Buhodle: The small city that defeated SNMland

It is slowly becoming clearer that the SNM militia which occupied parts of Sool-Jogto, Maygaagle, and Kalshaale have now vacated their military posts and returned to Qorulugud and retreated into Somaliland areas. As we watch prisoner swaps and other related events, one of the questions that comes to mind is whether or not this could be a game changer in the recent khatumo and Somaliland confrontations?

In light of the recent overtures by secessionist Somaliland to former SSC leader, Mr. Saleban Hagla-tosiye, Is it possible that the SSC leadership unilaterally brokered peace in the Cayn _Khatumo State region or are there other true heroes that forced Somaliland militia to retreat in defeat as they have never listened in the past to the barrage of peaceful calls to withdraw. The latter seems to be more plausible.  But wait a minute, First, let’s examine the SSC Conundrum.

Wasn’t SSC labelled by the Somaliland administration as a terrorist organization? When did Somaliland formally recognize the SSC as a legitimate leadership with whom to converse? I haven’t read or seen it, Have you? and if so whatever becomes of the faith of the other (comically dubbed SSC but legitimately recognized by Somaliland) organization allegedly led by the Hapless Keyse. Thanks in part to Somaliland’s flip flop and confused ethnocentric agenda, this other Khatumo dropout might as well  be so jealous now that his legitimate SSC organization has been eclipsed by the former terrorist, current peacemaker SSC one man show. Quite a bizzaro world where right is wrong and wrong is right ! This apparent paradox is not only entertaining but neatly fits as good material for the comic sections of Khatumo media.
Furthermore, If you look at Somaliland’s propaganda these days, one may see that their media spins these events as though the people of buhodle chose peace and preferred dialogue_ a benign concept but in this context, a code word that suggests buhodle city [as represented by a single former SSC leader] will join Somaliland’s geographic dreamland. The fact is that the people of Cayn and Khatumo currently led by president Indho-sheel are peace-loving and have never been on the offensive to grab someone else’s land. Rather, they were always on the receiving end of enemy fire. The atrocities perpetrated by the secessionist Somaliland militia, killing over 500 Khatumo citizens this year alone in the Cayn region will never be forgotten. The SNM tanks roaring in early morning, firing indiscriminately at innocent civilians. The sight of a buhodle mom throwing droplets of water from a yellow can as she attempts to put out fire in her burning house are fresh in many a Khatumo citizen. It would be interesting to know if Hagla-tosiye remembered to negotiate any compensation or reparations for these horrific human rights violations or did he choose to shake the bloody hands of Silaanyo who ordered these crimes _for a personal vendetta against Khatumo !
Born in the historic city of Taleh on Jan. 12, 2012. This blessed concept and regional autonomy of Khatumo State of Somalia has democratically and permanently united the hearts and minds of all things Sool Sanaag and Cayn. Why does hagla-tosiye shy away from mentioning in his appeasement speeches the fact that buhodle is, has and will always sport the honorable blue flag with the white star as per the wishes of its Khatumo residents? Thanks to the boys and girls of Kalshaale whose character and heroism were always in full display, requiring no permission as they thwarted all enemy attempts to capture the last remaining bastion of Khatumo land.
Meanwhile, in the coming days, as Haglo-tosiye returns from his trip to Hargaisa, local clan politicking is expected to hit the streets of buhodle city. His previous nuances of belittling SSC members who hailed from regions other than Cayn was quite divisive and hard to swallow specially when it was suggested that some of these young boys might have died in vain. However, History will soon tell if he succeeds in helping to divide the Dhulbahante people along sub-clans and city regional lines, making enemy dreams come true. Or whether Buhodle residents would be expectedly smart enough to recognize Somaliland’s dream of experimenting manipulative diplomacy after their utter failure to succeed in warfare. if the current peace overtures hold true, it’s possible that various characters may compete for getting credit to have brokered this elusive and untested peace deal. However, if it doesn’t, then we are back to square one. Far from a one man publicity stunt, this SNM retreat is clearly a direct result of the people of buhodle city and their relentless conviction to defend their land from an SNM bully that awaits by the boreholes of balli-dhiig. But one thing is for sure; the boys of Kalshaale will continue to sing poetically: “We are here, we were here, and we will be here to defend our land, dignity and history including the Dervish legacy upon which the modern Somali Federal State was founded”.
Additionally, please accept my apologies if I offended some of my Somali Northern friends who may be allergic to the mere mention of this historic Somali Dervish Movement;  a couple of pages of reading into traditional Somali history and one will easily find who were the true Somalis and who were the British Colonial followers. Finally, a good case in point could be at display at this summer’s London Olympic games.  If you looked at the choices made by athletes of Somali origin with respect to their allegiance to their birth countries, one might have seen Mo-Farah’s Gold medal in the 10k run and he is to be congratulated for an excellent run. However, although he was Born in Mogadishu but hails from the Somaliland region, Mo [notice effect of name change to the preference of colonial masters] chose to run for Great Britain as opposed to Somalia. He was also seen sporting a secessionist flag that had more colours than wiil-waal had witticism. In contrast though, over a decade ago, another athlete chose to run for his native Somalia despite huge enticements from USA. Abdi Bile Abdi went on to win Somalia’s first Gold medal in any sports in 1997 World Track and field championships in Rome. It is no coincidence that in a recent london tv interview, Abdi Bile who hails from Khatumo State was wrapped around the blue flag, tears coming down his eyes as he was carried over by emotions of patriotism and love of his country_Somalia.
May God bless Khatumo State of Somalia. Let’s hope that a United Somalia is on the horizon.
A. Hindi (soolsanaagcayn@gmail.com).