© Warsame Digital Media (WDM), October 2025
In the cacophony of Somali politics, one begins to notice a familiar pattern — old enemies of Puntland reemerging under new and deceptive banners: “New Jubaland,” “North East State,” “New Puntland.” These are not creative political innovations. They are cynical attempts by Villa Somalia’s DamulJadiid operatives to sow confusion, fracture unity, and test the resilience of Puntland’s federal legacy. What we are witnessing today is not new — it is a recycled strategy drawn from the same poisonous well that once attempted to dismantle the SSDF-led Northeast administration in the early 1990s.
Let’s call things by their real names. These so-called “new” formations are not movements of reform, but agents of regression — political mercenaries reviving a mission that failed three decades ago. Their masters reside in Mogadishu’s marble halls, where the DamulJadiid cartel, hidden behind the façade of federal legitimacy, continues its long war of attrition against Puntland — the mother of federalism, the first bulwark of Somali self-governance.
THE COUP THAT NEVER ENDED
Back in the 1990s, the same forces now disguised under “new” labels participated in a treacherous coup attempt against the SSDF administration in the Northeast — the very crucible from which Puntland State was later born. That coup failed militarily but succeeded in planting the seeds of betrayal and disunity that haunt the Somali political landscape to this day.
When Puntland’s founding fathers later built the State through dialogue and reconciliation, they made one fatal mistake: they forgave too easily. Out of a noble desire for unity, those who once drew guns against the very idea of self-governance were welcomed back under the banner of peace. No one was held accountable. The message was clear: treachery pays if you wait long enough.
Today, the ghosts of that decision have returned. The same circles that sabotaged the SSDF are now the echo chambers of Mogadishu’s DamulJadiid deep state — the same manipulators whispering the language of division in Galkayo, Bosaso, and even Garowe.
THE DAMULJADIID HAND BEHIND THE CHAOS
Let’s not pretend this is spontaneous. Nothing in Somali politics ever is. The so-called “New Puntland” narrative is not the product of political thought or civic discontent; it is a project — drafted, financed, and orchestrated from Villa Somalia, whose current tenants have made a career out of destabilizing federal states that refuse to kneel.
DamulJadiid, the ideological offshoot of the old Islah tariqa elite, has always viewed Puntland as a threat — a living reminder that Somali federalism was born not in Mogadishu, but in Garowe. Their mission is psychological warfare: to make Puntland doubt itself, to make its people forget their own political lineage, and to convince the young generation that their history started yesterday.
A LESSON LONG DELAYED
In the past, Puntland responded to treachery with tolerance. It absorbed political shocks through reconciliation, dialogue, and patience. But that patience has now expired. When these same dark forces last attacked Garowe, they were allowed to melt away into the night — unpunished, unrepentant, and unashamed. That mistake cannot be repeated.
Puntland must now act — decisively and without apology. History has taught us that peace without justice is merely a pause between two betrayals. Those who undermine the State from within must be confronted, exposed, and neutralized politically and legally. There can be no coexistence between nation-builders and saboteurs.
PUNTLAND IS NOT FRAGILE
The architects of chaos have underestimated Puntland’s internal cohesion. They assume fragmentation where there is in fact quiet resolve. They mistake leadership disputes for institutional decay. They confuse democratic debate for weakness. But Puntland is not as brittle as they imagine. Its foundation was not built by opportunists but by patriots who risked everything to give Somalia a second chance at federal survival.
Puntland has survived the collapse of central governments, the manipulation of Mogadishu elites, and the greed of international actors who seek to divide and exploit. It will survive this latest round too. The only question is whether Puntland will finally learn the most important lesson of its history: reconciliation without accountability is suicide by generosity.
CONCLUSION
The so-called “New Puntland” is not a renewal — it is a relapse. Its backers are not reformers — they are repeat offenders in new clothing. Puntland’s response must therefore be not just rhetorical, but strategic and firm. The time has come to draw a clear line between dialogue and defense, between forgiveness and folly.
The era of political amnesia is over. Let those who betrayed Puntland once know: this time, history will not forget — and neither will the people.
WDM STAMP © 2025
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