As Ghana celebrates its 50th anniversary of Independence, countries across the continent are looking back on their own post-colonial history. For Somaliland in the Horn of Africa, the Independence dream lasted for just five days.

Somaliland? You may well not have heard of it, embedded as it is within the internationally recognised boundaries of the troubled Somalia, and lumped together by African and world opinion as part of that hot-spot of volatility. But with a population of some 3.5 million and a land area of 68,000 square miles, it is larger than many African nations - more than twice the size of Togo, for example. It issues its own passports, has its own currency, and has a growing economy and tourism industry.

After seceding from Somalia in 1991, Somaliland has seen three democratic exchanges of power and now holds itself up as an example of democracy at work in Africa. It is, according to Abdillahi Mohamed Duale, the Somaliland Foreign Minister, the hope of the Horn of Africa.

The irony is that for most of the world, Somaliland does not exist.

History

The background to Somaliland's status is a complicated one. On July 26, 1960 British Somaliland, a British protectorate, announced its Independence. When the former Italian Somaliland became independent on July 1, 1960 the two new countries declared a merger, in the name of a Greater Somalia, which would encompass all Somali-speaking people.

This conglomerate state would include former Italian Somaliland, the former French trusteeship, Region Five of Ethiopia (then called Ogaden) and the Somali region of Kenya. Somalia"s five star flag represents this idea of a unity of Somali peoples, and the constitution of the new country even enshrined the dream, stating its intention to use "all available means,” even force, to realise Somali-unity ambition.

But: “That dream was never materialised; and in fact it became an affirmer to the instability of the entire region,” as Mr Duale explains. “The idea of uniting all the Somalis laid the foundation for destruction and destabilisation;” a destruction which included two major wars with Ethiopia, in 1964 and 1977, and low intensity wars with Kenya for a number of years.

When French Somaliland gained its independence from France in 1977 to become Djibouti, the idea of Somalian unity had already been destroyed. Subsequent civil strife saw Somaliland “completely destroyed by the former regime” according to Mr Duale – including the bombing of its capital, Hargeisa, in 1988. “People were tortured, people were raped – all the evil things that could have happened,” he says. “It was genocide – e very day there were new mass-graves – and after the bombing I thought, 'how could you do this to your own people?’” 60,000 are thought to have died, whilst over one million were exiled from the country. Somaliland now has one of the biggest Diasporas, proportional to its internal population, of any African country, and remittances exceed $700,000 a year.

Peace and nation-building

Thus in 1991, after the defeat of Mohamed Said Barre, Somalia’s long-standing dictator, Somaliland reclaimed its earlier sovereignty and determined to go its own separate way – the “union” had not worked out.

“We had been underdeveloped for quite a long time,” says the Foreign Minister. The country had no universities, no television, and no development projects. “On top of that, our people had been killed, our cities had been destroyed.”

Remarkably in a region so troubled elsewhere, the process of nation-building in Somaliland has been a successful one. In 1991, a conference of elders was held, representing all the clans in Somaliland, and in which, “the whole fabric of the society came together, including those who were fighting,” says Mr Duale. He talks of a “healing process through inclusiveness. Through bringing everyone into the forum and saying, ‘Let us go forward and – period. Forget about the past and let us think about the future generations’.”

“There was nothing like the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of South Africa – we just forgave and moved on.” Civil society, political, military and traditional leaders reached consensus on the way forward, and the unity has continued – something the Foreign Minister ascribes in part to the legacy of British colonial rule in the area.

The British policy of indirect rule in its protectorates, working through existing chiefs, sultans and religious leaders, meant that Somaliland survived its colonial era with these structures virtually intact. Its Italian-governed cousins across the border, however, have been struggling with a society now devoid of these networks – the result has been constant conflict, bloodshed and a reversion to the “culture of warlordism”.

The Somaliland Foreign Minister spoke frankly about the situation in Somalia, and his frustration with peace and reconciliation efforts. “Billions of dollars have been spent on Somalia, but all to no avail,” he said. “I’m afraid it is a waste and that sooner or later, the international community will simply get fatigue and give up,” on the apparently interminable conflict.

For Somaliland, meanwhile, the immediate focus post-1991 has been to establish systems of government and make up for several decades of unrest and neglect. In 2001, a referendum was held, in which 97 percent of voters reaffirmed the country’s sovereignty. Now, Government is “the caretaker of the will of the people,” as Mr Duale puts it. The first local government elections were held in December 2002, with presidential elections in April 2003 and parliamentary elections in September 2003. All were witnessed by international observers, and declared free and fair.

Recognise us!

“Once we had put our house in order, it became of paramount importance that we seek and push the issue of recognition,” the Foreign Minister continued. As well as visiting Ghana to celebrate the 50th anniversary of independence in this nation, Mr Duale and President Dahir Rayale Kahin will also take the opportunity to meet with President John Agyekum Kufuor and others, to discuss this issue of nationhood. Somaliland already has offices in Kenya, Ethiopia and South Africa, and is looking into making Ghana its base for West Africa.

Within the Horn of Africa, Somaliland has already established a “fantastic” relationship, in Mr Duale’s words, with Ethiopia and strong links with Kenya and Djibouti. Although instability in its neighbouring Somalia has a knock-on effect across the region, with Somaliland receiving many more refugees from the latest Mogadishu fall-out, and issues of illegal arms, contraband and bandits constantly plaguing the borders, Somaliland is trying to redress that balance by setting an example of peaceful reconciliation. Mr Duale hopes Somaliland and Somalia may be able to foster friendly ties and cooperation in the future, and hopes for a lasting solution to the ongoing problems.

The wider African community is also taking an interest in the Somaliland cause. Following repeated invitations from the government of Somaliland, the African Union is also now taking an interest in the ‘nation’s’ cause. In 2005, an AU fact-finding mission was sent to Somaliland: “The AU could not hide the progress we were making, and the conclusion was that our case cannot be ignored,” says Mr Duale. As the AU report notes, “The message was the same at every place: ‘The irreversible independence of Somaliland; the irreversible sovereignty of Somaliland; no return to the Union with Somalia; the quest for recognition form the AI and the international community’.”

The Mission found that, “Since its declaration of independence in 1991, Somaliland has been steadfastedly laying the foundations of a democratic state.” It noted the plethora of problems facing the country, including the damaging legacy of its union with Somalia, and “the lack of recognition ties the hands of the authorities and people of Somaliland as they cannot effectively and sustainably transact with the outside to pursue the reconstruction and development goals.”

At the last African Union summit held in Addis Ababa, the issue of recognition was raised at the conference of foreign ministers, by the Rwandan representative. Although the issue was not on the agenda, it was discussed for some 15 minutes, says Mr Duale – who was encouraged by the sympathy of his colleagues. A further fact-finding mission is now to be carried out on the issue of Somaliland’s application for recognition, to the next AU summit held in Accra this July.

Africa (and Ghana) at 50

For Somaliland, the journey since its independence has been a rocky one – almost half a century since its five days of freedom, it is once again making a case for its sovereignty in the eyes of the world. How has it faired compared to the rest of the continent?

Interestingly, many Africans use Ghana as a benchmark of their own fates and achievements, says Mr Duale, because of its status as the continent’s first independent nation.

“Ghana played a very significant role. The ideas that were coming out of Ghana in those days from the late (God bless his soul) Kwame Nkrumah, were a sense of hope, of liberation, in the African context, and also in the African American context,” he said – pointing to the civil rights leader Martin Luther King’s visit to Ghana and the inspiration he drew from it.

Mr Duale compared the dream of a united, Greater Somalia to Nkrumah’s dream of a united Africa: both, during the intervening years, have fallen to dust. “What has happened from 1957 until today is a completely different experience… We have had our ups and downs as a continent as a state – but there is a great deal of lessons to be learnt, and we must envision the way forward. What will happen in another 50 years?”

For Somaliland as for countries across Africa, the half-century anniversary of the first wave of independence is a time of sombre reflection. 50 years ago, parts of Africa were more advanced than countries in South-East Asia; today the so-called ‘Asian Tigers’ of Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and the rest have left the continent behind.

But there is hope and progressiveness, says Mr Duale, pointing to the South African experience as an inspiration to the rest of the continent, and the opportunity nations now have to look back on their history – and learn from their mistakes.

Of course, many of Africa’s problems have not been internally-generated, and Mr Duale pointed in particular to the Cold War as a key source of continental instability – with the East and the West fighting out their decades-long stand-off on African soil, with little regard for the people over whom they haggled. “The competition of these two ideologies had a very negative impact. Both super powers sought only their own interest. At the end of the day, both of them cared less with regard to the future of the countries. “Unfortunately, a lot of our dictators stayed in power too long, simply because they were what someone was keeping there.”

Today, there are trouble spots, but there are also bright ones, he says. “What I see in Ghana is very promising. Over the years, Ghana has learnt to learn.” Mr Duale praised President Kufuor for his adherence to the country’s constitution – relinquishing power at the end of his second term in 2008, as competition for his succession continues to heat up. “Respect for institutions of democracy is so important, and I think that others will follow suit.”

Like many others, Somaliland sees Ghana as a symbol of liberation and progress: let us work so that in another 50 years, we have not let them down.