Abdi ismail samatar biography of alberta

In his viewpoint, everything was bad in Somalia sinceexcept Aden Adde and Abdirizak. Samatar is not a political philosopher, much less well versed in the importance of political power positions in the African politics. Probably because of the mental confusion, it is not uncommon to see a Somali with physiotherapy background teaching photoecology.

For instance, Samatar is neither a historian nor an anthropologist. He is a geographer and therefore unqualified to write a biography. This does not imply that the book is a biography rather than a hagiography. Nor is it even a tribute or an extended obituary of Adden Adde and Abdirizak. Basically, it is a political book. Tellingly, Samatar is a former apologist for the Siad Barre regime.

After that regime was ignominiously overthrown, he began to romanticise the post-colonial period to counter the much appealing Somaliland narrative that Somalia had never become a unified state other than contesting clan fiefdoms. Sadly, the post-colonial Somalia did not produce a transformative leader at par with Nkrumah or Nyerere who would have come up with a new original political philosophy to transfigure the Somali clans into nationhood and statehood.

These mutual aspects of their formative lives influenced their outlook towards each other and toward Somalis, an important fact that Samatar evades highlighting as he attempts to universalise their political struggle. Aden Adde and Abdirizak were two men who obviously liked each other, defended each other vigorously, talked fondly about each other, spoke highly of each other, but were defeated together and buried next to each other.

Aden Adde and Abdirizak were depicted as somewhat exceptional in a sea full of wolves, even remarkable exceptions to what was the rule in post-colonial Somali politics. Faced with clannism and corruption, Aden Adde and Abdirizak managed to control their interests to make a difference in the post-colonial state system. But they had their own share of the blame, a share that Samatar fails to notice, let alone note down.

The speaker, Ahmed Mohamed Absiiyeh, had an initial argument with Abdirizak over his suitability for prime minister. This is not a mindboggling question that legal historians would have difficulty to find an answer. Yet, again, Samatar fails to follow the action carried out by state actors. With the ouster of the speaker, Aden Adde and Abdirizak made Somalia a one-party state.

From there onwards, they managed to own the parliament. Even though Samatar argues Aden Adde and Abdirizak were puritanical political players with a high moral ground, considering them men bereft of corruption, his book contains evidence that contradicts his claims. Abdirizak also appointed other former ministers whom he had accused earlier of involvement in corruption into his cabinet.

Abdirizak freely admitted involvement in corruption in the presidential election. It is striking that Abdirizak blamed the Abdirashid-Egaal administration for corrupting the civil service, a slander he himself had committed earlier. Why had Aden Adde, more often than not, acted an admirer of the Italian colonial state system? Why had both men served colonial servants?

How could Abdirizak blame his opponents — like Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke — for state exploitation when he himself had exploited the banking loan system in Banca di Credito? How did Abdirizak obtain a seaside mansion overlooking the Liido beach p. Obviously, more questions arise than answers. Samatar twice repetitiously uses the same quotation from Africa Report in November to stress his point that Abdirizak was a tireless and hardworking man see p.

He reports that Abdirizak demanded right men for the right positions, but the question that begs an answer is: was Abdirizak himself the right man for the post of the PM? This is an important question, given that Abdirizak had never attended a school.

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The Dalka editor, Yusuf Dhuhul, would go even further by saying he was merely a sergeant in British colonial service. Interestingly, Samatar does refer to Dhuhul when he affirms an argument amenable to Abdirizak, but ignores when he disapproves his claims. No voice is given from the interviewees cited in the endnote. One finds Abdullahi Insaaniya being referred to, but nowhere are his expressions and perspectives directly quoted p.

Aden Adde and Abdirizak are framed as prophets with whatever they said standing the factual truth that no other truth can compete with. However, Samatar focuses more on Abdirizak than on Aden Adde, while directly referring more to the latter than to the former. The lack of critical appraisal reveals a practical problem, partly proving the perils of when one who is not a historian seeks to write a historical work.

How can Samatar confirm that the art of remembrance at an advanced age could come with precision? Again, if Samatar was a historian, he might not have been guided by the opinion of one individual, but he might have possibly presented other opinions. One concrete methodological mistake is that Samatar describes what the diary says but he does not tell what it is not telling.

At one time, Aden Adde praises the parliament p. This shifting emotions should have been explored and examined. Unfortunately, Samatar could not consult other crucial contemporaneous data due to the lack of Italian proficiency. There was an article published in Corriere della Somalia in which Aden Adde attacked the northern nationalists in Decemberbarely six months before the unification.

There are also some crucial silences over the close friendship Samatar had forged with Abdirizak.

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He did not mention that he was so attached to the former prime minister in that when he died inSamatar travelled with his body. Reviewing my own book, the Dutch author Lidwien Kapteijns has recently insinuated that the first not the last thing to check in a book is the grammar rather than the content. This is what happens when publishers fail to edit books; the problem leads to numerous unclear points, which any author would not wish to notice later.

He uses first names, sometimes second or third names to describe Somalis, employing both Somalised and Anglicised forms: For example, Cumar Siyaad p. Selected works [ edit ]. References [ edit ]. August 21, Retrieved April 16, University of Minnesota. Crescent International. University of Minnesota, September 4, May 27, Macalester College, International Studies and Programming.

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Radio Dalsan. Retrieved June 10, Authority control databases. Categories : American foreign policy writers Somalian non-fiction writers Somalists births Living people Foreign policy writers Somalian educators Somalian historians 21st-century American geographers American people of Somali descent University of Minnesota faculty University of Wisconsin—La Crosse alumni Iowa State University alumni University of California, Berkeley alumni 20th-century Somalian writers 21st-century Somalian people 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male writers 20th-century geographers 21st-century geographers 20th-century American educators 21st-century American educators 20th-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers American male non-fiction writers People from Maroodi Jeex Gadabuursi Fellows of the African Academy of Sciences.

In —, take steps also served as the President epitome the African Studies Association. On January 30 he was appointed to leader cancel out the election commission to oversee justness integrity of the Somalia presidential elections that were held 8 February Personal life Samatar was born in bolster Gabiley in Somaliland. Osman and Abdirazak H. Samatar, Abdi, Heinemann, Samatar, Abdi, Initiator, Samatar, Abdi, Author, Editorial of Somali Reconciliation.

Samatar, Abdi, Ahmed Samatar,