Ref:. Candour Over Convenience: President Deni’s Tribute to Abdullahi Yusuf and the Puntland Story

Ahmed Farah Yare responds to the article: Candour Over Convenience: President Deni’s Tribute to Abdullahi Yusuf and the Puntland Story

President Said Abdullahi Deni’s tribute to his predecessor, Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed — founder of Puntland State and later President of Somalia’s Transitional Federal Government — is a fitting reminder of what good leadership looks like. It offers society both the lessons worth learning and the mistakes worth avoiding.
It is a rare trait among sitting leaders to honor their predecessors rather than diminish them. By recognizing Abdullahi Yusuf’s legacy, Deni reinforces political continuity, models a culture of institutional respect, and gives the public a clearer sense of Puntland’s founding purpose and historical trajectory.
This kind of gesture is not incidental. Great leaders distinguish themselves not only by their own achievements but by how they treat those who came before them — and how deliberately they cultivate the next generation of capable administrators. In doing so, they ensure that a state’s gains are sustained rather than reset with each transition of power, and that regional progress compounds over time instead of starting from zero.