IF I WERE PRESIDENT.

A President is the highest power any nation has. He is the center where all people’s consent and power are combined, to reach prosperity and go forward. The reason for the choice of the president is to build and keep people’s confidence to solve their current and upcoming problems. He is the representative of all people equally and works to address their needs and wants. He is the only one who has the immunity to take action on any action taken against the nation.

If I were a president, I would lead the community to prosperity and economic development. I would eliminate existing problems by taking proper steps. I, as president, would solve problems with the cooperation of society by using the law, government agencies, community organizations, the judiciary and parliamentary councils to get together, to solve the problem by working collaboratively.

First, I would address and take action on the problem of tribalism, which is the source of the most serious trouble in my society. This predicament divides the community into blocks, with hate and polarization. It is a general problem that prevents the community from trusting each other and discourages people from aligning their interests with those of the others. To eliminate this, what I would do is separate politics and traditional elders. Because, these traditional elders are initiators of community segmentation and exaggerated tribalism. I will order to traditional elders and sultanate out of politics and limit their duties to clan responsibilities not political responsibilities, Instead I will warn them and if they don’t submit, action will be taken and they will be  punished according to legal procedures.  

This will be great benefit for my country’s political stability and social harmony. As president I would give people the right to be free to choose whom they want and directly contact to their government without using Suldans. If this program becomes successful, together we can overcome tribalism and tribal alliances.

Kat, a familiar drug in Somali community, is a major problem for the lives of many people that chew and sell. As proved, Kat is a drug that affects the teeth, brain and intelligence of thousands of people, and has destroyed hundreds of families. Not only that, but it plays a major role in personal income loss and economic damage. Every day we spent millions of dollars chewing kat when our families are in need, and our children can’t go to school. To deal with and finally solve this problem is a must, and crucial to the community. It is the duty of every leader to overcome kat one day.

Therefore, I as president would like to make a second plan to stop chewing and selling kat, if not to stop it, at least to reduce it. Although it will be difficult to get rid of chewing kat at once, I would make a plan to solve this issue and this will finally stop kat all around the country.

In order to combat this problem I would impose higher taxes on the export of kat. This tax will have two advantages: the export of Kat will shorten and the government will earn more income tax. If this step is successful, I'm sure it will soon stop day by day. I know you would like to ask me this question: "If you stop chewing and selling kat, what do you do to kat dealers who depend on the sale of kat?

Let me answer, when we implement this strategy, we have also created a program for the creation of business opportunities for kat dealers and chewers. I will invest in small scale business for who stop chewing and selling Kat in order to maintain their normal life.   This is the secret technique to stop kat in my community. All mothers involved in the kat business will be given an amount of money to create different type of business and manage their daily lives for their families. On the other side, public awareness will be running along this program with collaboration of local NGO’s, concerned government agencies and mental health doctors to describe the negative impact of Kat.

If I were the president I would stop illegal migration. Last year the UN reports that Illegal migration poses far reaching problems for many African youth. When traveling, they have in their minds destinations such as Europe or Asia, hoping that they will get better and more promising life than in their home countries. Youth of Somali origin are not an exception to this. Many of them ponder how at one time in their lifetime they will set eyes on the tall buildings of Europe and Asia. Many of these youth will tell you how, for several years, they have been planning to leave their country. Somalia is among the many nations where illegal migration is so prevalent. Countries like Ethiopia, Djibouti and Eritrea contribute large number of migrants.

The use of internet services acts as motivation factor in the illegal migration, as some of the migrants who reach their destination alive would communicate back to those left at home countries through the internet. However, very few migrants make it to their destination alive. Despite all the risks involved, they do not get all that they had aspired for. One has to think about the predicament undergone by the migrants before thinking about the preferred destination. Some of the risks during the voyage are physical damages inflicted due to crossing the desert on foot, death, rape and other exploitations in the case of female migrants which will leave them with bad memories for the rest of their lives. To stop this huge problem in our youth, I will establish civic programs and job creation projects to avoid youth blaming unemployment for migrating, with public awareness.

On the other hand, our education system in is not one in which we should be very proud. Yes, our country does have good schools, colleges, and learning institutions, but our standards are not set as high as other countries. For example, our country does not fund our schools adequately. Teachers teach with not enough books, no supplies, or books that are often over 20 years old. How can we expect our children to be up to date with the world’s information if our teaching materials are not new? Often teachers in our public schools are forced to buy text books and supplies for our children with their own personal money. Why do they do this? Because, they believe in a good education for all learners. Our country "prides" itself on the quality of education a person can receive here, yet teachers are one of the country’s lowest paid professionals. 

So to have an effective education system and syllabus that compatible to our nation, I would reform the education policy and make strong enough again.

I would also build strong army force and marines in order to fight against the terrorists and pirates. This could lead to co-operation with the international community to fight alongside with powerful nations that recognize us or speak up for us. To have strong and well equipped army will reduce outside aggression and internal terrors that spoil our peace.   

Unemployment is a main problem in the world. Although the unemployment rate is diverse, it is a common problem for all the nations. It is high, particularly in developing countries. To find a comprehensive solution to reduce the level of unemployment, my government will prepare a plan to promote the creation of jobs, especially for young people who leave university. This plan will be implemented by the relevant authorities such as ministry of labor and social affairs.

As president I will develop job creation projects, to increase job opportunities for young people.   These projects are to invest in business ideas from youth and encourage them to develop their vision to create their own income instead to migrating. The project will be to invest in industrial production in the country with funds from both local and foreign investors. This local investment will help people to find jobs and motivate them to stay home. Apart from the government project, we have also private businesses that help with business competition funds for youth and university graduates. I will work with them and facilitate their participation in general plans for the youth job creations. To overcome current levels of unemployment, I will also develop policy on foreign companies to carry out investment projects in the country with low tax to motivate foreign investment and increase job opportunities. My first two years in office, I will focus on these above mentioned things.

Finally, if I were president, I would solve some other social crises facing my community like corruption, good governance, gender parity, discrimination, violence against women and children. But I give priority to these challenges, the most severe at his time and need to be addressed.

M jaaj, M Duale and M Ali bloggers.