
Back in 1950s he came to UK for further education.
As the coronation of a new Jaamac Garaad Cali in Sool draws near, it is time to assess the legacy of the late Garaad Cabdiqani Garaad Jaamac and offer some pointers to the Garaad designate.
Before Garad Cabdiqani assumed the chieftaincy, he worked for the pre- and post independence administrations in different capacities- as banker (1950s), head of Somali Affairs and regional governor (1960s). Throughout his career the late Garaad was known for diligence and impartiality. His experience in civil service had become of much use to him when he was appointed a Garaad in 1985. It was a time Somalia was undergoing major changes in terms of the mounting opposition to the former military dictatorship that was ousted in January 1991. His moment of truth came in 1988 when the first civil war erupted in Somalia following the SNM’s attempts to end the reign of the military dictatorship in Burco, Hargeysa and Berbera.
Garaad Cabdiqani:
Peace Lord
While people mulled over the position to take in the war between the former Somali Army and the SNM forces, Garaad Cabdiqani had posed questions abut the legitimacy of the government’s response to the war: it was civilians who borne the brunt of government’s brutal response to opposition forces. The regime had a history of collective punishment as strategy to counter armed opposition forces. The late Garaad Cabdiqani stance was informed by a sense of history: no regime will exist forever no matter how oppressive and powerful its forces are. It is the non-combatants who will pick up the pieces when the fate of such a regime is sealed.
Garaad Cabdiqani criticised the former Somali military government for human rights violations against unarmed civilians in the north. The late Garaad made initial contact with traditional leaders of the clan from which Somali National Movement drew its moral and material support. His peace overtures laid the foundation for peace agreement that led to Burco conference in 1991 when Somaliland was declared an independent state that is no longer in union with the rest of Somalia. The Garaad attended the meeting out of which the unilateral secession emerged. He did not criticise the secession despite its reputation for lacking consensual imprimatur. He did not think of political developments in Somalia--- reconciliation conferences, setting up of new regional administrations—as flawless. Rather, he always thought about ways that Somalis could share political future despite the bottomless abyss into which institutional trust had been thrown. He was alive to the capriciousness associated with the Somali clan system.
In 1993 when the late Mohamed Ibrahim Egal, was appointed second Somaliland president, the Garaad was the first to visualise strategies to widen political participation in Somaliland. Egal’s administration ignored suggestions of the Garaad who was looked upon as an ally of the late Cabdiraxmaan Axmed Cali, first president of Somaliland. It was a time Somaliland was recovering from an unnecessary civil war that pitted forces loyal to Cabdiraxmaan Axmed Cali against forces of the Somaliland authority.
It was the start of a Somaliland policy that emphasises appointment of politicians from the Garaad’s constituencies without the input of local communities. It was political miscalculation that was criticised by many ardent Somalilanders.
If unity based Somali political project had become a farce, a vision based on sharing political institutions could have been formulated other than redrawing the Somali map, and expecting people to honour borders that the British and Italians made. It was the Garaad’ contention that secession is fraught with contradictions similar to those that led to the collapse of state of Somalia. The only difference between secession and unity is that the first has never been tested whereas the latter was tested. He was not naïve, though: he understood that candour and honesty that characterize Somali traditional leadership have no place in the cut-throat, modern day Somali politics used for co-opting traditional leaders as purveyors of clan sentiments. He did not stoop so low as to endorse policies of any administration whenever leaders resorted to favouritism or dictatorship. He thought of the administrations as necessary stabilising entities. He had fallen out with both former Somaliland and Puntland presidents.
Garaad Cabdiqani’s reading of Somali political scene was instructive: “people have the same dreams, and long for peace, justice but it is politicians who keep the people apart,†Garaad Cabdiqani said. There in lies the paradox of Somali politics: eager for peaceful coexistence but reluctant to use the right language and frame of mind. Garaad Cabdiqani was of the opinion that Somalis’ interest lies in unity if it is redefined in light of tribulations Somali have been through.
Jaamac Cali Garaad, the Garaad designate, nephew of Garaad Cabdiqani, and son of the late Garaad Cali Garaad Jaamac, will face challenges that are both traditional and political. The people for whom he will be Garaad live in regions that were spared the horrors after state collapse in Somalia. That is Garaad Cabdiqani’s unforgettable peace legacy; it is also in inspiration to you and to any peace loving person. Adopting the approach Garaad Cabdiqani pioneered is a major task, so is valuing diversity of political opinions of people in Sool, Togdheer and Sanaag who pledge traditional allegiance to you and other Garaads and Sultans. That is the best and tested way to protect people against blunders of politicians. Promote social justice, respect and empowerment for minority people through strategies that will weaken and finally undermine age old segregation to which our brothers and sisters are subjected. Promote peaceful coexistence with neighbouring clans.
Forty six years ago when Somalia became an independent state, hopes of nationhood outweighed impediments that some had foreseen: people shared basic narrative about colonial rule and the need for self determination. Somalia’s turbulent, post-colonial history seems to have conditioned people towards seeking solace in clan formulated policies. It is not clear that lessons have been learned following state failure and collapse in Somalia. As a Garaad you don’t have to be discouraged by the bleak political landscape in Somalia. You have a moral duty to speak up whenever injustice is meted out to people politically or socially. Unite your people under any platform they deem to be the right one!
Written by : Haybe Dhawaaq , Posting id :22426 , Report
Garad Jama Garad Ali
Revisiting Somali Culture and Tradition with
Garaad Jaamac Garaad Cali Garaad Jaamac
By: Faisal A. Roble
January 08, 2007
"Nothing could be further from the truth, except possibly for the odd aberrant behavior that will be found in any form of governance. African democracy is a form of direct democracy that allows the people to be involved in all major decisions affecting their communities. Decisions are made by consensus with the chief or traditional leader acting as a facilitator and traditionally not allowed to influence the decisions of the community. Representative democracy allows no such involvement. Elected leaders can do very much as they please as long as they abide by certain rules. They can even defy the majority of the electorate if they have no concern for re-election or believe they can sway opinion in their favor by the time of the next election.
Traditional authorities can never behave in such a manner. They are always accountable and always available to their people. African democracy is consequently superior to representative democracy at the local level and therefore more suitable for the governance of traditional communities. Completing the destruction of South Africa’s traditional communities?" Temba Nolutshungu, Director of the Free Market Foundation, South Africa.
On January 3, 2006, after driving over one hour and half on the notoriously congested I-5 freeway, I showed up at a room full of gleeful faces of more than hundred and fifty Somali immigrants, residents of Southern California, who gathered at the Golden Center (where services are provided to Somali Senior Citizens in San Diego). Still jubilant with post Ciidal Adxa festivities, the visit of the Grand Garaad of Sool and Sanaag and Cayn communities were the icing on the cake for this crowd.
The crowd who gathered here represented all of Somalia’s otherwise disparate clans. And, not only were they united in their spirit to observe their organic Somali culture, but also in their appreciation and observance of the virtues of their traditional authority as represented by his highness Garaad Jaamac Garaad Cali Garaad Jaamac.
Prior to the Garaad’s sagacious and historic speech - historic for the ever-bourgeoning Diaspora community - as many as 7 speakers representing different sectors of the Somali community of this expansive region of Southern California, came to the podium and uttered traditional greetings and affirmed their appreciation of the presence of such a nobility amongst what is otherwise a toiling, 12 to 14 hours-day working, decent and crime free community.
Anyone who was present at the site and observed the hearty cheerful welcome that was bestowed on this noble authority, descendent of a long line of more than ten Garaads of his lineage, as one women said in her touchy poem (Buraanbur in Somali), would not be lost on the truth that Somalis too differ to traditional authority more than to warlords or other artificially imposed structures.
After soothing poetry and briefs presented by what sounded like delegates from their own respective constituents, at 7:00 P.M. sharp, the Grand Garaad, Garaad Jama Garaad Cali of the Dhulbahante clan, a man in his early thirties with elongated face wearing a carefully trimmed beard, hence giving his cheeks well-defined boundaries and a Somali-revered look, a full-bearded tall man (Gadh Madoobe), almost towering over most of his guests of honor, stood out of the gold glazed chair that he was assigned to sit on and reached out to the microphone.
He did not waste any time to share with his crowd his words of wisdom that one obediently expects from nobility:
Our homeland is bleeding and mothers and sisters and children are dying from lack of the simplest medication that even pets in the West get so easily. We do not have schools or any form of learning centers, spare any other form of infrastructure. What we need from the Diaspora community is neither politics nor divisive activities, but help in rebuilding our peace and social infrastructures that have been devastated as a result of a long and unnecessary civil war.
With that, the Garaad quickly underscored his full understanding of his position in the community to which he added: “with authority comes responsibility.” He added that from the day he was coroneted this past May, 2006 in the simmering summer heat of Leas Caanod on wards, his shoulders had felt heavier.
But recognizing the reciprocal offering of fealty to him, he informed his faithful audience his undivided commitment to unify his people whether it is his immediate community or the larger disparate Somali society.
Fully aware of the benefits accorded to his people in this mosaic and cosmopolitan cultural milieu that became the new home we all so voluntarily adopted, the Garaad strongly advised his audience to be full and effective partners of their respective communities in which they live. ‘Be productive citizens of your communities but at the same time nurture, not murder, your culture,” he sternly advised.
By gleefully listening to this nobility, something clicked inside me that reminded me of the way my own late father, Abdi Roble, otherwise a very strong man, remained loyal, voluntarily loyal, to my own Geri clan’s Garaad, Garaad Cisman Garaad Cali Garaad Koshin, who too descended from the Garaad Adan described by Richard Burton in “First Footsteps in East Africa." I silently appreciated this mutual trust-based system of indigenous governance in Africa as much as the leading Africanist, Jeremy Swift did. It is incidentally a system that predates all failed post-colonial system.
Another revelation to me was how those who are not even from the Garaad’s immediate constituency paid homage and respect to his nobility. Members of diverse clans, who may otherwise thrive on their differences, emphasized here their communalities and assured the Garaad to “stay united Somalis, one nation under one religion.”
Touching a soft spot of the audience, he challenged the larger community to “sort out its priority;” and said that “each and every one of you must first and foremost mind your own business and take care of the family for whom you are responsible.”
He could not have said this better than by reminding the audience a folk story, where a negligent husband suddenly and hastily rolled up his sleeves only to be questioned by his despondent sister-in-law:
“where do you think you are rushing to?”
“I am going to partake in a clan war that my in laws are engaged in” responded the unsuspecting husband.
“hah! You must first fulfill your husbandly responsibility that you have so long neglected,” she dismissively told him.
With humility, especially from the men, the house came to a self-redeeming laughter.
Doubly impressive about Garaad Jamac is his vision of leadership for the Somali community irrespective of clan limitation, and his well-though out Plan of Action pertaining to the Somali traditional leadership. Consisting of four interrelated points, the Garad proposes the following:
1. Invite all Somali traditional leaders (mainly Garaads, Isims, Ugaases, Malaaqs,
Sultan) representing major Somali clans to his official residence in
Laas Caanod.
2. Engage them to have systemic structure in which they can deliberate about traditional methodologies to building sustainable peace and harmony in the Somali society.
3. Bridge and mend broken bridges of communications among traditional leaders.
4. Enhance connectivity and networking among this group of the society,
Professor Said Samatar of Rutgers University, whom I spoke about this vision, and who has extensively studied the role of traditional leaders in conflict resolution, called the Garaad’s proposed Plan of Action “a visionary concept that, if expanded, may contain the seeds of a blue-print for the establishment of civil society.” As a matter of fact it is.
The Garaad’s proposal resonates with the professor’s earlier treatise on the subject (Samatar, Said, Oral Poetry and Somali Nationalism, 1982).
The Garaad shared with his audience his dream to have a system and data base where anyone member of the traditional leaders in any part of the Somali peninsula can reach one another at the earliest breakout of a clan conflict or other disasters that may necessitate an action from this class of leaders. Given today’s transformation of the world into a global village, the Garaad’s plan is timely.
I can only vouch with appreciation for this visionary and farsighted traditional leader who blessed our great Golden Gate’s community with his timely visit. With his continent-wide tour coming to a closure in Atlanta this weekend (January 7, 2006), the Garad had appropriately earned the name of a “unifying Garad.” May Allah bless him for he has shown us that Somali culture and tradition is more resilient than often acknowledged. We are in one of those times that we need to revisit our culture and tradition to help us center our souls and society.
Written by : Haybe dhawaaq , Posting id :22427 , Report