By Ismail H. Warsame
WDM / WAPMEN
Somalia’s tragedy is not a lack of opportunity. It is the repeated, willful refusal to recognize opportunity when it lies directly beneath our feet.
Many years ago, I encountered a parable titled “Acres of Diamond.” Its lesson has haunted me ever since—and nowhere does it apply more brutally than to Somalia.
The story is simple.
A wealthy man, somewhere in the Indian subcontinent, owned vast farmlands, livestock, and a thriving enterprise supported by many workers. One day, a stranger—perhaps a devil in disguise—approached him with a seductive proposition: a diamond so small it could rest in the palm of his hand, yet worth more than his entire estate. The promise was irresistible—no labor, no management, only passive wealth that would grow endlessly.
Blinded by illusion, the man sold everything he owned and embarked on a global quest for this mythical diamond. He wandered continents, fell into poverty, and ultimately perished in distant lands—his body swallowed by the Yangtze River.
Years later, the new owner of his abandoned land noticed something glittering in the soil.
It was not one diamond—but acres of diamonds, lying untouched in the very land the former owner had fled.
Somalia’s Curse Is Not Poverty—It Is Delusion
Somalia is the rich man of this parable.
Strategically located at the crossroads of Africa, the Middle East, and the Indian Ocean; endowed with vast coastlines, fisheries, livestock, human capital, culture, language, and history—Somalia should have been a continental success story.
Instead, Somalis have turned their homeland into a launchpad for self-destruction.
Rather than cultivating peace, institutions, and social trust, they dismantled the state, cannibalized their social fabric, and normalized political predation. The outcome is visible everywhere: refugee camps, perilous sea crossings, shattered families, lost generations, and a nation exporting its youth, professionals, and dignity.
This is not misfortune. It is a collective failure of leadership and political culture.
Museveni’s Indictment—and Somalia’s Silence
I vividly remember President Yoweri Museveni’s speech at the opening of the Somali National Reconciliation Conference in Eldoret, Kenya (2002). Among all the speeches delivered by IGAD leaders—including the late Meles Zenawi and Daniel arap Moi—Museveni’s remarks cut deepest.
“Somalia is the best country in Africa by negative example.”
Japan, he reminded us, has no natural resources—yet became a global economic power by investing in its people. Then he asked the question that still echoes unanswered:
“And you, Somalis—what have you done to your people? You kill each other.”
I scanned the hall. The Somali warlords seated comfortably in the front rows showed no reaction. No shame. No reflection. No accountability.
What followed shortly thereafter proved Museveni tragically right.
Warlords in Suits: The G-8 Sabotage
In the midst of reconciliation, a cartel of Mogadishu warlords—Muse Suudi Yalaxow, Mohamed Afrax Qanyare, Osman Ali Atto, Omar Jess, Jama Ali Jama, among others—formed a faction cynically calling itself the G-8, a grotesque parody of global power clubs.
They rejected the 4.5 clan power-sharing formula, demanded disproportionate representation, and openly challenged the Technical Committee overseeing the Embagathi Conference (2002–2004).
That committee, initially led by the late Kenyan diplomat Mr. Mwangele and later by Mr. Bethuel Kiplagat, became the target of mob pressure and political blackmail.
One of the most painful moments of that period was witnessing Somali women—mobilized by warlord interests—chanting:
“Macna-darrada Mwangele, madfac Suudi Yalaxow baa nooga roon.”
“The indiscriminate shelling of Mogadishu by Suudi Yalaxow is better than Mwangele’s procedures.”
This was the moral collapse of a nation laid bare.
From Sabotage to Occupation
The G-8 succeeded in splitting the Transitional Federal Parliament. Nearly half of its members—including Speaker Sharif Hassan and Deputy Prime Minister Mohamoud Sifir—broke away and entrenched themselves in Mogadishu to block the return of governance and order.
They were eventually expelled by the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC)—an event that triggered the first major foreign military intervention in Somalia since UNISOM and reshaped the country’s security landscape for decades.
Sayid Maxamed Cabdulle Xasan warned long ago:
“Ciilow ba’ay, talo xumaan cudur ka roonnayne.”
Bad advice and poor judgment are deadlier than disease.
Somalia ignored that warning.
Dying Abroad While Rich at Home
Today, Somalis drown in the Mediterranean, perish in the Libyan desert, and waste away in refugee camps—searching for “diamonds” abroad while their homeland remains abandoned.
Think of:
Children growing up stateless and traumatized
Families permanently fractured
Educated professionals reduced to irrelevance
Former ministers, generals, and civil servants stripped of pensions and dignity
Youth trapped in gangs, prisons, and drug economies
Women commodified, exploited, and discarded
And remember the timeless truth:
“East or West, home is best.”
“Dhul shisheeye dheef ma leh, habeen dhixitin mooyaane.”
Fadhi-Ku-Dirir: A Nation Arguing Itself to Death
Out of this prolonged collapse emerged a new pathology: Fadhi-ku-Dirir—the endless teashop debates of displaced men across the globe. Once productive, now immobilized; once proud, now spectators of their own national decay.
This is the devil’s workshop of a broken polity.
Ending it requires more than conferences, slogans, or donor-funded theatrics. It requires leadership with courage, accountability, and moral clarity—leaders willing to cultivate the acres of diamonds already in Somali hands.
Until then, Somalia will remain rich in potential and poor in wisdom.
Ismail H. Warsame
Former Chief of Staff, Puntland Presidency
Long-time participant in Somali national reconciliation processes since 1995
Toronto, Canada.
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