SYL leaders feared factional infighting would ruin Somali independence at its doorstep

Evidence

Life is beautiful, and it is quite true that man is the most beautiful, but also the most complicated, of all creatures. We have created the Somali Youth League; for it we have made all sorts of sacrifices to see the Somalis united and independent from foreign servitude, and now that we are on the verge of being completely free, we risk spoiling everything with our actions that are dictated by factional egotism… . [T]he election of the remaining five members of the office foreseen by the existing laws demonstrated the irresponsibility of certain people who decide in factional conspiracies outside the parliament, although they know that the net result of their action will divide and deepen the differences among the people. — Abdi Ismail Samatar, Africa’s First Democrats, 394

Categorization

• SEED: Osman’s lament captures a recurring theme: nationalist movements self-destructing into factionalism on the eve of achieving their goal. Could seed an essay on the psychology of movement fracture at the moment of success.