By Dr. Abucar Aden Adde
Virginia, USA.
History warns those who are willing to listen.
In his study of Fascist Italy’s colonial ambitions, Dr. Abucar Aden Adde draws attention to an entry in Galeazzo Ciano’s diary in which Benito Mussolini reportedly discussed the possibility of turning Majeerteenia (Migiurtinia) into a concession for international Jewish settlement because of its strategic location and natural resources. Whether such a proposal was ever realistic is less important than what it reveals: powerful states have long viewed Somali territory through the prism of their own interests. Ref: (https://ismailwarsame.blog/2026/07/24/when-fascist-europe-looked-to-puntland-a-forgotten-diplomatic-note-and-the-strategic-value-of-majeerteenia-2/).
The lesson is timeless. Somalia’s sovereignty has never been guaranteed by geography alone. It has depended—and still depends—on the strength, unity, and vision of its own people.
Today, Somalia’s greatest danger is not an invading army or a foreign conspiracy. It is internal weakness. Political fragmentation, corruption, fragile institutions, clan rivalries, and the absence of long-term national vision have created openings that external actors naturally exploit. Weak states invite influence; strong states command respect.
Too much of Somali politics remains trapped in short-term survival. Leaders compete for power rather than build institutions. Clan calculations outweigh national priorities. Personal ambition replaces public service. As trust in government declines, the state’s ability to defend its sovereignty weakens.
Foreign governments will always pursue their own strategic, economic, and security interests. That is the nature of international politics. Somalia’s responsibility is not to expect others to safeguard its sovereignty, but to build institutions capable of safeguarding it itself.
Somalia possesses extraordinary advantages: the longest coastline on mainland Africa, vast marine resources, a youthful population, and a strategic location linking Africa, the Middle East, and the Indian Ocean. But potential without vision produces little. Prosperity requires competent leadership, accountable institutions, and a shared commitment to the national interest.
The warning preserved in Ciano’s diary is therefore not about a proposal that never materialized. It is about a political truth that remains relevant today: weak states invite outside designs.
Somalia’s future will not be decided in foreign capitals. It will be decided by whether Somalis choose unity over division, institutions over personalities, merit over patronage, and national vision over clan politics.
History has already delivered its warning. The responsibility now belongs to this generation.