Foreign policy and how foreign leaders act on the world stage and in their private lives affect and influence third-world countries' leaders. For instance, when Kim Jong Un of north korea demonstrated his protection style by having several men jog around his car as he was moving, many copied the style, including Prime Minister Kheyre.
When President Trump came to power, his daughter Ivanka Trump was among the people who most benefited from his presidency. She was a senior advisor in his administration and the director of the Office of economic initiatives and Entrepreneurship. But, of course, she didn't become a senior advisor to a sitting president because of qualifications; she got the job because her father was the President; moreover, in some cases, she would appear standing next to the President in top priority tasks that would surprise many critics and the media yet the people of America -leader of democracy and the free world -accepted this fact. Furthermore, President Biden is under fire for the press accusation concerning his son.
Today, in Somalia, we have Jihan Hassan, the daughter of the President, dwelling in the realms of the top echelon of the Somali political market. Naturally, many criticize President Hassan Sheikh and accuse him of nepotism with no clear agenda, but for the sake of argument, let me analyze the issue from my point of view. Ok, Can the President appoint his daughter to any post within the government? The logical answer is yes. Now that we have an agreement that he can nominate her, the question follows, where would I put my daughter as a father with all the power in the government? The logical answer is wherever she wants. And the justification for doing so comes from the country's leaders leading the democracy and the free world—the united states of America. If Trump and Ivanka could do it in a democratic country, we are no different.
I admire Jihan for having an ambition and going through with it. However, the reality of her employment should be different from the focus. Instead, what progress is she bringing to the table? What kind of leadership is she showing young Somali girls? Is she a role model or just a president's daughter with good luck? Questions like these are on the minds of those who care about the country and its leadership. We are witnessing the increase and the encouragement of women's leadership in all aspects. Even Kim jong un has shown signs of his intentions to groom his daughter to succeed him and assume power.
To sum up, we should drop the notion of her employment and give her time to succeed or fail. Besides, like I said, if an American leader did it, what do you think of an African leader? So it's best we drop this issue and move on. As for her, we wish her good luck and advise her to take advantage of the network and the platform bestowed upon her and influence young Somali girls to become tomorrow's leaders.
Salman Hassan Haji, Ph.D.
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