About the blogger:
This blog is associated with the former Chief of Staff in Puntland State Presidency, 1998-2004. He also worked with the UN and World Bank Joint Secretariat for Somalia’s Re-construction and Development Program (RDP), 2005-2006, as a Zonal Technical Coordinator for Puntland and later as National Aid Technical Coordinator with the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia and European Union. He is now an independent political analyst and commentator on current issues and occasionally gives historical perspective on modern Somalia’s politics. He lives and works in Toronto, Canada. He can be reached at: ismailwarsame@gmail.com
In governance, especially in good governance, strong nations have some values in common: Recognition of the services and contributions by their past leaders in all fields of human endeavors. They have ideals and role models for citizens to follow and aspire to be. Have you ever seen any Somali leader recognizing and quoting the good works done by his predecessor (s)? Yes, in literature only. But that has nothing to do with the subject under discussion. Are Somali leaders in the business of “après moi, le dèluge” ( after me, the flood.)
If you don’t recognize the positive contributions of others, how would you expect people to remember you after you are gone? Does your leadership role today have any historical significance to your nation to remember and thank you for it? Do you expect any prayers for you from people you served so well while you were at command?
In religion, people quote leaders of faith and their good deeds in the service of good on earth. Strong nations of Europe and North America have ideals played so well by role models in their respective history. The so-called “Asian Tigers” have their Mahathir Mohameds.
History of nations are taught in schools to impress and prepare the youth for future leadership roles in their areas of interest.
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Do Somalis have a history to learn from? How could they avoid repeating the same mistakes over and over again? I truly believe that one of the main factors why Somalis couldn’t put their acts together is their disregard to reference of history and absence of official role models for the new generations to take cues from. If you are too mean to your predecessors, history will not be kind to you too.
A native of Sanaag Region was having a good time with hostess in Hargeisa. Her house was a comfortable joint to rest and relax during the day with the availability of cold Coca-Cola, his favorite drink. One day a lady from Sanaag Region had opened a shop in Hargeisa. A friend of his persuaded him to show sympathy and support to the new country lady by exchanging the place relaxation. He agreed. When he ordered a bottle of cold Coca-Cola, the new lady offered him a warm one. He was soo disappointed that he kept saying tribalism was too warm to offer one even a bottle of cold Coca-Cola (“qabyaaladi kululaa!”) Said Faadi, the Director of Gara’ad Port relayed this story to WDM.
Debate on Somali politics is full of rumors and speculations. It is hard to discern facts from fallacies. That is because nothing is predictable as the nature of indirect election here is more fluid than the turbulent flow of pipe water. There is always room for the unexpected to happen in a corrupt system of vote buying through foreign money and meddling. Some members of Gulf states are particularly guilty of this election interference in Somalia. Foreign factor in Somalia’s decision-making process is one of the reasons behind the resistance to holding free and fair elections in a country fed up of poor leadership and incompetence. These crimes against the people of Somalia and their sovereignty is known here as foreign conspiracy and influence-peddling by the power of petro-dollars in a corrupt political marketplace as large as Somalia..
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Currently, speculations are rife in Mogadishu about Former President, Sheikh Sharif Ahmed, coming up with unexpected assertiveness, boldness and renewed confidence in jockeying for power, among other candidates, in Mogadishu. Observers have started speculating the UAE was deeply involved this time around to prop up certain presidential candidates and hopefuls. They said, Sheikh Sharif came up atop that list. They are also speculating that Puntland President, Said Abdullahi Deni, could be in the list of hopefuls, depending on whether he would throw his hat into ring.
Democracy by general elections and peaceful transfer of power made US great. Opportunity for everyone willing to compete and be successful in America has been attracting millions around the world. High standards of educational excellence brought in thousands of talented foreign students – many chose to remain in the US, contributing devastating braiñ-drain from their respective countries of orgin.Talents in every field of human endeavors got special welcome in US by especially designed Visa programs. America has been projecting an image of power and prosperity around world. It became a competition of ideas and ideology between East and West. This heralded bitter Cold War after World War Two. Eventually, it led to the collapse of the East, exemplified by the demise of the Soviet Block, paving the way to the supremacy of US in world arena as the only Superpower.
Like historical empires before it, political polarization and partisan bickering set in, leading to disharmony and mistrust between the elites and parties. Opportunists like Donald Trump seized this chance to propel themselves into power in the US. Trump as the most powerful chief executive of US government wasted no time to dismantle America by eroding its core democratic values and cherished traditions of self-government. This gave rise to white extremist groups and neofascists and domestic terrorists.
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Enter election of Joe Biden in 2020. He is a part of the US establishment and hardly will serve for a short period of time, not enough to make fundamental changes in systemic barriers on the road to equal opportunity for all, making provisions of US Constitution a pipe-dream for a long time in the lives of many Americans.
The historical ascent to the post of US vice-president by a woman and black lady, Kamala Harris, may backfire to usher in another Donald Trump next time around, just as it did with the election of Barack Hussein Obama. It looks it is the only way GOP could win future elections in a demographically changing America.
“Trump rioters at Capitol were joining to and participating in the “#Revolution”. That means their intention was to hurt the members of Congress, abort certification of election results, create constitutional crisis and keep Donald J Trump in power. I can’t think of any other explanation”, Ismail Warsame, January 8, 2021.
Somali men respect their respective mother-in-laws (sodoh) religiously. Any man found disrespectful of the rule is ostracized within the society. As I traveled around the world, I have been discovering that mothers-in-law may not enjoy the same privileges elsewhere, for instance, India.
Over the past years, as I had had the chance to interact with some East Indian colleagues at workplace or during travel, I found out that most married Indian men talk a lot about “the mother-in-law” and her hateful position in the household. As I continued to regard their conversations on the issue not only disrespectful, but also inhumane, until one day a friend of mine relayed to me a sad story involving the bitter experience of his Somali friend with his mother-in-law. The story is about a son-in-law making extra personal sacrifices to attend the plight of his mother-in-law. He took her to Mogadishu from the taugh life of rural Mudugh Region, to be exact, from Galdogob countryside, away from the burning heat of scorched earth with scarcity of drinking water. He settled her in a self-contained room in his house in Mogadishu. The mother-in-law started learning the Qur’an and praying five times daily. She was extremely thankful to her son-in-law for the comfort she was enjoying.
Clan-cleansing started in Mogadishu, following the Civil War in January 1991. The family had to flee to safety, only to find themselves in a checkpoint erected by tribal gangs, ready to rob and rape. Under negotiations upon ramsom and extortion, the son-in-law was allowed to take his wife and kids unhurt, but not his mother-in-law- the old woman was targeted for rape. The son-in-law still had to offer the gangs what was left of his family’s meagre travel expenses for emegency escape to Kismayo. He saved her from gang-rape.
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After long ordeal, the family had managed to settle in North America as political refugees. After a while, the mother-in-law had turned up aggressive and hostile towards her son-in-law to the extent that one day she slapped him in the face and demanded him to vacate his own home. He got out of the house, leaving North America altogether for a European country for good. He had left his family behind and started rebuilding his life anew. Most of his sons got spoiled in North America, growing up in the absence of a father.
I now got the message and attitudes of Indian men towards mothers-in-law.
Among the tragedies of Somalia’s Civil War includes an obscene case in which a group of women were taken from lorry at gunpoint in the darkness of the night to be gang-raped. One of the perpetrators had discovered in the next morning that two of his own sisters were among the victims the night before – a truly tragic story among the countless others.
During the brief occupation of Galkayo by General Aideed’s USC militia in March 3, 1991, at least five hundred women were gang-raped- some of whom were pregnant at the time, had suffered miscarriages due to the ordeal, not to mention about the massive human rights abuses in the epicenter of the conflict, Mogadishu.
A Guardian investigation revealed that western intelligence agencies have been examining for some time the papers documenting a Russian plot to put Donald Trump in power
Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin at a meeting in Helsinki. Photograph: Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images
Vivian Ho
Good morning.
Yesterday the Guardian broke the story of the Kremlin papers, documents purportedly revealing that Vladimir Putin personally authorized a secret, multi-agency spy operation to support Donald Trump in the 2016 US presidential election.
In delving deeper into the papers, it appears the plot was presented as being entirely defensive: “At the moment the Russian Federation finds itself in a predicament. American measures continue to be felt in all areas of public life,” the papers begin.
The papers list Trump’s personality flaws and “inferiority complex” as reasons why he would be perfect to weaken the US’s negotiating position.
Evidence of Trump’s flaws was collected from surveillance and observation of his previous trips to Russia, the documents state
Amid high unemployment among youth and diminishing opportunities for careers, Puntland youth need help.
There are no functioning recreational facilities in towns, no programs geared towards youth development, vocational training, no existence of social youth clubs, no debating societies. In other words, there is nothing to do on daily basis by young men in Puntland State. Browsing the smartphone non-stop has become the only pastime for the new generation of Puntlanders. It is hard to imagine what will become of residents of Puntland in the foreseeable future.
Around them, the talk of the town is either boring politics-talk or uninspiring mudane conversations and “none of your business” type of social engagements. Read this article to know the dire situation of youth here: https://ismailwarsame.blog/2020/03/15/puntland-youth-unemployment-2/
Take a read what comes up there. Are they mistaking the occupied village of Tukaraq nearby with Puntland Capital City? Does Garowe City enjoy the same “disputed” status as Las Anod in regional jurisdiction?
Ask the Ethiopian Airlines Management what was going on in yheir mapping of airline routes.
Residents, visitors and travelers of a country should be able to call for help in case of emergency. There should be dedicated public departments to respond to emergency situations concerning health and threats to personal safety. Contact information to access such assistance should be publicly advertised and made ready to respond to pleas for help. The need for public emergency services is part of perquisites for government existence. Tax-payers have every right to demand establishment and availability of assistance when needed and on-demand.
Recently I had had a chat on the issue with a gentleman, who briefed me on his experience. The man was receiving threatening phone calls from strangers. He didn’t know to do about his situation. He told me he was skeptical to seek help from Puntland Police Department due to the sensitivity of his case and mistrust he held about their competence. The only alternative he could think of was attempting to contact his former colleagues and persons in Puntland government he knew.
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The above true story sets out the best example for the absence of efficient and dedicated emergency services expected of Puntland government or any responsible modern government in the 21st century. It is long overdue to look into this matter.
Disrupted cities with masses living in deplorable conditions require urban planning
July 12, 2021
PHOTO: FARHAN ANWAR
Economists Daron Acemoglu and James A Robinson give an analysis in their book “Why Nations Fail” of the underdevelopment of nations due to their political institutions rather than factors such as their geographical boundaries or their social fabric.
In spite of this, in real sense, it is the failure of cities that poses a much dire threat to the development of nations. For an insight into the failure of cities, it is imperative to realise that these cities are multifaceted and have convoluted structures, and identify their exposure to the economic, moral and environmental challenges that they may come across.
Failure to realise the potential predicaments that cities may face has historically led to evanescent success of even smart cities which include Lavasa (India), PlanIT Valley (Portugal), Ordos (China) and Santander (Spain).
The monotonous flaws in urban planning projects, especially in the developing countries, become a conundrum for economists and policy-makers and this viscous cycle of urban failure eventually leads to the failure of nations.
Historically, cities have played a vital role in the formation of civilisations, states and kingdoms. These cities hold significant lessons from the past and stories of generations that have lived through them.
Once a prospering city starts to develop, with booming trade, a thriving economy and aesthetic appeal, the citizens are affluent and the city sets off to the road of longevity.
However, a few years down the line, the arrivistes have a fall in their income, the economy slows down and the denizens live a life contrary to what they had experienced.
Examples of the cities that are contrary to their former selves include Detroit, Michigan, Memphis, Tennessee and Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
In his book “The New Urban Crisis”, Richard Florida puts forward observed data to uphold the case that the urban crisis is the “central crisis of our era”. So what is it that causes cities to fail.
Lack of urban planning
More than 50% of the global population today lives in urban areas. It is expected that by the year 2045 the urban population globally will increase by 1.5 times to 6 billion.
This figure signifies that the policy-makers and leaders must look into the issue because the ignorant policy-makers in some countries to date rely on the conventional master plans while urban planning is inchoate.
The disrupted cities with masses living in deplorable conditions require urban planning. This stems from the basic economic problem of scarce resources and increasing population in cities.
The increase in environmental issues, poor sanitation, over-population and several other problems the modern cities face call for experts from different fields of research to forecast population growth, recognise means of commute in the city, devise strategies for land use, and identify water demand and supply to meet growing needs of the urban population.
Lack of political will
The lack of political will in governments leads to failure of cities due to vested interests rather than public engagement and public interest.
It is for this reason major economic and policy decisions concerning cities are taken by the incumbent government whose primary purpose is success in the next elections and the general public is not engaged in decision-making.
Therefore, policy objectives are aimed at meeting the ruling party’s interests rather than mutual decisions keeping into consideration the local citizens who are affected the most by them.
Therefore, there is a need of an inclusive system keeping in view all the relevant stakeholders and the agencies concerned to work mutually for the development of well-organised cities that take into account the community’s welfare.
The foresight should not be centralised rather cohesive planning should be done so benefits of cities could be extended to the masses.
Urban sprawl
Denser cities contribute to urban sprawl, which signifies the unhindered spreading out of several urban areas of residential accommodation, industrial growth and infrastructure, with urban planning given the least significance.
Such poorly planned cities lead to even worse management. This exposes the cities to increased hazards such as perilous housing, poor sanitation, destruction of environment and increased pollution and health risks.
In this case, any unforeseen natural disaster can exacerbate the already wretched condition of the cities. For example, the lack of healthcare facilities for a massive population, poor housing conditions and a population deprived of education can make coping with a natural hazard such as an earthquake an ordeal for the dwellers.
Along with the natural hazards, the growth of industrial sector also creates the risk of manmade hazards due to the absence of supervision over the activities performed by these industries in urban areas, eg the Lahore factory disaster in 2015 where a shopping bag factory collapsed and the colossal Bhopal gas leak tragedy in India.
The segments of society most vulnerable to such risks are the urban poor, who have residences in slums or other perilous localities, deprived of basic services required for human life.
According to the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, “Up to 90% of people in urban areas in low-income countries live in unsafe, exposed housing”.
They are, therefore, more exposed to such risks as can be seen in the incident of garbage slide that led to the loss of 200 lives in an informal community in Manila, the Philippines.
Therefore, the modern cities call on the cohort of urban planning cognoscenti to cogitate upon the future of urban cities.
If left ignored, the conurbations shall exacerbate the predicament of the cities while we wait desperately for a deus ex machina to resolve the crisis and a ‘Land of Cockaigne’ remains a dream for the generations to come.
The writer is passionate about economic development and studying Economics and Mathematics at the Institute of Business Administration, Karachi
Published in The Express Tribune, July 12th, 2021.
Prince Machela of THE SOWETAN TIMES wrote regarding the post-apartheid South-Africa and asks the question: What can we do about it?
“In the midst of the political confusion that has gripped our country, many people are wondering if we have come to the end of South Africa.
The answer is simple: The thing called an “end” does not exist, not in relation to a country. SA will be there long after Jacob Zuma is gone.
What Zuma has done, is to make us come to the realisation that ours is just another African country, not some exceptional country on the southern tip of the African continent.
During the presidency of Nelson Mandela and Thabo Mbeki, some among us used to believe that the black people of SA are better than those of other African countries.
We must all thank Zuma for revealing our true African character; that the idea of rule of law is not part of who we are, & that constitutionalism is a concept far ahead of us as a people.
How else are we to explain the thousands of people who flock to stadiums to clap hands for a president who has violated their country’s constitution? Such people have no idea of constitutionalism.
Now that we have reclaimed our place as another African country, we must reflect on & come to terms with our real character, and imagine what our future portends.
In a typical African country, ordinary people don’t expect much of politicians, because people get tired of repeated empty promises.
In a typical African country, people have no illusions about the unity of morality and governance. People know that those who have power, have it for themselves & their friends and families.
The idea that the state is an instrument for people’s development, is a Western concept, and has been copied by pockets of Asian countries.
Africans & their leaders don’t like to copy from the West. They are happy to remain African, & do things “the African way”.
The African way, is rule by kings, chiefs & indunas, in a setting of unwritten rules. Is there anyone who has seen a book of African customary laws?
The idea that a commoner can raise questions about public money spent on the residence of a king, is not African. The ANC MPs who have been defending Zuma, are true Africans.
Asking a ruler to be accountable is a foreign – Western – idea. In a situation where there is conflict between a ruler and laws, Africans simply change the laws to protect the ruler. This is why no single white person has called for King Dalindyebo to be released from jail.
The problem with clever blacks, is that they think they live in Europe,where ideas of democracy have been refined over centuries.
What we need to do is to come back to reality, and accept that ours is a typical African country. Such a return to reality will give us a fairly good idea of what SA’s future might look like …
This country will not look like Denmark. It might look like Nigeria, where anti-corruption crusaders are an oddity. Being an African country, ours will not look like Germany. SA might look like Kenya, where tribalism drives politics.
People must not entertain the illusion that a day is coming when SA will look like the USA. Our future is more on the side of Zimbabwe, where one ruler is more powerful than the rest of the population. Even if Julius Malema were to become president, it would still be the same.
African leaders don’t like the idea of an educated populace, for clever people are difficult to govern. Mandela and Mbeki were themselves corrupted by Western education. (Admission: this columnist is also corrupted by such education.)
Zuma remains African. His mentality is in line with Boko Haram. He is suspicious of educated people; what he calls “clever blacks”. Remember that Boko Haram means “Against Western Education”.
The people who think we have come to the end of SA, don’t realise that we have actually come to the beginning of a real African country, away from the Western illusions of exceptionalism. Those who are unsettled by this true African character need help. The best we can do for them is to ask them to look north of the Limpopo River, to learn more about governance in Africa.
What makes most people restless about the future of SA, is that they have Western models in mind, forgetting that ours is an African country.
The idea that a president can resign simply because a court of law has delivered an adverse judgment is Western. Only the Prime Minister of Iceland does that; African rulers will never do that.
Analysed carefully, the notion of SA coming to an “end” is an expression of a Western value system – of accountability, political morality, reason, and so on.
All these are lofty ideas of Socrates, Kant, Hegel, and so on. They are not African.
All of us must thank Jacob Zuma for introducing us to the real African Republic of South Africa, not some outpost of European values.
The recent cleanup operations against Al-Shabab will certainly attract the ire and angry responses from the Satans in Galkayo and elsewhere in Somalia. Residents and authorities shouldn’t put their guard down after initial operational and legal successes.
According to news sources, some residents in urban towns of Puntland State were receiving typical Al-Shabab phone calls to intimidate and terrorize people. This is the traditional modi operandi of the Evil Group in Somalia.
On receiving such cowardly warnings, residents are advised to contact authorities immediately, while taking extra security precautions and safety measures. Collect and document all messages and evidences of intimidation as much as you can to be used in a court of law against the perpetrators.
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Puntland authorities shouldn’t lose the momentum to uproot the menace of Al-Shabab and ISIS in their areas of jurisdiction, and help other regions in Somalia in eliminating these terror groups. Operations against the terror groups require discreet networking and cooperation between trustworthy organizations and reliable state agents. These also need the voluntary cooperation of citizens with the authorities. Concentrate on exposing financial and intelligence networks of the terrorists.
Intelligence and news resources are indicating that the leadership, financiers and intelligence networks of Al-Shabab Terror Group are still intact in Galkayo and other towns of Puntland. Some residents among the terrorist networks could be unsuspecting high profile persons in the community. They should be exposed and rounded up without fear or favors. Good luck!
A sad story on the deterioration of Puntland environment was related to me tonight by the Adviser of Puntland President, Abdirisaq Gawiido. After a brief visit to Galkayo, Gawiido has been raising an alarm on incidents he was briefed by Mudugh elders on the destructive environmental trends in the Region, and certainly, beyond it in Puntland State. These include wanton destruction by cutting down trees and massive commercial hunting of wild game in Mudugh and Burtinle areas. According to eyewitness report, one man alone has been spotted having a truckload of captured and slaughtered dik dik and antelopes in Galkayo. Similar stories were reported from the town of Burtinle in Nugaal Region. One dik dik is said to be sold under $1 to a displaced family in the yearly multiplying camps around Puntland urban centres.
Man-made environmental deterioration has no bounds in Puntland, perhaps, throughout Somalia. We hear horror stories of burning entire forest into charcoal in Jubaland with piles of sacks of coal at Kismayo Port for export to the Gulf states.
Destruction of fish habitat in the Red Sea and Indian Ocean by illegal foreign trawlers with worldwide banned fishing gears and dumping of industrial toxic wastes have been going on for decades now. Sea piracy was considered security threat to the rest of the world, but dumping of toxic waste is treated as local issue with indifference to the health hazards it posed to the local coastal communities.
What to do about it? For sure, there is no absence of laws on environmental protection in Puntland. These laws are collecting dust in the departmental shelves of the government of Puntland State and the House of Representatives. Laws, when unforced, do not exist. What you need here is a task force empowered to implement these laws, with attachment of experts and media campaign to bring awareness of the problem to the society, especially among the rural population. Puntland Ministry of the Environment should be activated with the formation of a task-force working closely with all levels of the government, including city councils to attend this existential threat on daily basis as a priority Puntland Government Environmental Policy. It is worth noting that even the Italian Colonial Administration then had a contingent of soldiers called “Duubcad” by the natives. They were tasked to keep the peace among the nomads and prevent environmental abuses.
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There are some suggestions on introducing new methods of making stables to the herd owners. Providing the nomadic population with barbed wires in stable-making to prevent cutting down trees is one option. Others advise for the construction of stables with the use of stone fence like they do in Sanaag.
If the environmental deterioration of Puntland is not reversed, this country would look like the Western Hemisphere country of Haiti, with its consequences of poverty, diseases and backwardness.
I find writing not only creative, but also liberating. I find conversations with most people unlightening and often boring, especially with people who spend much of their free time chatting on things that make no difference in their lives. I often see seemingly educated persons browsing the Internet and watching aimlessly anything that is animated for their wondering attention.
Sometimes, I get irritated when people choose every mudane happenings in the Internet over my articles on current affairs and critical analysis of events that affect them directly or indirectly. At times, I feel sorry for them for wasting their precious time on watching YouTube rubbish by dubious characters trying to get Google hits as a way of living, no matter how degrading for them and others it could be.
Recently, I had a chance to chat with a former minister here in Garowe. To be frank, he wasn’t related to the Puntland government. During our conversation, I could feel that he was addicted to browsing his smartphone. However, he was trying very hard to multi-task with our conversation (I must be honest to admit that I am guilty of the same sin sometimes, especially when I feel the conversation uninspiring). At the times, I needed his attention to emphasize a few points, but I wasn’t sure whether he was with me, causing me to pause my talk until he was done with the phone, which he rarely did. After all, It was an ambitious expectation of him on my part. You don’t continue talking when your interlocutor picks up the phone to answer a call. You wait until they hang up the device. Nevertheless, you don’t appreciate the interruptions for it isn’t the best way to conduct business. Worse of all is when your conversant doesn’t put his phone either in silent or vibration mode, but leave it on loud ring tone in a meeting. Others don’t learn the suitability of texting in today’s busy modern world, where voice speaking is inconvenient at its best.
I also feel deep sorrow for those who are removed from the world of readership and the power of the pen. You could only imagine what they have been missing in life. Reading is a habit one develops, and if not repeated too often, it won’t stick with a person.
A writer gets bored and feels uneasiness when he or she doesn’t get busy in drafting any sort of writing. Depending on how you look at it, that is their hobby or vice to find meaning in life.
They say there is calm before the storm. There are multiple political problems simmering currently in Somalia as a whole. Let us start with issues at peripheries (Federal Member States).
PUNTLAND: The recent move by Puntland Parliament to raise up the stakes required to remove a sitting MP in direct challenge to the powers of the State President, and the speculation about Puntland President Said Abdullahi Deni being an undeclared Federal Presidential Candidate look like a harbinger of what is about to happen next in the State, politically. Obviously, there is resistance on the part of Dhulbahante MPs to the policy of the government of Puntland on the planned 1P1V as their political fortunes in One Person One Vote elections look in jeopardy in swathes of SSC territory (mostly Sool Region). President Deni and his Aaran Jaan political allies are no longer cohesive with regards to their expectations from the outcome of Somalia’s national elections. Aaran Group prefers a Hawiye candidate to win in order to have a say in the appointment of the next prime minister. Forgetting about the good fortunes the Speaker of the Puntland Parliament, Mr. Abwaan, had been enjoying because of the help he had received at expense of others from the State President, he decided to venture out on his own and take risks he doesn’t know how it would play out.
GALMUDUGH: The flip-flop political positions of Galmudugh State President, Qoor Qoor, Federal presidential candidacy of Abdikarim Guled and governance and security challenges posed by Al-shabab make the political situation precarious in that State.
HIRSHABELLE: The State exists only in the books, never succeeding as self-sustaining entity away from Mogadishu shadows. Hiiraan Region isn’t integrated with State Capital City, Jowhar – a situation that makes too difficult to reach at consensus in holding a Federal election in the State.
SOUHTWEST: Sharif Hassan, the former state president and now a Federal presidential candidate, continued incarceration of Al-Shabab leader, Roobow, and State’s preference to maintain the 4.5 Clan Power-sharing arrangement in Somalia make the political situation unpredictable in Southwest State.
JUBALAND: Gedo Region issue is unresolved and therefore the impasse still holds out.
BANADIR: Farmajo is using deep-state to meddle in the independence of the Electoral Commission, planting already his men at its chair and vice-chair, and using Prime Minister Rooble as a Trojan Horse against the chances and political ambitions of other candidates.
With all predictions and analysis, there could be political storms in many parts of Somalia in the run-up to the Federal elections. Stay tuned.
There are reports concerning serious meddling in the election of the chair and vice-chair of the electoral commission by Farmajo Team. Among these reports include one posted by Nairobi-based Matt Bryden, a Canadian expatriate with a long history in Somali studies and NGO business in the country. Mr Bryden, as controversial as he is anti-Farmajo regime, makes sense this time around. He states that the scheduled Somalia’s election is already rigged as the regime has already packed up the leadership of the commission with its men to predetermine the outcome of the election in favor of the incumbent. He also adds that the opposition, fearful of being marked “spoilers” by the international community, aren’t addressing this obvious interference in the independence of the electoral commission. Another reason he cites for the silence of the opposition on the issue is their reluctance to oppose prime minister Rooble, who may be working towards Farmajo’s win.
If the above reports were nearly close to the truth, there is a cloud of mistrust hanging on this election, which would make election victory by Farmajo or someone else promoted by NISA and its allies as very much a suspect.
The current position of the opposition to keep calm and standby while Farmajo-Fahad shenanigans are ongoing, would be tantamount to dereliction of duty.
How often do you see or read about any studies by Somalis on how Somalia’s economy is doing monthly, quarterly or yearly? Do you have any statistics on unemployment rate? National imports and exports? Budget deficit? Interest rates on loans or public debt? Or any reports on the state of country’s economic situation? Who was supposed to do research or studies on these issues? Are we moving in the darkness? Who is preventing us from sleepwalking into an abyss?
Has politics become our pastime, especially tribal politics? Where are we heading to?
Are the rudimentary institutions calling themselves prematurely tank tanks or research centers all geared up to study elections and election-related issues? Politics only? Do they have any concept on multi-tasking (doing more that one thing at time)?
Most Somalis have now, at least, one telephone number, and it is easier to compile preliminary data on vital population statistics. But, who would lead the efforts to study the affairs of this country?
Those arm-chair debating intellectuals should learn multi-tasking to baby-step towards normal intellectual browsing. Political leaders should, at least, start understanding what we are talking about here.
Warsame Policy & Media Network (WAPMEN) 
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