Leave it to Somalia’s political class to turn a traditional elders’ inauguration into a national security drill.
These days, if you follow the motorcades, the chartered flights, and the sudden pilgrimage of VIPs, you’d think Galdogob has replaced Villa Somalia as the country’s real capital. Ministers, MPs, clan notables, political retirees, and freshly recycled “national figures” are all converging on this quiet district town in Mudug, right on the Ethiopia–Somalia border.
Why?
Not an oil discovery.
Not a port.
Not a constitution-writing conference.
Just the inauguration of Lelkase sub-clan traditional elders.
Welcome to Somali federalism, where a turban ceremony causes more panic than terrorism.

From Tradition to Political Tripwire
In any normal society, elders being inaugurated would be a local affair—tea, speeches, poetry, goats, and a dignified handshake with history. In today’s Somalia, however, tradition has become a geopolitical weapon.
The Mogadishu regime has mastered one craft:
politicizing clan processes under the banner of “national unity.”
SSC-KHAATUMO taught Puntland a brutal lesson: ignore “cultural gatherings” long enough and they reappear as political facts backed by Mogadishu microphones, flags, and security convoys.
So when Mogadishu-linked figures began hovering around Galdogob, Puntland didn’t see elders.
They saw Stage One of a familiar takeover script.

Puntland’s New Reflex: Show Up or Lose the Map
This explains why Puntland State politicians and traditional leaders flooded Galdogob. Not because they suddenly discovered the town’s charm—but because absence now equals surrender.
Puntland learned the hard way:
Silence is interpreted as consent
Distance is framed as hostility
Neutrality is rewritten as weakness
After SSC-KHAATUMO, Puntland could not risk waking up one morning to headlines declaring:
“Galdogob Aligns with Mogadishu in Historic Reconciliation Ceremony.”
So they showed up.
In numbers.
With receipts.
With elders.
With counter-narratives.
Mogadishu’s Favorite Game: Capture the Periphery
The Mogadishu regime no longer governs by institutions. It governs by encroachment:
One district at a time
One elders’ council at a time
One “reconciliation forum” at a time
This is not state-building.
It is map-editing by ambush.
And the irony? The same regime that cannot secure Mogadishu neighborhoods wants to micromanage clan affairs hundreds of kilometers away.
Galdogob Is Not SSC-KHAATUMO—And Puntland Knows It
Galdogob became crowded because Puntland refused to sleepwalk into another political disaster. This time, they arrived early. This time, they contested the narrative. This time, they understood that in Somalia, power abhors a vacuum—and Mogadishu rushes to fill it.
The message from Galdogob is simple:
Traditional elders are not political proxies
Districts are not bargaining chips
Puntland will not outsource its sovereignty to Mogadishu’s PR machine.

Final Word: When Goats Cause Panic, the State Is the Problem
If the inauguration of elders can trigger national panic, then Somalia’s crisis is not federalism—it is a center addicted to control and a periphery forced into permanent vigilance.
Galdogob didn’t suddenly become important.
What changed is that Puntland finally stopped underestimating Mogadishu’s appetite.
And for once, the convoy arrived before the annexation press release.

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WDM / WAPMEN Editorial
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