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The “Historic Sins” of Colonialism in Somalia https://doi.org/10.31920/2056-5682/2019/v6n1a1
Ali Mumin Ahad9
My purpose in this article is to assess the impact of Somalia‘s 4.5 power sharing formula on the consolidation of national post-conflict governance in the hands of a representative Somali body. Per the Arta Peace Agreement, seats in parliament are awarded to the four major clans, which also dominate the election process. This has led to the perpetuation of many of the same social (clan) dynamics that lead to conflict in the past. Even though the 4.5 formula is not part of the Somali constitution adopted in 2012, the 2017 presidential elections were primarily derived from the formula. Although the goal was to move towards a one-man one-vote system, the use of the 4.5 formula in the 2017 elections signifies a struggle which mostly stems from the lack of physical security or resistance to limit the influence clan has in the election process. This article will argue that clan influence is likely to remain a challenge for Somalia‘s transition to democracy until a civilian-based voting system is put into place.
There is credible evidence in the literature on the prominence of English language as the most popular global medium. The manifold of roles it assumes in international trade, and its dominance in the global financial and business transactions, testify to the dominance of the British colonial legacy across the universe. Moreover, the enduring nature of the imperial culture, particularly its influence in the world academic arena, its ubiquity in the sphere of global cultural and commercial exchanges as well as in the advancement of science and technology worldwide provides testimony to the potential of the sway which Britain‘s colonial expedition and exploitation has impacted on the entire world, directly and indirectly. To posit it more bluntly, the legacy of the cultural tension is nowhere more evident than in the newly independent nations which, after liberation and departure of colonial rule, could not pursue an indigenously- focused language policy and planning (LPP) strategy alternative to the colonial medium. That is why immediately after decolonization language policy and language planning (LPLP) became among the most debated postcolonial impasses in sub-Saharan Africa. With the exception of very few, most sub- Saharan countries are still staggering with the problem-maintaining the language of the former colonial ruler in the academia and national bureaucracy-with no unilateral solution to rid of it. In light of such reality, this study aims to augment the scant studies previously carried out on ESL/EFL and English language education in Somalia. It examines the perceptions of educational administrators and policymakers on matters related to language policy and education in the learning institutions. In specific terms, the current study enriches earlier studies on the perceptions of students on learning ESL/EFL (Eno 2017), ESL/EFL motivation (Eno et al. 2018) and a later essay on teachers‘ perceptions of the challenges of ESL/EFL education (Eno 2018).
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