Second to Iqi Oil for Food

By Dr.Yusuf O. Al-Azhari

Ominous Scandal of high technical corruption Allegation in the International agencies around the world seems to have been allegedly the practice for the last fifty years of the last century. Despite it started in unsuspicious miniature way in the beginning as time progressed, it developed with the advancement of world modernized system of pilfering which spared no ethical norms known to man kind. The failure to achieve any commendable prestige in most of the countries where these agencies are assigned shades doubt on the seriousness and viability of their activities. Most of the failure obviously occurred in their interventions in the Africa continent where they have even been accused allegedly of looting and rape as the case was in the Congo.

The world recalls the havoc episode of the Iraqi’s, Oil For Food scandal caused in the International circles when those who seemingly introduced the idea out of passion and good judgment to ease the suffering of the displaced, were the first to be shamed by those they employed who allegedly filch the largest portion of the steak. Thus inflicting great economic disaster mainly on the most deprived sector of the needy Iraqi community they came to assist. While the comparison of the two events in Iraq and Somalia is relative because Somalia has no oil to exchange for food, yet the alleged damage scandal in Somalia is more outrageous than that of sharing rich countries resources.

The generosity of the International Community towards the desperate Somali people after the collapse of their government in 1991, spearheaded by the United States of America whose President George Bush the father rushed with great passion and noble human premonition, doubtlessly in genuine intentions, was the first head of State to visit Somalia at its hour of need, to witness the gravity of the situation and without reservation extended all possible assistance to the perilous displaced Somali community who were at the time under the merciless soared of the War Lords. Somalis will never forget this premonition humane intuition of the United States Government and its then President whose Armed Forces opened blocked impassable roads to enable desperately needed food to reach thousands of starving Somali peasants. Despite the genuine Intentions, its ending in an agonizing disastrous, unforgettable torment was unfortunate. Yet the primary good will notions were highly commendable.

The UN Secretary General on his part darted the establishment of its Agency to assist the hundreds of thousands displaced people with promptness and good will. High ranking experienced experts were amalgamated from round the world. But the situation in Somalia was different from any of those the experts had experienced and needed different insight to tackle the cataclysm event. From the start the high ranking officials of the

Agency employed the wrong advisors who mislead them throughout the course to their egocentric advantage rather than to those who needed the assistance. This delusion
derailed the genuine intentions of the Organization.

It was only when the entire authority was mandated over to UNISOM and its cunning advisors, being awarded free hand without any strict check and balance, the mal administration and misuse of the donations, meant to alleviate the sufferings of the desperate people was allegedly out of control and misappropriated. Consequently those allegations and the entrenching power of the insurgents exasperated the total collapse of UNISOM to an end in Somalia, without salvaging the displaced lives of hundreds of thousands of weak elderly people and children probably most of them dead.

After nearly twenty years of the Iraqi syndrome, history repeats itself in a much suave inhuman tragic demeanor, to a Nation which is not only the poorest on earth but lacks the most direly required element of Statehood. It has been speculated that since the collapse of UNISOME in Somalia, the world body who’s Secretary General Butrus Butrus Ghali was the victim of this brazen scandal among other allegations that ended his re-election, has been drastically shaken up and reformed to better management.

Once again under the new reform, affluent Nations of the world rushed contributions in a colossal generosity from their tax payer funds to assuage the tribulation of the Somali people in good faith. However, it did not last long to witness again the same allegation that those entrusted with the salvation program to be accused of pilfering the donations in the most sophisticated technique that refuses any human sympathy. Justifications of all sorts with allegedly falsified documents were presented to verify genuine expenditures counter signed by indigenous get rich quick brazen Somalis.

In most instances two third of the committed fund or commodities did not reach the intended destinations but rather was alleged to have been high jacked by middlemen. It was also alleged that to gain favor from the extremist Al Shabab and terror groups, substantial portion of the aid was chopped to their benefit. All these allegations are now being investigated by experts Mandated by the UN, in a fact finding prop to either substantiate these accusations or nullify them.

The implications that the aid is misused for other purposes than the one it was meant for, prompted the total stoppage of the assistance by the donors. This is direly needed food aid by the unfortunate displaced million Somalis who have no other alternative but to starve to death if they don’t get it.

It is morally inappropriate by the International Communities to starve these innocent needy Somali people for crimes or political games that they are not a party to. It is humanly and ethically the responsibility of the donor countries to find an urgent solution to this catastrophic conundrum before it turns to an unintended fatal genocide crime.

It is high time that the five permanent member States of the Security Council, who are portrait to be the moral pillars of the UN, learn lessons from the past disgraceful failure of the International Agencies, which seriously tarnished the noble image of the UN, by some of its greedy employees. They should auspiciously under take strict observation on how to modify the moral ethic of employment procedure, pursued in selecting those who are entrusted with these vital life saving projects. If soon remedy is not found it may end up with the loss of confidence of the world Nations, to have any future hope on the viability of such assistances.

Dr. Yusuf O. Al-Azhari
Email:geeska23@23yahoo.com

The writer is veteran civil servant and career diplomat.