By Bashir Ashkir Musse – President Hassan Sh. Mohamoud should fire his Press Secretary for good and even his House Comptroller forever. And the basis for their fire is simply incompetence and carelessness.

This week the country was surprised by the rumor that the president has died or at least hospitalized for paralysis in Turkey. Even though the malign was down right harmful, it was perhaps transmitted by some mischievous people who have direct links to president’s camp. Through an enemy the president kept closer, the gossip managed to instill fear and uncertainty in Villa Somalia.

Admittedly, whether the rumor was true or not, it revealed many stories that the country was deprived of. The first thing the country knows today is that the president has lost control of Villa Somalia, and that his aids are not trustworthy. This is so because if they managed to nail the president’s coffin alive, they can foresee his demise. That is why he should fire them from the group. And while doing it, he should have no mercy on them.

The second thing the rumor relived is that the president is contemplating on a move to give up his position as president. The president himself explained this unconsciously. When he was denying the allegations, he said that the trip was to visit his family. Seriously, the public did not know this. However, this issue poses many speculative questions. Why did the president move his family to Turkey? Has he given up the hope that he stood for? Is he showing us his tendency toward being a European classic? I am leaving the answer to the public.

The third issue that the rumor revealed was to do with his personality. The rumor was indeed a political bite. And the intention was to irritate him for a chance to cry out, which indeed he did. Put differently, the plotters were trying to find out his weaknesses for their own benefit. It was a trap to drag the president out of his comfort zone. They wanted to have him cook and make mistakes, hung himself in public. The president made a long-distance outcry.

And although he was hoping to prove the plotters wrong, the notion to having him dismiss the allegations was the worst choice. Instead of managing the crisis tactfully, the president lost mind and allowed himself to appear on court. In other words, the Press Secretary hid himself in the crowd, forcing the president to deny the allegations himself. This was not good politics. A dirt-taker should have handled the situation.

Another better option for dealing with such an issue was to belittle it in total. In fact, they say that people should not believe everything in politics until it has been officially denied. In addition, if it has to be denied, his Press Secretary should have briefed the nation about the health status of the president. In fact, they should have made efforts to ensuring that the president be seen live by the public. They should have had the president televised from Turkey.

By the way, this is normal and expectable in politics. It should have come as no surprise that politics is a game of deceit and manipulation. That it is a game of destroying the morale of your enemy and his forces. And the smarter the deceit, the duller the counterattack. Whenever the attack looks looming and unstoppable, the best strategy is to do nothing. In fact, by doing nothing, the enemy will panic and make another move which will reveal the previous move, leading the latter to failure.

The last question for the president is this: does he have any idea who did this deadly rumor? While it is hard to figure out the orchestrator, one thing is clear. The doer is from within. An enemy might be living in Villa Somalia. Whether he knows them or not, he should make a bold move to clean off Villa Somalia. This is the only way he can keep away from those who want to dislodge him.

Bashir Ashkir Musse

Managing Director of Somali Academy for Managmenet

[email protected]

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