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The failed state of Somalia has plunged into deeper crisis after President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed violated constitutional provisions in a bid to dump Prime Minister Nur Hassan Hussein.
Mr Hussein has reacted with shock to the news that his government had been sacked, commenting “We have a government?”
Under the constitution Somalia apparently has, the President, should there be one, is required to consult with the country’s Parliament before sacking the government. The Mr Yusuf has bypassed the legislature however, saying “Wait, we have a Parliament?”
The Prime Minister later told The Daily Grind “Well may we say ‘Hadba kiina taagdaranee’, because toosoo isku tiirsada ee.”
The dismissal of a Prime Minister without reference to Parliament is a dangerous move, likely to inspire a generation of embittered fanatics. Luckily for this country in which power generally changes hands violently, there’s no chance Hussein die-hards will lose all perspective and start referring to today’s events as “the coup”.
Given the Somalia’s history as a failed state since 1991, a military dictatorship before that, and a colony not long before that, Somali is one of the few languages that does not have a translation for the term “the good old days.”
Nur Hassan Hussein served as Attorney-General in the administration of dictator Mohammed Siad Barre. A Marxist, Major General Barre sought to industrialise Somalia by building state-run factories to print the enormous pictures of himself the economy required. Somalia became self-sufficient in Barre portraits by 1973.
Mr Hussein was appointed Prime Minister in November 2007 following his highly successful “Hassan07” campaign.
The Prime Minister has won plaudits for his contribution to Somalia’s peace process, though he has come under fire from the Greens for his failure to embrace tough limits on carbon emissions.
Given the Somalia's history as a failed state since 1991, a military dictatorship before that, and a colony not long before that, Somali is one of the few languages that does not have a translation for the term "the good old days."
