Two Boys, One Camera, A Nation Exposed

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Cadnaan & Xariir Did What Governments Failed to Do.
Let us be brutally honest.
For decades, Somali administrations have held conferences in five-star hotels, flown to donor capitals, issued glossy communiqués, and spoken endlessly about “untapped potential.” Yet two young Somaliland boys — Cadnaan and Xariir — armed with nothing but a video camera and stubborn curiosity, have done more to expose the natural wealth of eastern Somalia than entire ministries of planning, tourism, and investment combined.
No convoy.
No security escort.
No donor-funded feasibility study.
No PR consultants.
Just vision.
And courage.
They Showed What Politicians Couldn’t
From the cliffs of Ras Caseyr to the untouched coastline of Baargaal, from the mountain ranges of Bari Region to fertile valleys fed by running springs — these boys documented what most Somalis themselves have never seen.
They revealed:
Flowing freshwater streams in lands falsely described as “barren.”
Date palm fields capable of agro-export.
Coastlines touching the Gulf of Aden, the Arabian Sea, and the Indian Ocean.
Mountains overlooking maritime routes that shape global trade.
Let that sink in.
Eastern Somali territories — including Baargaal and Bari — are geographically vast, perhaps three times the size of Djibouti, and stretching beyond many regions of Somaliland. Yet how often have we seen them marketed internationally? How often have we seen structured eco-tourism strategies? Agricultural investment plans? Maritime economic zones?
Rarely.

Where Was the State?
Here is the uncomfortable question:
How can two teenagers with no transport and no budget succeed where regional governments have struggled for decades?
It is not about equipment.
It is not about money.
It is about mindset.
Governments have been busy managing power.
These boys were busy discovering potential.
Governments speak of sovereignty.
These boys showcased geography.
Governments debate federalism.
These boys revealed fertile land, dates, fisheries, mountains, and rivers.
That contrast is devastating.
The Power of Narrative
What Cadnaan and Xariir did was not just filming landscapes. They shifted narrative.
For years, eastern Somalia has been reduced to headlines of piracy, drought, or security tension. Yet what the camera revealed was something different:
Strategic maritime positioning.
Agricultural potential.

Eco-tourism landscapes.
Freshwater sources.
Mineral and fisheries prospects.
In the age of digital storytelling, visibility is power. Investment follows visibility. Recognition follows exposure.
Two boys understood that.
Ministries did not.
 The Sleeping Giant of Bari & Baargaal
The Bari and Baargaal regions are not peripheral backwaters. They are strategic corridors:
Overlooking one of the busiest maritime routes on Earth.
Rich in fisheries and coastal biodiversity.
Hosting unexplored agricultural land.
Possessing mountain ecosystems unique in the Horn of Africa.
These are assets nations go to war over.
Yet we treat them like afterthoughts.
A Wake-Up Call to Puntland
Let us say it plainly:
If Puntland State — with ministries, budgets, diaspora networks, and international partnerships — could not package and project its natural wealth for decades, and two boys did it with a camera, then something is structurally wrong.
This is not an insult.
It is a wake-up call.
Cadnaan and Xariir did not embarrass Puntland.
They challenged it.
They proved that the problem is not absence of resources.
The problem is absence of initiative.
易 The Lesson
Development begins with imagination.
Investment begins with visibility.
Nation-building begins with pride in geography.
Cadnaan and Xariir have given eastern Somalia something rare: a visual argument for its own potential.
They deserve applause — not because they discovered something new, but because they reminded us of what we already have and failed to show the world.
Hats Off
Hats off to Cadnaan and Xariir.
Two boys.
One camera.
A coastline, mountains, rivers, dates, and a future.
If leadership cannot match their initiative, then perhaps it is time leadership learns from them.

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Two Boys, One Camera, A Nation Exposed

Watch videos at the bottom of the article. https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1AqX6uCpDm/ https://www.facebook.com/share/r/18AMzvByHF/ Cadnaan & Xariir Did What Governments Failed to Do.Let us be brutally honest.For decades, Somali administrations have held conferences in five-star hotels, flown to donor capitals, issued glossy communiqués, and spoken endlessly about “untapped potential.” Yet two young Somaliland boys — Cadnaan and Xariir — […]

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