By M.A. Egge
President H.E. Musa Bihi Abdi led the nation in according a state burial the late Major General Abdillahi Fadal Iman.
The deceased was until his passing on the Somaliland National Police Force chief.
The late Major General passed away on Friday in a city hospital following an illness bravely borne.
The workaholic veteran policeman rose steadily in a three and a half decade long period to reach the epitome of his career.
Immediately upon his demise, the Head of State led the mourners in condoling the family, relatives, friends, the police and associated forces’ fraternity and the nation at large for the loss of a man whose tenure at the helm of the police force was amongst the longest that saw much change to the better and a lot of progressive achievements realized.
The President described the late Abdillahi as a hero who devoted much of his lifetime in investing on security, peaceful stability in nation-building.
“During his lifetime he chiefly took part in nation-building”, said the President in a eulogy.
“In the past three decades alone I think he was the man who most devotedly worked towards peaceful stability”, the President observed.
He added, “He started as a junior officer at a time that the force was built from scratch with no stations and slowly rose up the ranks to reach the helm of a modern institution”.
The Head of state noted that the late general was a workaholic who was constantly alert, his telephone lines constantly open and slept rarely while always at hand in stepping up diligence.
The President led mourners who practically composed of all populace walks of life.
He was flanked by amongst others, both Speakers of the Upper and Lower Houses of the Parliament, the Chief Justice, Commanders of the numerous arms of services, several cabinet ministers etcetera.
In the burial that saw one of the largest crowds in the country’s history, politicians, traditional and contemporary leaders, eminent personalities from the cleric, entrepreneur and academic fraternities and a mammoth crowd converged at the cemetery to give the deceased police general a send-off.
In all the eulogies given by the mourners, they were unanimous in stating that the late Abdillahi was one of the major figures who were the main pillars in the police force of Somaliland.
All the mourners prayed for the soul of the departed late police commander to rest in eternal peace.
