Yusuf Garaad
Idea And Analysis
Thursday, 4 January 2018
Response To My Dismissal
If you are reading this article to get an information that injures the government or national leaders, please stop here.
Since you continued with the reading, I see that you want to know my feelings.
Last night, I and the government minister have discussed a task that the Prime minister assigned me to present before the cabinet/Council of Ministers and today, Thursday, January 4, 2018, someone who called me in the morning from America told me that I was dismissed.
Then I called the Minister of Information to confirm it from him and asked whether that news has been aired on the national news channel and he confirmed it for me. Although I called him, it was not possible for me and the Prime Minister to talk, as I am writing these paragraphs.
I remember that the President told me once that we will complete the four years together. I took it as a good faith but didn’t believe it. And I never thought that he intended not to tell me the truth. But I knew that it will probably not be possible.
First of all, I fully accepted this post that I was dismissed from which I was holding for the nation.
Secondly, I thank the President of Somalia Mr Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed and the Prime Minister Hassan Ali Kheyre for selecting me from the whole of Somalia on March 2017 without me asking anyone of them to do so and then nominating me to the post of Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Corporation of the country, and then I became a minister for foreign affairs who is not called out of the country but appointed to work for the government while he is in the city.
It is a great respect, priority, honour and trust. I am thankful.
I also thank them for the cooperation and respect I received from them during my time in the office.
Although I was a man known by many Somalis and was Somalia’s Ambassador to the United Nations Office in New York, Neither did I work with the President nor the Prime Minister before 2017. Therefore, I thank the friends who convinced them to select me for the post because of the confidence and trust they had in my knowledge, experience and honesty. I even thank those who might not like my nomination and were able to block it but didn’t do so.
I thank so much the members of parliament who approved the appointment of Council of Ministers whom I was a member. I thank the two Houses and their foreign affairs committees for the cooperation and respectful accountability during my time in the office. I also thank the two responsible Speakers of the two Houses whom I have a lot of respect and consider their experiences, for the support they gave me to fulfil my responsibilities.
I can’t forget ambassadors, diplomats and all the staff of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation who are fulfilling their national responsibilities with honesty. They are Somali army scattered inside and outside the country who are not armed with guns and ammunition but with their pens, knowledge and their hard heart to defend the interest of their people and country but mostly don’t get the honour they deserve from the country.
I thank the government Minister Abdulqadir Ahmed Kheyr and the Assistant Minister for the good cooperation based on clean trust, respect and honour.
I would also thank the Council of Ministers with whom there was cooperation and respect.
I can’t forget the self-sacrificing youth who are members of the government forces and were responsible for my security day and night, whether I was sleeping or awake. I remember when the reality came and there was a heavy explosion at a place not far from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 14th October, one of the boys (security officers) died in the explosion and I suffered a minor injury and was shedding blood and there was no vehicle that could move. The security officers worked and managed to get me and two other Ministers who were my guest, out of the ministry by foot.
All those I mentioned, from the President to the security officers who were guarding me, none of them is without weakness. And I believe that they have the same responsibilities and have the same objective. And that is to work, to the best of their ability, to make sure that every Somali gets peace and dignity and lives a better life.
I pray to God to make us achieve this goal. And I request from the honourable people of Somalia to support the leaders, government officials and the army to serve the nation.
The above is a letter written by Yussuf Garad, the immediate former Minister of Somali Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. The patriotic Garad requested forgiveness from any citizen whom he was responsible for but didn’t manage to serve, for the sake of Allah.
