By Syad Ali Jama
The federal system of Somalia was adopted in 2004. Its utility lies in addressing causes and effects of the state failure: centralisation, warlordism, dispossession and marginalisation. The federal system proved agile in addressing the first three predicaments. It has had mixed results on the fourth predicament.
In a paper entitled Dysfunctional Federalism and published in July the Heritage Institute argues “the unitary mindset of Somalis is an obstacle to the federalist devolution of power…” It is anarchical temperament of certain segments in Somalia that opposes the federal system. Unitary is a shorthand for centralisation favoured by supporters of the former Union of Islamic Courts. The alternative to federalism proposed by the likes of Aala Sheikh and Damuljadiid, two Somali politico-religious cliques, is a clannish theocracy that reduces Somalia to haven for transnational terrorists.