Look how humble he looks in that picture!!!!
Siyad Barre has done a lot for Somalia and if it weren’t the national affairs meddling of his clan, he would have been one of the greatest leaders of Somalia. No one is perfect in this world and in my heart; I believe he had lots of good intentions for Somalia. Remember that this coming from a man who believes that the Ogadens suffered the most under Siyad Barre leadership both politically and communally. Siyad Barre kept Somalia together for over 20 years, tried to unite us by bringing our missing lands. To write his accomplishments for Somalia would take pages, but few of those include the writing of the Somali language, the building of many viable infrastructures such as factories, highways, ports, schools, universities and many other essential services. To understand a man’s character and moral fiber, one has to look at how he came to power. 21 young and middle-aged Somali officers compromising of all Somali clans put him in charge to lead. They knew something! And remember that this was right after the assassination of the Prime Minister Sharmarke, so the possibility of national turmoil was high as there was a power vacuum. Siyad Barre saved Somalia from the leadership void by acting quickly.
Compare that to the man who went to Ethiopia to attack his own country. How many of you heard the word Mahbar? These Ethiopians puppets slaughtered many Mareexaan and Ogaden civilians in areas around Wardheer and Caabud-Waaq. Over one hundred innocent Mareeexaan civilians were slaughtered in Raqo near Caabud-Waaq in early 1980s by the Mahbar led by C/laahi Yusuf. Their model of operand was to hide behind the Ethiopian tanks and attack unsuspecting civilians whose only crimes were being members of specific clans. This is a fact! Then when his term ended in the Puntland leadership, he killed countless more civilians. And for what he did in Xamar again using the Ethiopian tanks again, I would leave that for the historians.
The only thing good Abdullahi Yusuf did in Somalia was the fact that he was one of the very first people to recognize the danger of the Wahabis and their wrong interpretation of Islam. That I give him credit!
How did comparing these two different leaders come to my mind? Well, I couldn’t help but feel sorry for the late M. Siyad Barre as his funeral was not at a national level. In short C/laahi Yusuf Ina-Yeey didn’t deserve a national memorial service. Maxamed Siyad Barre earned and it is unfortunate he never got that.
