Every
leader, every minster and every institution of modern governance has many
advisors. These advisors hold different roles and responsibilities in the
government ranging from bag carriers and door openers to being at the centre of
the government’s policy and decision-making. Their appointment is patronage and
not open to all thus, ministers or leaders choose their close friends or people
who helped them win and maintain office as advisors to reward for their
support. Advisors act as proxies for their respective ministers or bosses by
attending meetings, preparing documents and even hearing representations. Some
are more powerful than others are and some are more close to the leaders thus,
more influential in decision-making and policy settings. Karl Rove, for
example, was known as the brain of President George W Bush while Farah
Abdul-Kadir was known as the man behind the scene during Hassan Sheikh’s
presidency. However, advisors are more influential than most of us know. In
some cases, they are the ones who make decisions and run the state’s affairs
and that signifies the importance of choosing them on merit. The following
examples will further elucidate this.
Muawiye
Binu Abi Sufwan was the Caliph of Muslims for 20 years. When he got old and realised
that his days were running fast, he started thinking about who would replace
him as the Caliph. However, he had never thought of appointing his son or any
of his relatives. He called a man called Mughayrah bin Shaabah, who was among
his advisors and governor of Kufa (Iraq), for consultation about the issue.
Without hesitation, Mughayrah suggested the appointment of Muawiya’s son Yazid who
was young and licentious. Muawiye was a wise, cautious and a man of insight. He
could see the troubles might come from this idea, how the public would react
and the difficult he would face from convincing the public to accept his son as
his successor. He knew that the sons of his predecessors, who were well high
above his son in terms of reputation, publicity and garnering support from the
public, were still alive and had political ambitions. Therefore, he could not picture the
possibility his son could ascend the throne.
Hence,
he returned a question to Mughayrah and asked him how that would be possible
knowing that no other Caliph ever appointed his son as a successor and the
negative perception the common Muslims would take from this. Mughayrah
explained to him how the mission would be executed in detail. He reminded the Caliph
that the four main states (Makah, Medina, Kufa and Basra) were at the hands of
his loyalist who would compel the people to accept Yazid’s successorship in
case of revolt. Muawiyeh welcomed the idea and commenced implementing it. A
single advice from one special advisor prompted a decision which had profound
negative effect on the lives of all Muslims around the world and changed the
course of leadership in the Muslim world forever. This shows how leaders are
prone to listening to close advisors and how often they take their suggestions
and implement it with whatever problems come with it.
The
second example gives us insight how a simple idea of an advisor can motivate an
elderly man with poor health conditions to claim the highest position possible in
that period of world history. Marwan ibn Hakam was on his way to Makah with a vast
army to crash Abdullah Bin Zubayr, May Allah please with him, who proclaimed
himself as the Caliph of Muslims, when the death of Muawiyeh binu Yazid binu
Muawiyeh, who was the Caliph at the time, reached him. Hearing this Marwan sent
a letter to Abdullah informing the news and also their readiness to accept his
leadership provided that he would move from Makah to Damascus. Abdullahi
refused the offer since he assumed it as a way of cunning him. Marwan called one
of his advisors and explained the situation that Muslims had no Amir and Abdullahi
refused to come to Damascus. The advisor bewildered the gullibility of Marwan
and asked him what was stopping him from crowning himself as the Caliph. Marwan
accepted that advice and nominated himself as the successor of the Amir.
However, he met a huge resistance from other tribesmen and a bitter war broke
out which claimed hundreds of fighters from both sides. Seeing this, Marwan was
very disappointed and decided to stop the bloodshed by showing his allegiance
to Abdullahi Ibnu Zubayr the main rival whose suzerainty was widely accepted by
most provinces. He shared his decision with his advisors and once again, they
persuaded him to remain in his position and continue fighting for the
Caliphate. Marwan once again accepted his advisors’ suggestion and finally crashed
his opponents. He became the Caliph of Muslim world. However, his reign did not
last long as he breathed his last breath within a year from his ascendance to
the throne. Nevertheless, he established his sons in positions of power as he
designated Abdi Malik as his heir and from there the Marwanid dynasty was
founded.
The
third example can be found in the same period of Islamic history. When Sulayman
Abdimalik realised that his days were coming closer he appointed his son. But
that son passed away before him. His second son was too young to be selected
and options were open to so many competitors. He became so confused that he could
not choose a successor by himself. So he called a man by the name Raja binu
Hayan a righteous and close advisor of him. After long discussion, Raja
convinced Sulayman to appoint Omar Binu Abdul-Aziz who was the cousin of
Sulayman and his prime minister. Omar became the best ever Ummayad Caliphate
and he is considered as the fifth righteous Caliph. While Mughayrah advised Muawiyeh
to appoint his son, which opened the gate for deep-rooted divergence and
divisions among Muslims and changed the Caliphate from choosing leaders based
on merit into dynastic political system, Raja succeeded in persuading the Amir
to appoint his heir based on principle, piety and righteousness. Mughayrah did
this to please his boss and show his loyalty. One narration reported that
Muawiyeh wanted to remove Mughayrah from his post as the governor of Kufa
before he gave the advice. It is possible that Mughayrah knew the plan of
Muawiyeh and in order to stop it he made the suggestion of appointing his son
as his heir. Conversely, Raja’s main concern was the welfare and the betterment
of Muslim world and therefore based his suggestion on the possession of the
right skills, sincerity and piety.
This
underlines the importance of choosing advisors not only for their skills and
expertise in key areas but also for their patriotism, honest and sincerity. For
this, our beloved prophet, Peace and blessing be upon him, emphasised choosing
righteous and sincere advisors who correct their bosses when they are wrong and
support when they are right.
The modern
world does not differ from the one we discussed. Advisors hold vast powers, often
influence leaders’ decisions and, sometimes, can control democratically elected
leaders. Alastair Campbell was the spin-doctor of Tony Blair -British Prime
Minster- between 2000 and 2003. Mr Campbell prepared dossier of evidence in the
run-up to the Iraq war. This dossier did not only exaggerate the existence of
weapons of mass destruction but also the actual intelligence findings were
distorted. Moreover, as he admitted in his memoir, he insisted that the dossier
of evidence, which became a persuasive document for the attack of the allied
forces on Iraq, had to be revelatory although Tony Blair had said to him “there
was really not much to say at moment” and was reluctant to discuss the matter
with ministers and parliament. But Mr Campbell persuaded Blair to convene the
MPs and make a case for the invasion. Mr Campbell’s advice and the document he
compiled paved the way for the war of Iraq which claimed the lives of tens of
thousands and whose effects still lingering on and reached all corners of the
world.
In
conclusion, special advisors play important roles in running government
affairs. They are close to their masters and in most cases strive to please
them. Unlike other professions, they are selected because of their loyalty not
for their dedication, ability and sincerity. However, their decisions and
advice they provide may have a profound and long lasting effect which may reach
all corners of the world. Therefore, a careful consideration is needed when
instating a special advisor. Leaders and minsters should take honest,
patriotism and sincerity into consideration when selecting an advisor. This is
even more important for a country like Somalia which suffers from many foreign
interferences. There are possibilities of foreign agents to seek advisory
positions in the highest office in the government. Therefore, familiarity with
a person and loyalty to a master are not enough to safeguard the interest of
the nation.
Ibrahim
Aden Shire
kala soco: https://ibrahim-shire.blogspot.com/
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