WDM EDITORIAL
You don’t go to visit a foreign country and start negotiations at the top as a Head of State or Head of Government. Instead, you send diplomats and subject-matter experts upfront to prepare and negotiate on behalf of your government. Then, the head of your government goes there for photo opportunity and signing ceremony. The 2nd option is to select respective teams to work out together the details of possible agreement upon arrival of the delegation for signature and joint press briefing by the heads of State or Heads of government. That is how it works and President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud should abandon amateur foreign visits and adequately prepare before he leaps into diplomatic fiasco. Look at what had happened in Uganda only yesterday, with two Heads of State negotiating and washing their dirty linens in Public.
What is amazing to note here is that Mohamud and Museveni press briefing was about military and security situation in Somalia, an issue that should be kept close to chest. This is good news for the extremists and enemies of Somali peace and stability monitoring Mohamud’s hasty foreign adventures. To President Mohamud: If you are unable to learn and grow, don’t try to lead.
Watch: https://youtu.be/5x22ct9PFNg.
Postscript
Here we go again. Look carefully at this photo. President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud meeting with US Defence Secretary Austin. On the Somali side, who is attending? His Chief of Staff and rightly the Somali Ambassador to Washington. But, what has happened to Mohamud’s security and military personnel? A Somali cameraman is out of place in this meeting. He shouldn’t be there. Mohamud is either doing these diplomatic and protocol irregularities intentionally, or he is damn inert to learn the art of diplomacy and statecraft. Why isn’t there the Somali Foreign Minister?
