I just concluded listening to a piece of detailed information about the foiled visit of PM Khayre to North Galkayo. The information was recorded by Marwo Asha Gelleh, a community leader in North Galkayo. Asha was part of a team that sought to mediate between Khayre and Garowe over this chaotic event. I say chaotic because the scene that we have seen in social media was not pretty.
The PM almost jeopardized his security! Some of the questions I still keep asking myself are as follows:
1. If the PM has been in Galmudug for about 3 weeks, why didn’t he establish contact with President Deni weeks ago and make his visit official?
2. Why would he undermine the government of Puntland and seek satisfaction by organizing his own visit through non-government groups, some of which could have their own agenda?
3. Why did the PM fail to read the tea leaves and respect the sensitivity that exists between the government of Puntland and Villa Somalia?
I am not sure whether PM Khayre realizes the precarious nature of peace and security in Galkayo (both sides of the City). The current peace has been achieved through a lot of hard work by the people of Galmududg and Puntland. His actions almost came to destroy that.
Missed opportunities: Were PM Khayre was a mature PM, he could have utilized this great opportunity. He would have planned early on a well-prepared visit to Galkayo (both sides); he could have worked on a visit that would have enhanced the peace that the City has, infuse more energy into the beautiful work done by the leaders of Galmudug and Puntland, and hold a unified convention with the two leaders and with the masses of both sides.
He failed royally to read the recent troubled history of the City. All he did with his visit was to export unnecessary political pressure to a chaotic and fragile region. And, that outweighs all other inconveniences. Once again, this is to proof that Villa Somalia thrives on short term and intoxicating immature moves at the expense of long term and sustainable strategies for the country.
I hope when he goes back to the insulated Villa Somalia, he will reach out to President Deni and reconstruct the dying relationship between the two sides.