The Time for Petty Political Ambitions is Over A few days ago, the discredited man in Villa Somalia declared his suicidal mission. His obliviousness to repeat history is crystal clear to any rational person, Somali or otherwise. His decision mimics the nihilism from Villa Somalia in 1990. If this is unchecked, his megalomania will permanently foreclose the future of not only many Somali generations, but the very prospect of the Somalia we all hope for and dream about. There is only one sure way to blunt his sadistic ambition. That is, the entire political opposition in Mogadishu and the provinces MUST realize that their individualistic and divisive ambition is what emboldens the chap in Villa Somalia. If the opposition truly cares about the fate of our people, then they must abandon their self-indulgent ambitions. It is high time that a single political coalition was formed whose sole purpose is to save the country from the impending calamity. The way to do it is to form one shared political coalition, based on consensus, and jointly owned agenda. Such a civic union must craft a common political plan for the next four years with clear accountable mandates and division of responsibilities. It is time to save our people’s destiny rather than nurse petty political ambitions

📷 A Clarion Call to Somalis to Block Hassan Sh’s Suicidal Mission. Hassan Sh’s illegitimate threat to former President Shariff and the political opposition is tantamount to a declaration of civil war. Somalis know how a mindless dictatorship and the tribalist opposition destroyed our country. We must not allow  Hassan Sh’ foolish lust for power to destroy yet another generation of our youth. Former president Sharif may not be a political angel, but he and the Union of Islamic Court deserve our respect and honor as they liberated the country from the tyranny of 15 years of savage warlordism.  The current dictator would never have become president without Sharif playing by the rules. Hassan Sh. owes his presidency to Sharif. The way to stop Hassan Sh and his clowns from derailing our effort to build better Somalis is for the opposition to unify their individual agendas into a single and faithful communion and mobilize the population to usher in a new era. The Old Somali saying “ Gudcurku wuxu ugu madoow yahey  waa bari hortii.” This is similar to the English proverb which states that “The darkest hour is near the dawn.” To bring in the new dawn requires the unity of purpose by all Somalis, foremost among these is the political opposition. The salvation guide is: One civic agenda for one Somalia

This is my recent podcast interview for Pambazuka News, where I discussed Somaliland’s secessionism, the Red Sea, and Turkey’s influence in the Horn of Africa. youtube.com/watch?v=8FJMXHOM…

Türkiye Petroleum agreement with Somalia is one worst in the World Many Somalis of goodwill believe that Türkiye is a Muslim country that has a brotherly relationship with Somalia, but the regime in Ankara is engaged in deep economic duplicity. The Petroleum agreement between Somalia and Türkiye clearly manifest two facts. First, Hassan Sh. betrayed of the Somali people by signing a contract that seriously undermines their interest. Second, the Ankara regime abused the subservience of the Somali regime to extract maximum benefits from the agreement. It has been difficult to find the full contract between Somalia and Türkiye, but what we have seen so far shows that the production sharing agreement gives Somalia only 5% of royalties. Equatorial Guinea’s petroleum production agreement with Western oil companies is considered one of the worst contracts in the world. Nevertheless, even that sinfully corrupt and cruel dictatorship negotiated a better deal than Somalia. Equatorial Guinea earns 12% of the royalties, while many of the other oil producing countries earn substantially more. This makes the Türkiye -Somalia agreement one the worst in the world. Is it not ironic this is how some Muslim regimes treat their weaker faith brothers. Corruption and misery will be the consequence of this deal. To see the evil consequences of such corrupt agreements, here is a link to a documentary that explains the miserable case of Equatorial Guinea. youtube.com/watch?v=2UqmiENL…

The suffering of our people has endured and such conditions have made them vulnerable to all types of abuses, manipulations, and exploitations. An old saying goes as follows: "With a friend like you who needs an enemy."  This increasingly applies to Türkiye. Here is the link to a recent essay that provides some details of what the Ankara regime has been up to in our country. pambazuka.org/Türkiye-Neo-co…

Yesterday, there was a serious debate on Sudan in the Pan African Parliament Here is a brief version of our contribution. youtube.com/watch?v=zNK0Pd8Q…

The Somali people have been prisoners of a heartless, incompetent, and greedy elite for over two generations. We may be at the nadir of our existence as people. It's us against them. Pray, organize, and act. Here is an essay that explains our journey and challenge. May Allah bless you. pambazuka.org/Caged-Somalia

Today’s Irony in Mogadishu Today, representative of the Somali political opposition and the regime met at the Turkish Hotel at Aden A. Osman International Airport. Most Somalis are praying for peace and for a fair electoral process that would undo Hassan Sh’s authoritarian and deeply corrupt roadmap.   In addition, the public are seriously worried about the possibility of the dictator instigating a new civil war. What he did in Baidoa, and his attempts to encircle Puntland have all the hallmarks of the dying days of a morally bankrupt regime. Despite the prayers and the well wishes of the public, the Somali political opposition made a serious mistake by allowing the Turkish Deputy Chief of Intelligence to be a mediator. It is exceptionally ironic that the Somali opposition thought that the regime in Ankara, widely known for its heavy handedness against the Turkish opposition, would  play a neutral role. Come on! My dear Somalis.  Prayers alone are not enough. Wake up!

The Deep Essence of June 26, 1960 Today is June 26, 2016. It was sixty six years ago that the flames of liberty and the joy of our  communion lit up the gloomy skies of the Somali world. Sisterhood and brotherhood were the genuine spirit of the day as our most esteemed nationalist poet, Abdillahi Suldan Timade, soothed our spirit, urged us to double our collective effort, and warned us against the reinvention of sectarian divisions.  Just five days later, on July 1, the nightmare of nearly eighty years of colonial humiliation and division was cast aside and our forefathers and foremothers enacted the first step of the Somali union. The deep essence of that spirit lives on in the soul of most Somalis. However, a deranged and devilish class of politicians, pseudo-traditional tribalists, and looters of our commons hijacked our country, poisoned our culture, set us up against each other, and demonized the very essence of Somalinimo. The lone objective of this cohort is to lock us up in tribal dungeons  as a bunch of self-hating and debased souls, while they live off of our misery.  The insanely corrupt, spiritually and ethically bankrupt pseudo-tyrant in Villa Somali is fanning the flames of a new civil war and the rise of a malignant dictatorship. Beware!!! A new exceptionally progressive movement among our young people alone has the potential to save our honorable heritage and the spirit of national and common cause. With Allah’s blessings, such a movement alone can reignite and guide our “Siraad Al mustaqiin.”   It is now or never. Prayers to Allah demand organization and action not just sermons!!!

There was a debate between two Members of the Pan African Parliament regarding the issue of ‘Xenophobia’ in Soth Africa. I challenged the description of the struggle among the poor in South Africa as Xenophobic which my Ghanian colleague, Hon. Dafeamekpor, put forth. Here is a reporter’s narration of the debate. africanparliamentarynews.com…

Türkiye neo-colonial agenda in Somalia Over two years ago, I publicly stated that Hassan Sh. will go down in history as Somalia’s worst president. I told the listeners that Barre destroyed our country, but he did not know that his catastrophic acts would cost the lives of millions, fragment the country into sectarian fiefdoms, and destroy Somalis’ trust in each other. In contrast, Hassan Sh. witnessed Siyad Barre’s calamity in the making and lived through the consequent horrors of civil war and statelessness. He should know better, but is utterly blinded by lust for personal dictatorship! Astonishingly, Hassan Sh.’s tenure over the past fours mimicked the worst corrupt practice of the old regime’s last decade and is now attempting to impose a second rate violent tyranny over the country most of whose territory he does not control. The English proverb “Repeating history the first time is a tragedy; the second time it is a farce” aptly captures the mindset and fate. The political opposition’s demand for an inclusive electoral process not controlled by Hassan Sh.’s lackeys is legitimate and honorable as he is lusting for the establishment of a second rate Bantustan. Hassan’s violent use of all the security forces to block the political opposition from conducting peaceful demonstrations in Mogadishu marked a regressive turning point. Such manufactured crisis has brought Mogadishu, and by extension the country, to the brink of a precipice. Türkiye’s sinister agenda Hassan Sh.’s agenda is buttressed by Türkiye who has armed the regime fully knowing its agenda. In fact, Ankara has been a partner of the regime for the past four years as the regime rode rough shod over the parliamentary process in signing military, mining, and other lob-sided agreements without the Somali parliament ever seeing the documents. Thus, it is not surprising that Ankara watched as Hassan Sh. turned Somali security forces, many of which they trained, as his personal mercenaries. It has been reported that Ankara removed its ambassador to Somalia and dispatched a new one. Meanwhile Türkiye declared that it wants to act as a mediator between the regime in Mogadishu and the political opposition. Such a move is pretentious as it exploits, once more, whatever empathy it garnered for its humanitarian intervention nearly a decade and half ago. What exposes its duplicity is the fact that it is orchestrating an attempt, behind the scenes, to have one of its Somali lackeys and agents elected as speaker of Somalia’s lower house of parliament in the next few weeks. If this candidate is appointed as Speaker, it would be like having a Turkish agent as Somali Parliamentary leader. An old Somali saying pithily captures Ankara’s chameleon character, “Qofka aad kaba ka tolaneysid kabihiisa u fiirso” If you want to buy shoes from someone, first check the quality of his footwear. The implication of this proverb is: Somalis in general and the political opposition in particular must not trust Ankara anymore as its nefarious agenda is patently clear. And if the Somali political opposition had any doubt about Ankara’s even-handedness in Somalia, they must take stock of Ankara’s ill treatment of its own political opposition! fdd.org/analysis/2026/06/03/…

Many Africans have condemned South Africa for Xenophobic attacks on African immigrants. The claims about Xenophobia are not new. I challenged the condemnation of South Africa. The issue is more complicated than such simplistic assertion. Below is the essay explaining what the issues are. The essay which was published in businessday You can read it as the original pdf document below link. abdisamatar.com/wp-content/u…

Debating equality, justice, and democracy in Pan African Parliament.

Türkiye – Somalia:  A semi colonial relationship! Five years ago, I wrote an opinion piece about the evolving relationship between Somalia and Türkiye. The essay pointed out the imbalance in the relationship and warned that the structure of the relationship did not bode well for Somalia and Somalis. Tragically, developments since then have vindicated the prognosis the essay made. Our country is increasingly becoming a fiefdom for Türkiye interest and the derelict regime in Mogadishu behaves like a Bantustan. dailymaverick.co.za/opinioni…

Türkiye As a Resources Pirate Turkish vessels are prospecting and drilling for oil in Somali waters. This is exceptionally alarming as the entire affair is illegal. President Erdogan and his people know that the so-called defense and petroleum agreements between Türkiye and Somalia are fraudulent. The Somali Parliament has yet to see the texts of the two ‘agreements.’ Despite knowing these facts, the Turkish leadership has decided to ignore them and proceed with the exploration. This behavior and actions make Türkiye resources pirates. No amount of masquerading will alter the facts as well as Ankara’s guilt in conniving with an illegitimate and derelict Regime in Mogadishu. Second, and equally troubling, is the use of Türkiye military resources by Villa Somalia to shore up the sinfully corrupt dictatorship in Mogadishu whose tenure ends in less than a month. Ankara has found solace in silence, but the Somali people will not forget Türkiye’s great deception. The Somali people fondly remember the kindness of the Turkish people at the hour of their need a decade and half ago, but it now appears that the Ankara government’s stealth agenda was a cover for its lust to create a neo-colony in the Horn of Africa.  But Somalis will liberate their country, to paraphrase the lyrics of Bob Marely, et.al : youtube.com/watch?v=yxmsZXYh…