By Steve Onyeiwu
To say that Nigerian governors are obsessed with Dubai is an understatement; they are
chronically infatuated by it. As we enter election season, with its
entertaining and melodramatic defections saga, you’ll hear the governors and
governorship aspirants promise they would turn their mostly impoverished states
into a Dubai.
Even governors who have not paid workers’ salaries and pensions for several
months would be telling their hapless electorates they’ll not have to travel to
Dubai anymore, for their own Dubai will be right at their doorsteps after
the elections. The governors’ obsession with Dubai might make sense on its face value.
Afterall, who wouldn’t want to relish in the posh malls of Dubai, with their indoor
ski slopes? Who wouldn’t want to bask in the pristine and romantic beaches of Dubai, while feeling the succulent freeze from the Persian Gulf? Who wouldn’t want to have dinner on one of
the several cruise ships on the shores of Dubai Skylines? Who wouldn’t want to
go gold-shopping at the famous Dubai
gold souk?
Somaliland’s hybrid system of tri-party democracy and traditional clan-based governance has enabled the consolidation of state-like authority, social and economic recovery and, above all, relative peace and security but now needs reform. Success has brought greater resources, including a special funding status with donors – especially the UK, Denmark and the European Union (EU) – as well as investment from and diplomatic ties with Turkey and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), though not international recognition. It is increasingly part of the regional system; ties are especially strong with Ethiopia and Djibouti. Given the continued fragility of the Somalia Federal Government (SFG), which still rejects its former northern region’s independence claims, and civil war across the Gulf of Aden in Yemen, Somaliland’s continued stability is vital. This in turn requires political reforms aimed at greater inclusion, respect for mediating institutions (especially the professional judiciary and parliament) and a regional and wider internationally backed framework for external cooperation and engagement.
CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL REPORT
Afterall, who wouldn’t want to relish in the posh malls of 
