Conflict Resolution Policy

The world failed Somalia

What is the scale of Somalia's humanitarian crisis, and how do you see it evolving?

Rashid Abdi: The scale of the crisis is unprecedented in many ways. The closest example you have is the 1984 famine in Ethiopia. Because the population of Somalia is not that big, the numbers of people who have died are less, but there's no denying the fact that you have a huge humanitarian crisis in southern Somalia and you have tens of thousands of people who have died, mostly children. Now the famine has spread to regions that used to be the bread basket of Somalia, especially the Juba valley. The whole of south and central Somalia is now in the midst of this famine.

Do you fear this humanitarian crisis will spread beyond Somalia, beyond the Horn of Africa?

This famine is the outcome of many factors. One of them, of course, is ecological, environmental, and climatic. There hasn't been any significant rain for the last four years, so the wells have dried up. You have deforestation in southern Somalia, especially involving charcoal traders. You have poor land use and overgrazing. So environmental factors contribute to it. And this goes beyond Somalia–it extends to the whole Ogaden region of Ethiopia and northeastern Kenya. But in Kenya, and in Ethiopia especially, you have a more robust system of coping with disasters. You have a professional disaster management authority, and both these countries have learned how to cope with this crisis.

In southern Somalia, you don't have a government; you don't have a sense of any authority, except for al-Shabaab. So there has been a neglect of efforts to alleviate this kind of situation, and al-Shabaab has little experience in this aspect as well. So these regions are all closely tied together, and many of these so-called environmental factors are also close together. So in many ways, you can talk of a regional farming crisis, but at the moment the epicenter is Somalia.

What are the main problems in getting aid to the people in Somalia?

South-central Somalia is controlled by al-Shabaab. Al-Shabaab is paranoid about international NGOs and a year ago, they banned aid agencies from helping people in that region. A lot of the crisis is attributable to the fact that many people whose situation was very vulnerable did not get adequate help in time. That is why you see this crisis has reached this level.

Aregbesola Charges Policy-makers On Conflict Resolution | OSUN ...

The governor who was represented by his deputy, Otunba (Mrs) Tiyilayo Laoye-Tomori while urging the institute to ensure that it makes positive difference on the lives of the people by finding a way of resolving the conflict especially in the Northern part of the country, said that it was only under peaceful atmosphere that people could feel the impact of good governance. Commending the people of the state for supporting the state government in allowing peace to reign, Aregbesola recalled that the state had had its period of crisis in the past between Ile-Ife and Modakeke communities, saying that due to the understanding of the people of the two communities and the effort of the government, the towns are now living in peace and harmony.

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