By Ismail H. Warsame
City of Qardho, Karkaar Region, Puntland

When a leader exhausts all logic, he resorts to decrees. When that leader is Firdhiye, the result is an economic suicide pact, imposed upon the already-battered families of Laascaanood.

In a move that would embarrass the most creative of Mogadishu’s financiers, the so-called Firdhiye Administration has demanded that local financial institutions and telecom-linked money transfer agencies surrender five million U.S. dollars. This sum, he claims, is to fund the phantom treasury of his “North East State” project. One must ask: does he mistake Laascaanood for a financial hub, or believe companies like Dahabshiil and Amal Express mint currency in their back offices?

Adding institutional insult to this economic injury, he has ordered these vital agencies to relocate their headquarters to Laascaanood. This presumes a world where global finance orbits his self-styled Ministry of Fiction. Not even Somaliland’s long-standing political campaign has staged such a theatrical and economically destructive farce.

This is not governance; it is a ransom note written in the language of authority. Shuttering remittance services is not statecraft—it is an act of economic terrorism against the most vulnerable. It is an assault on widows awaiting funds for rent, on orphans reliant on diaspora support for schooling, and on families depending on those transfers for mere sustenance. Firdhiye’s decree deliberately severs the primary economic lifeline that has sustained Laascaanood in its fragile recovery.

Who stands to gain from this collapse? Certainly not the people of SSC-Khaatumo, whose remittance-dependent economy now teeters on the brink. The only logical conclusion is that Firdhiye believes by bankrupting the city, the desperate diaspora will be coerced into funding his political fantasy.

Laascaanood’s struggle is being twisted into a tragic satire—a self-imposed siege where the would-be liberator becomes the chief architect of his people’s deprivation. The liberation Laascaanood urgently requires is from this very cycle of irrational leadership and economic sabotage.

True financial ecosystems are built on trust and stability, not on extortion and empty slogans. If reason prevails, remittance agencies must prioritize the people’s welfare over political pressure. Capital flees instability; it is not conjured by it.

WDM Verdict:
Firdhiye’s “North East State” resembles less a government and more an armed GoFundMe campaign, with the people of Laascaanood held as collateral.

WDM (Warsame Digital Media)
“Talking Truth to Power”

By Ismail H. Warsame, City of Qardho, Karkaar Region

In a fresh display of political blindness, a cluster of self-styled “Puntland opposition parties,” mostly operating from Mogadishu hotel lobbies and political backrooms, have voiced their opposition to the recent Puntland–Somaliland understanding on security cooperation. It is an unfortunate, though predictable, stance — one that exposes their detachment from Puntland’s ground realities and their quiet servitude to DamulJadiid’s shadow networks in Villa Somalia.

Let’s get this straight: Puntland’s leadership has the constitutional right and political maturity to engage with any neighboring administration — including Somaliland — on issues that directly affect the peace, stability, and economic lifeline of its people. Security coordination and mutual understanding between the two sides are not acts of betrayal; they are the very essence of responsible governance in a volatile region.

Those opposing this initiative from Mogadishu, however, are not thinking of Puntland’s interests. They are echoing the whispers of DamulJadiid operatives who have long sought to destabilize Puntland from afar, to weaken its institutions, and to create internal friction that could be exploited politically in Villa Somalia’s favor. These are the same cynical actors who inspired and funded the Aaran Jaan network that violently disrupted Garowe’s peace a few years ago.

Their motives are transparent. They thrive on chaos. They oppose anything that strengthens Puntland’s autonomy and legitimacy. In their narrow political calculus, peace and cooperation are threats to their political survival — because their only currency is confusion.

The Mogadishu-based “Puntland opposition” should be honest with the people: they are not fighting for democracy in Puntland; they are fighting for relevance in the capital. Their statements are not drafted in Garowe or Qardho; they are dictated by handlers in Villa Somalia who see Puntland’s stability as a political liability.

The people of Puntland are not fooled. They understand that coexistence with Somaliland, however complex, is a pragmatic necessity. Border communities, shared clans, trade routes, and the collective fight against terrorism demand coordination — not hostility. The Mogadishu opposition’s short-sightedness only confirms that they are far removed from the land they claim to represent.

Let it be said clearly: Puntland’s peace and progress will not be dictated from Mogadishu’s hotel corridors. The State of Puntland was founded on the principle of self-determination, negotiation, and local consensus — not on imported chaos.

WDM Verdict:
The Puntland opposition operating from Mogadishu has lost both political compass and credibility. Their hostility toward Puntland–Somaliland cooperation mirrors the same destructive mindset that once unleashed Aaran Jaan’s violence in Garowe. Puntland will continue to talk, negotiate, and cooperate for the sake of peace — with or without their approval.

© WDM – Warsame Digital Media, 2025
“Talking Truth to Power.”

Warm greetings from the great traditional city of Qardho, in the heart of Karkaar Region, Puntland — a land of history, courage, and enduring Somali resilience.
Arriving here this afternoon, I am once again reminded that Qardho is not just a city — it is the living symbol of Puntland’s spirit and the heartbeat of Somali self-determination.

Stay tuned to WDM for truth-driven analysis and fearless commentary from the ground — unfiltered, unapologetic, and always committed to reality.

Ismail H. Warsame
Founder, Warsame Digital Media (WDM)