Hiiraan Online

“Oh heart if one should say to you that the soul perishes like the body, answer that the flower withers, but the seed remains” By the Arab poet Jubran Kkalil

by Abdirizak Omar
Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Abdulkadir Utah giving Interview to Al-jazeera

I write this obituary for a good friend, a fellow citizen and a colleague, who have done more for others and sacrificed his health for a cause worth dying for “The Somali Cause.” On Saturday, February 18, 2012, Abdulkadir Abdirahman who was fighting cancer for more than a year succumbed to its painful fate.

Abdulkadir Abdirahman, known as Abdulkadir Utah, was born in Kismayo in 1962 and grew up in Afgoi. His father was a judge at a district court in Afgoi. Like most families in Somalia, Abdulkadir came from a humble family background who valued education, hard work and patriotism. And those values become the core attributions that characterized Abdulkadir throughout his adult life.

I knew Abdulkadir since 1977, when we both attended in the same high school. During our adolescent age, he was more mature, more spiritual and too bright for his peers. He used to call students to come and pray during prayer times; and at times he would make himself the call
to prayers. He was the spiritual person that other teenagers turn to for advice and guidance. In those teen days, it was rare to see him behave as other teenagers did. We were wild and outgoing, but for Abdulkadir, he was very gentle, well composed and ventured only in
activities that added value to society. Such tendency deprived him to experience the wild years that most teenagers undergo in Somalia.

The last time I saw Abdulkadir Utah in Somalia was when we both were fulfilling the government-mandated national training in Halane Academy in 1981. However, we reconnected fortunately in 2007, this time in the height of Ethiopian invasion in our homeland. We worked together and started, with the help of countless other Somali comrades across North America, a grassroots political advocacy campaign that brought together distinguished Somali Diaspora leaders, with an exception that they were all like-minded in advancing the Somali interest in both USA and Canada to ensure that we effect changes in the foreign policy of these two nations that adopted us as citizens.

As expected of him, he elevated the cause, taking it to the corridors of the policymakers in USA and in Canada and making inroads and mending relations with important allies. As an intellectual whose affection to reason and logic made him prominent in academic circles,
he would visit lectures halls of universities in North America and look for new ideas to generate discussions. In his busy time as a father of eight and a grandfather of two, and full time employee, he would crisscross North America and speak to Somali youth and professionals to join the movement and contribute to the motherland. I remember calling him several times for important issues, especially late hours in the night, only to find him speaking to other activists on the phone, delegating tasks or thanking to individual volunteers at a personal level and encouraging them with the emphasis always on team work.

Abdulkadir Utah at Ryerson University Panel

His appeal was irresistible because of his inspirational style of capturing the sentiments of the time in a very moving way. At Ryerson University in Toronto, Abdulkadir was among panelists debating on Ethiopian occupation in 2007, providing me another opportunity to observe his passionate and convincing style for the first time in 27 years. I was particularly struck by his remarkable skills in oratory that grew in experience, which commanded the panelist discussion.

My friend possessed a unique touch with people, especially when he is on the podium. His schedule was often full, seizing every opportunity to advance the Somali interest. During his leadership of Somali Cause, Somalia was undergoing some great political turmoil coupled with the Ethiopian occupation that rendered Mogadishu a killing zone. But he strived to overcome barriers and remained indispensable as the glue that held together people to transcend beyond challenges.

Abdulkadir was an effective problem-solver, a strategist and a realist at best. A colleague and a friend of Abdulkadir Utah, Ibrahim Iman who called me from Mogadishu, Somalia after hearing the news of his death, described him as “A pragmatist that would be remembered for his contributions that made the Diaspora communities a formidable force for change in Somalia.” Mr. Iman added, “Abdulkadir was a hero for many Somali patriots across the world. He embodied an unmatched character and commitment in public service that inspired us to make Somalia a better place. For me, Abdulkadir represented a vision that symbolized the aspirations of the Somali people, promoting the idea that Somalis alone can shape their destiny and take ownership of their future as a society.”

The special envoy to the U.S.A., Abukar Arman wrote, “We have lost a brother and a friend and Somalia has lost a hero and a relentless warrior for human dignity, national sovereignty and unity.” Some mutual friends, who visited brother Abdulkadir in his death bed - only few hours before his final moment with family and friends - reported that he was making prayers for his country and people despite the pain and the state of weakness.

Another colleague and a confidante of Abdulkadir Utah, Hassan Warsame said “the flexible and multiple personal attributes Abdulkadir possessed are unmatchable; a selfless person who would sacrifice himself just to please others in a way I can not imagine”.

Abdulkadir was a towering leader, the kind of statesman that Somalia demands in this era of desperation and political disunity. His life was full of examples in what a simple man can do to elevate the public discourse by providing some much-needed leadership in justice, respect
for human rights, promoting good governance and pressuring policymakers to pursue constructive foreign policy in the Horn. His sense of humor still resonates with me that often diffused tense situations.

Abdulkadir supported me in every step of the way after I succeeded him for the chairmanship of Somali Cause in 2009. He was always there, concerned the day-to-day activities of Somali Cause more than I did. Unique for his towering leadership and great humility, he spoke with me a month ago – immediately after he was discharged from Arlington Hospital for getting blood-thinning treatment. The first thing he asked me was about friends and colleagues of Somali Cause in Canada. Clearly, friends occupy in a special chamber of his heart. That is why his funeral procession attracted hundreds of friends from all walks of life and nationalities, overcrowding the entire vicinity of the great Mosque of Dar-al-Hijra in Virginia.

What really kept in a motion of tears over the last few days was the sheer fact of him praying for his people and country while in that state of debilitating health condition. He devoted his life to what he believed in and for the troubled country of his origin. He was everything that you look for a leader who cared of his people and never hesitated to sacrifice for his country. A peacemaker, a visionary, and a source of inspiration left us for good. But his legacy lives with us today and we must replicate the lessons that he taught us to ensure that next generations pick the torch from where he left.

The Somali community around the globe must remember that hero for what he did for the country, including the farewell invocations at deathbed, which reminds us all the combinations of patriotism and optimism he held for his country and people. With that, I and fellow
Somalis are extending our deepest condolences to the family of a giant brother, Abdulkadir Abdirahman “Utah.” May Allah, in His infinite mercy, enter him Janatul-Fardows, AMIN!