Divisions run deep in Somalia. The world imagines the country to be a land of famine, Islamist terrorists and pirates, and indeed contemporary Somalia is not starved of villains. But there has been a misunderstanding about the nature of the Somali economy. In spite of experiencing civil war and tribal unrest, Somalia has maintained an astonishingly healthy informal economy. Remittances from the Somali diaspora overseas have played a critical role in reinvigorating the economy and fuelling a telecommunications boom in the country. The traditional trade in livestock to the Arabian Peninsula has also boosted the Somali economy. However, this still leaves room for defending the country against terrorist threats and blunting their capacities, something underlined last Sunday when a suicide bomb went off in Mogadishu killing 20 people and injuring 50. The attack comes as Somalia is in the process of electing a new government with the much-delayed presidential vote also due on 28 December. The African Union (AU) troops that are stationed in Somalia could have more bite, and the country desperately needs to undermine the terrorist menace and enervate its sinews. The road to this is strenuous, however, and it is in this context that Somalia needs more African and Arab support. Fighting erupted in Somalia last week between the autonomous regions of Galmudug and Puntland in the town of Galkacyo that straddles their common border. Galkacyo is one of Somalia's five major cities, the others being Mogadishu, Baioda, Kismayo and Garowe. The southern Indian Ocean port of Kismayo, once considered a stronghold of Islamist terrorists, is now one of the most secure cities in the country. Diplomacy in contemporary Somalia has less to offer than in yesteryear, and the onus now is on military might. Somalia is officially divided into 18 regions based on tribal and clan considerations. Northern Somalia is divided up among the autonomous state of Puntland and the self-declared independent state of Somaliland. Galmudug is another regional entity that has emerged just south of Puntland. Jubaland in the far south is a fourth autonomous region within the federation. In 2014 a new South West State was officially launched, followed by the creation of a Central Regions State in 2015. Also last week two soldiers were assassinated and five others wounded in an army convoy near the Sayidka junction checkpoint in the vicinity of the Somali parliament. Somalia has a 275-seat lower house of parliament and an upper house capped at 54. By law, at least 30 per cent of MPs must be women. The country's new constitution was passed in June 2012. Notions of ethnic purity lie at the heart of Somali nationalism. It is one of the few countries in Africa that has one religion, Islam, and one language, Somali, yet it has been the victim of tribal and clan strife. It is against this grim backdrop that senior military commanders from the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) met in Mogadishu on Monday. Somalia has a glorious past, and ancient pyramidal structures, mausoleums, ruined cities and stone walls such as the prehistoric Wargaade Wall testify to a sophisticated and ancient civilisation in what is now Somalia. Depictions of queen Ati, wife of king Perahu of Punt, recorded on temple reliefs in the 18th Dynasty Deir Al-Bahari Temple near Luxor recount an expedition to the Land of Punt. The ancient Egyptians regarded Punt, or "God's Land," as their original homeland. Today, Somali President Mohamed Sheikh Mahmoud, a university professor and life-long civil and political activist who came to power in 2012, is aiming to strengthen citizenship rights in Somalia, but genuine reconciliation seems as elusive as ever. The current speaker of the Somali parliament, Mohamed Osman Jawari, is also lauded as a man of peace, and the federal parliament is tasked with selecting the number and boundaries of the autonomous regional states (officially federal member states) within the Federal Republic of Somalia. The federal government is internationally recognised as Somalia's official central government, and it represents Somalia at the United Nations. But since the toppling of a former government in 1991, there has been civil war in much of the country, together with consistent feuds. All the political acumen of Mahmoud and Jawari will be needed in order to show that the terrorists are not invincible. With this in mind, a Somali Reconciliation Conference was convened in Eldoret, Kenya, in 2002, and this was followed in 2004 by the 14th National Reconciliation Conference in Nairobi, which lasted for two years and resulted in the creation of a transitional federal government with a decentralised system of administration. The United Arab Emirates and other oil-rich Gulf states are assisting Somalia financially, but the war-torn Horn of Africa nation needs more than Arab largesse. A ceasefire mediated by Dubai has helped ease tensions, and Somalia is struggling to succeed in the parliamentary elections that are currently taking place. The electorate consists of some 14,000 delegates chosen by 135 clan elders. Some say the elections have been subject to vote-buying and intimidation, but they are particularly important because the president is also elected by the parliament. He or she serves as the nation's head of state and chooses the prime minister. Somali policy-makers are grappling with tribal and clan issues as well as religious questions. Unfortunately, the country's national crisis is likely to continue long after these elections as it reflects a structural feature of Somali politics.
