Lawmakers should heed Jawari’s sage advice

By The Editorial Board

Mohamed Osman Jawari’s courageous decision to quit to end weeks of political standoff between him and the Executive, especially between him and Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khayre, deserves praise.

At 73, Jawari, who served Somalia’s last central government in different capacities, knows what is good for the country. He’s shown that he cares about his country more than perhaps many other politicians whose only interest in being part of the national government seems to be lining their pockets and selling Somalia to the lowest bidders.

Jawari was as tough as nails, resisting the Executive’s shameful bid to have the House in the palm of its hand.

Under his stewardship, the parliament passed major bills, including a March 13 bill that invalidated all agreements between the United Arab Emirates-owned DP World and self-seeking politicians from the country’s northwestern region.

The bill – later signed into law by President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo — stipulates that all foreign agreements should be brought to the House floor for approval. But instead of congratulating Jawari for that bold move, the Executive felt threatened by the wording of the law, fearing that it might in future clip its powers to cut deals with foreign nations.

In his resignation speech, Jawari was right to equate himself to the proverbial magnanimous mother who ceded her son to a fake woman out of fear for his safety after a judge ruled that he be split into two for the two claimants.

Jawari’s ejection might be a big win for the Executive, for now. But it is a Pyrrhic victory.  Many Somalis have already started second-guessing the integrity of the Executive and its seriousness to fix the country’s mounting ills.

That is a major setback for the country’s top leadership.

Just a little over a year ago, Somalis warmly welcomed the election of President Farmajo, hoping that his leadership would be different from his predecessors whose terms were consumed by petty rivalries pitting the head of state and against the premier, the head of government.

While Farmajo has so far averted such rows, yet his clash with Jawari has dealt his popularity, which has already been in tatters after the handing over Col. Qalbi Dagah’s to Ethiopia, a huge blow.

The Executive should respect the Legislature’s independence, stop its meddling and allow lawmakers hold the whip hand over its affairs.

The Legislature should also work with the Executive. Because when these two arms of government collaborate and each one respects the other’s independence, Somalia wins.

The country has a fragile government that needs all the arms of government to dedicate their time and energy toward tackling the security and political crisis racking across the nation.

As the battle to elect a new speaker kicks off, lawmakers should heed Jawari’s sage advice of protecting the House’s independence.

They should elect a speaker who is as wise as Solomon but also as strong as a mountain and can withstand the Executive’s willful interference in the House business.

Ideally, he should be a member who studied law to avert electing a round peg in a square hole.

The new speaker shouldn’t flinch from taking on the Executive when need be. He has to stand his ground, and not flee like a scared rabbit.

Jawari’s resignation should be the exception, not the norm.

We urge assertive members of parliament to throw their hats into the ring and not make themselves scarce for fear that they will meet the same fate as Jawari.

Electing a strong speaker will go along way in warding off reprehensible attempts aimed at turning the House into a mere appendage of the Executive, and in the process weakening the Somali state.