To what extent will "Lass al-Kabi" remain with Aguila Saleh?
The game of "Eskambil" holds a prestigious place in the Libyan cultural heritage, where people used to eagerly follow its matches, especially during the wedding evenings of yesteryears. Its competitions are marked by unprecedented excitement, with the audience intensely engaged with the movements of the captains and sailors, anticipating which team will end the game with the "Las," thereby capturing the rival team's captain and sailors.
In the city of Al Qubbah in the eastern part of the country, a renowned player emerged whose reputation is unparalleled—Aqila Saleh Guider. He was a shrewd player, difficult to defeat due to his unmatched cunning and maneuvering.
As time went on, this fierce captain decided to run for the Libyan House of Representatives in the 2014 elections. He received about 900 votes in his small town, securing him a seat in the House. Through certain political and tribal agreements, it was decided that the Speaker of the House of Representatives should be from the east. According to Saleheen Abdunnabi Saad Al-Abidi, a member of the House of Representatives, the newly elected members at the time gathered at his house to agree on a candidate for the Speaker of the House, to represent the eastern region on the day of the election. Saleheen Abdunnabi recalls that the meeting at his home coincided with the Brazil-Germany match in the semi-finals of the 2014 World Cup. Just as Brazil, who hoped to win the title on their home turf, suffered a catastrophic 7-1 defeat, so too did Saleheen, who had hosted the meeting hoping to win the nomination. However, the wily Aqila Saleh unleashed all the skills and maneuvers he had honed while humiliating his opponents in Eskambil, managing to surprise everyone and clinch the title, despite the overwhelming public support enjoyed by Brazil and Saleheen.
Since then, more than ten years have passed since that summer night in 2014, yet Captain Aqila Saleh remains unmatched, outmaneuvering his opponents with the same tools, the same moves, and the same cards, winning every time while his rivals come and go.
Aqila Saleh's intense Eskambil matches in the political arena have pitted him against numerous opponents, whom he defeated with the "Las," even though they believed they could outplay him with their "Tris," assuming that the cunning captain wouldn't end the game with the "Las Alkibi." But at the right moment, the seasoned captain would pull the "Las," both celebrated and infamous, from his sleeve, hurling it in his opponent's face and dancing the victory dance, announcing his superiority over his rivals and his continued dominance until a worthy adversary emerges to counter his maneuvers and overthrow him.
Aqila has faced multiple presidents of the former General National Congress and the High Council of State in the Eskambil matches of Libyan politics—Nouri Abusahmain, Abdulrahman Asswehly, Khaled Al-Mishri, Mohamed Tekala, and the possible return of Al-Mishri once again. The faces have changed, but the only constant in the arena is Captain Aqila.
The captain has also outlasted many governments. When he was elected, the Prime Minister was Ali Zidan, who was dismissed and replaced by Abdullah Al-Thani. Al-Thani left for the eastern region to receive the blessing of Captain Aqila, and Omar Al-Hassi succeeded him in the west, followed by Khalifa Al-Ghweil. Then came the political agreement that ousted them all and brought in Fayez Al-Sarraj, followed by the Geneva talks that brought Dbeibah. Aqila then outmaneuvered Dbeibah with another "Las" from Misrata, appointing Fathi Bashagha to replace him in Tripoli. When that failed, he dismissed him and appointed Osama Hammad to run the parallel government offices in Benghazi. Now, he is planning to remove both men and form a new government. They all play for a round or two, lose, and Captain Aqila, the undefeated master of Libyan politics, continues to play without a rival.
He issues decisions only to retract them, makes appointments and then cancels them, and even recognizes his opponents' appointments after they have relinquished them. He has appointed a new Governor of the Central Bank to replace Sadiq Al-Kabir three times, only to eventually decide to keep Al-Kabir after his rivals in Tripoli sought to dismiss him by endorsing a previous decision made by Aqila himself.
He appointed a new head of the Administrative Control Authority in eastern Libya, declaring non-recognition of the incumbent in Tripoli. After his rivals decided to replace their head, Aqila announced the continued tenure of his appointee, leaving his opponents reeling—neither advancing with their decision to replace him nor approving Aqila's decision to retain him.
At the Geneva Forum in 2020, Captain Aqila gave his rivals a deadly weapon capable of defeating him—a "Tris" that he thought was a sure win. The game turned against him, and the trap exploded in his face. How would the cunning captain respond?
Confident of securing the presidency of the Presidential Council, Aqila declared that the Speaker of the House of Representatives should be from the south, given that the President of the Presidential Council is from the east, and the Prime Minister of the Government of National Unity is from the west. But the surprise was the victory of the Abdul Hamid Dbeibah and Mohamed Al-Menfi list, leaving Captain Aqila in one of the toughest situations he had ever faced in the Eskambil arena. The other captains sharpened their weapons and deployed every winning card they had to unseat the captain who had long outmaneuvered them. Suddenly, and unexpectedly, the seasoned captain pulled out the "Las Alkibi" from his pocket, sealing the game and delivering a lesson to his opponents.
Aqila convinced the southern MPs to abandon their demand for his resignation, promising them certain positions like deputy ministers, heads of authorities, and ambassadors in exchange. He then delivered a victory speech in Parliament, declaring his continuation in office because, as he put it, the position is honored by his presence, not the other way around. He asserted that after all these years, no one else has the expertise to resolve the crisis better than he does, and he vowed to continue playing the game until he achieves victory for all.
After ten years, the game continues, and Captain Aqila is still defeating his opponents, dancing over their wounds from each defeat. He continues to throw down "Las" after "Las," stamping them all, except for one captain Aqila could never defeat with the "Las"—Khalifa Haftar. Haftar may not be a skilled player in a game that no one knows better than Captain Aqila, but he enjoys strong support both domestically and internationally and holds cards that even Aqila doesn't possess and has never played with before. That is why Captain Aqila never plays against Captain Khalifa; he either maneuvers around or allies with him, but never confronts him—or at least, he hasn't so far. However, if the time for confrontation comes, no one should underestimate the captain who has long brought tears to the eyes of other captains who thought they could play in the lion's den.
Captain Aqila continues to maneuver, evade one "Tris" here and another there, playing the political game with the same skill he displayed at the weddings in Al-Qubbah, Derna, and Al-Bayda. He still has many "Las" cards in his arsenal, each with its proper place and timing. In politics, as in Eskambil, the last one dancing is the one who dances the most.