The Horn Of Africa States: Somalia Errs Again In Staying In The EAC – OpEd
Somalia erred by joining the East Africa Community (Read my article: How Somalia Erred Joining the EAC dated November 26, 2023, in Eurasiareview.com) and it still errs staying in that regional block, to which it does not really belong. In brief, the EAC is a Swahili world consisting of now eight countries including Somalia. It dates back to 1967 collapsing in 1977 only to be resurrected in 2000. Its main objective is to organize economic, political, social and cultural integration of the mostly Swahili world member states.
Somalia shares very little with the other seven countries, which therefore, renders it the odd country out. They are all Swahili speaking, Christian by faith and all contain diverse populations individually. Somalia is populated by Somalis, which is a distinct group from the rest of the populations of the EAC member states except for Kenya, where a significant Somali population lives. Somalia is the only homogenous country of the group populated by one people with one language and one faith and one culture. Using a foreign language like English cannot be a solution for such a diverse group of peoples, as some propose and Swahili is likely to be the lingua franca of the group, which then is a major disadvantage for Somalia and Somalis.
The EAC is a fairly well established institution and Somalia did not participate in the discussions leading to the major resolutions preceding its entry into the group. Many of these resolutions........
