Commentary By Leo Odera Omolo.
It is now close to one month ever since the government and military bosses plus strategists made a big blunder and sent our young men and women to fight to perhaps end the menace of the Islamists terrorists members of the al-qaeda backed Al-Shabaab.
The decision was made in hasty way following the terrorists’ raids into Kenya’s coastal region of Lamu where the al-shababs had succeeded in kidnapping two tourists,
Off course I am not trying to play down the importance of tourist industry in this country and its significance contribution to the country’s economy. However such decision should have been taken long ago. But we waited for too long and only came out with half-hearted action when the lives of two eccentric old foreign families came under attack.
May be our government acted at the behest of a third party, which could be one foreign power, but our big men in Nairobi did not foresaw the enormous costs of such military incursion in an ungovernable neighboring territory, its costs in terms of man power and equipments, and see to it that such military operations does not augur well with our permanently ailing national economy cannot sustain military operation in a foreign land.
It has since degenerated into nightmarish, and what other military experts have since described as “Never Win War”, Kenya’s porous frontiers {borders} makes it nearly impossible for our forces to whip out the Al-Shabaab. Already there are signs that members of the Al-Shabaab who have been routed out of their hideout inside Somalia have sneaked back into Kenya and were not operating behind our military lines, planting land mines blasting our military vehicles and killing our policemen inside Kenya.
The Al-Shabaab outfit appeared to have infiltrated deep into Kenya territory perhaps with help and assistance of Kenyan community of Somalis origin living in the North East Province. Some members of Al-Shabaab could even be operating inside Kenya. And the war in Somalia is almost turning nasty and bloody urban guerrilla warfare.
It could have been wise for Kenyan military strategists to launch a massive security dragnet within our borders and ensure that no unidentified foreign infiltrators were allowed into the country and even keep our border close should the need be arise instead of sending our young men to go and fight a phantom war.
Given their ability to infiltrate, the Al-Shabaab could make our country bleed to death. So far our country has already suffered casualties in terms unspecified loss of men, military aircraft and very expensive equipment. It is a war without justified causes and we are not even sure of what our country is aiming at to achieve in this expensive exercise.
The militarily much mightier nation like the United States of America once dispatched a contingent f its military team to Somalia. But quickly pulled out after bloodbath in Mogadishu and left the country in huff. One may be left to wonder if a militarily dwarf country like Kenya could succeed where the American have failed. It is pipe dream t think so.
Kenya has nothing at stake in Somaia. The government should pull our dedicated and patriotic soldiers and only engaged them in massive border patrolling so that they can the terrorist at bay and stop them from infiltrating into our country.
We should learn good lessons from other African nations. Each an every year these countries meet at an annual forum of the African Union{AU} always made pledges to send their troops to be part of the peace-keeping force in Somalia, but none of the promises has ever been fulfilled.
Another issue which I should like to draw the attention of Kenyans about is the rapidly increasing influence of people of Somali origins in key positions decision making within the government and quasi-government organization such as parastatals, public commissions as well as in the military and security system. And yet these people re well known to be of questionable loyalties ever since they waged the bloody Shifta War of the early 1960s and thereafter independence in 1963.he government should think twice before placing the Somalis in position of trust in its system.
The fact that Al-Shabaab could sneak easily into Kenya and plant landmines and bombs in Somalis inhabited towns like Wajir,Garrisa, Lagdera and other places in the North East Province is a clear testimony.
The people of Somalis origins belonged to one tribe and speak the same language, but could not agree on the kin of government they want in their own country, making the Horn of Africa nation become ungovernable state. How do we trust people to be meaning well for Kenya and its people? The Somalis are people of short tempers that is why they butchering each other. Most o their wars re based on clannish disagreement based on petty and insignificant issues.
I have been carefully watching some of the arguments put up on various issues of national importance in this country and I can predict it with much accuracy that the likely wood of Somalis importing their culture of political insanity which is full of temperamental and lousiness agitations, we may not be far away from, joining the kind of political instability we are now witnessing in Somalia.
To crown it all, I say Kenya should free from the influence of Somalis at bay if it want to survive.
”Long Live Kenya”
Ends