Somalia has far more talent than its political system lets surface

Evidence

Yet the peculiarities of Osman and Hussen, as told in this book, do not make them sui generis among the Somali people of their age. Others in the civil service, the academy, and the private sector shared those qualities but were not in a position of political authority to demonstrate their talents and patriotism at the national scale. The same can be said about others on the African continent. But for the Somalis, the current situation is infinitely more daunting. For starters, the decomposition of the old republic is thorough; the triple curse of political tribalism, maleficence, and incompetence is strong; the regional political milieu is typified by a competitive subimperialist appetite primarily geared toward turning Somalis into supplicant and disunited clients; and the weighty global actors are preoccupied with higher-value concerns in other parts of the world. — Abdi Ismail Samatar, Africa’s First Democrats, 1119