President Sharif's Dream

Deep inside the various protective layers of Villa Somalia, late dictator's palace, President Sharif is fast asleep. He is enveloped by the sweetest of dreams. In this particularly ephemeral state, the moderately famous Somali leader dreams about the trappings of political power. He finds himself lord and master of Mogadishu, and much more besides. He sees a vision of himself as a man surrounded by wise counsellors, and fawning foreign diplomats. President Sharif finds himself leading a prosperous, if troubled, nation.

The UN World Food Program is, at that moment in time, urging him to authorise the expansion of their mission towards the town of Luuq, in the West of what remains of the territorial Somali Republic. For some strange reason, President Sharif, who has just been re-elected for the second time, does not wish to rely on foreign aid any longer. He imagines that he has had quite enough experience of foreign manipulation. Despite the fact that a ferocious offshoot of the Al-Shabaab militia, known locally as the Jiritaan Brigade, controls the town of Luuq, and most of the Ogaden region, President Sharif often supports foreign request such as this.

The President shuffles around his emperor-size bed, as he slumbers, dreaming about the challenges that face his tenure as President. He sees himself as the saviour of the Somali nation; a man with the common touch. He dreams of donkeys carrying sand for the construction of the giant concrete wall that is to partition the Banadir District, bisecting the once beautiful Somali capital city of Mogadishu. The Somali President fears for the future of the poor unfortunates, according to his omniscient mind, who live under the rule of the Sharica Islaam, inside Somalia, and on the other side of the great wall that now divides Mogadishu. He dreams about the curious Black Flag, beloved of his erstwhile Islamist friends, and he writhes in disgust.

According to President Sharif, a true Islamist is moderate both in appearance and policy. President Sharif hopes to emulate the late President Asif Ali Zardari of Pakistan, before the rise of imperial self-doubt, and the deplorable carpet bombing campaign of Islamabad. He also dreams of invading the Islamic Republic of Iran on behalf of Megan Daud, and her security forces. He mouths the words, “Nothing ventured, nothing gained”, as he slumbers. President Sharif is a political survivor whilst he dreams. His survival has always been derived from his unscrupulous tendency to be a political opportunist. After all, this is the man who sold parcels of the Somali national territory to the enemies of Somalia.

All potential assassins are rendered immobile during his expansively perverse dream. He was never a man that can be roused out of his bed by the sound of a Kalashnikov rifle spitting out anonymous reports in the distance, which has often been the definition of consciousness during a typically dangerous night in Mogadishu. Whilst he has lived inside the comfortable surroundings of Villa Somalia, President Sharif has always felt secure. The President, being an intelligent man, has always been mindful of the fact that the Ugandan troops, deployed to protect him, are good at their job. Despite their visible impatience to return to Kampala. The Ugandan troops are hated by the ordinary members of Somali society, and after many years of protecting President Sharif, the AMISOM soldiers long to return to their home countries.

Yet, on some level, President Sharif feels, during this sumptuous dream, uneasy about his record as the political leader of the Somali people. Try as he might, President Sharif shall never be held in high esteem by the great Somali people; a people who have known, and loved, the memory of the great Sayyid. Words can never soothe the distress caused by the fact that President Sharif, as look at himself in the mirror, recognises the image before him, each morning, as a political failure!

During his pleasurable dream as a legitimate world leader, distressing thoughts begin to inspire President Sharif, for the first time during his long career, to see sense. He finally decides, during this magical dream, to rebel against the wishes of the International Community. This is a brave move, especially when remembers the fact that the International Community had once, long ago, directly installed President Sharif as the imperially designated leader of the Somali nation. Despite the sweet nature of the dream. Despite the opulent surroundings of the recently re-built Villa Somalia, something deep inside President Sharif's mind compels him to serve the best interests of the Somali people, before it is too late. Before the vehicle of mortal consequences fails him, and long before the judgement of his immortal soul, President Sharif dreams of saving Somalia on behalf of his poor compatriots.

President Sharif, not before too long, has come to recognise the fact that the Somali nation is much more than a finely cropped beard, or an immaculately long beard, whether dyed orange or not, for that matter. President Sharif, in his wondrous dream, imagines negotiating a truce with the famous Somali Privateers of Eyl and beyond. President Sharif imagines that, with the help of the mercurial Seamen of the North, he can defeat the violently passionate forces of Jiritaan: The moderate President of Somalia, as he dreams, genuinely believes that he can influence the fate of the ancient Somali nation.

The President of Somalia, Sharif Ahmed, awoke in a cold sweat at 0545 hours on Friday 8th of May 2009. He was relieved to have woken from a bittersweet dream. He recognised his immediate surroundings as the broken shell of President M.S. Barre's once-elegant palace, Villa Somalia. However, it really felt like the process of cognition for President Sharif, so vivid was the dream of a Somali future where young men are prepared to kill for the concept of Somali national honour!