Abdi Ismail Samatar

Over two years ago, I publicly stated that Hassan Sh. will go down in history as the worst president in our country’s history. If any of you had any doubt about this statement, the events of the last few months and today in Baidoa factually confirm the verdict. His blind, lustful, and crude ego has now reopened the wounds of war that our country has been trying to recover from for over three decades. The key partner of the minion has been the Turkish regime. Ankara’s main objective is focused on establishing a client state so it could loot whatever natural resources and strategic value our country has. The time has come for Somalis to see the Turkish regime for what it is: an opportunistic operation. Hassan Sh’s has fully utilized Ankara’s military material and that must go into the annals of our history. The time has come for Somalis of faith to stand together and discard him before a more devastating turn of events unravel.

Here is one of my latest articles. The title speaks for itself. It is a sobering reminder that our country's problems are our responsibility. No one else can help us. The future is in our hands if good Somalis become united with Allah's guidance. Bless the committed, Aamiin. pambazuka.org/index.php/AU-S…

The Emperor has no clothes For months, the current occupant of Villa Somalia has forfeited every principle of faith and honor. His insatiable greed is evidenced by the dispossession of our indigent citizens in and around Mogadishu. Most recently, he and his foot soldiers have realized that the game is over for them as Somalis have seen them for what they are: corrupt thugs. His latest delusion has been to deny MPs from travelling to their home regions. As the old English saying goes: the emperor no longer has any clothes! Then, Somalis of good faith must worry less about him and concentrate their energies in saving our country and charting a more promising future for our people. Here are the first immediate steps: 1. Put our petty political differences and ambitions aside and unite for a common cause. 2. Agree to form a government of national unity with a tenure of two years to prepare the ground for a new election and beyond. 3. Establish a committee of the 10 most trusted and honorable men and women to plan for post transitional dispensation such that the recurring political problems of the last two decades are not repeated again. May Allah bless Somalia, Aamiin.

This message is for readers of Arabic. It provides a glimpse of the horible impact of the war on the Sudanese youth. I saw this first hand during my recent visit to Sudan. I urge all humane people to chip in to support Sudanese youth. Bless you. almjarah.net/2026/59518

The UAE & War Crimes in the Sudan: a firsthand report I recently visited parts of Sudan and saw firsthand the horrific cost of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) supported war against the wonderful people of Sudan. The town of El Fasher was a recent epicenter of the war. After months of siege, the town fell to the RSF terrorists. The invasion destroyed the town and the civilian population were terrorized: many were violently murdered, others gruesomely raped, and tens of thousands fled into the unforgiving desert. Many perished seeking refuge and a lot of them found sanctuary in the harsh desert outside the town of Dabah, nearly 1000Km from their home. The Humanitarian community is sparing no effort to support the internal refugees in Alafad, near the town of Dabah, but the rest of the world is silent when the need is greatest. From the victims, I heard stories of horror: female children and grandmothers raped; the torture and indiscriminate murder of young and the old during and after the fall of El Fasher; and the use of starvation as a weapon of war. Two culprits are responsible for this calamity: the genocidal RSF – who were previously implicated in the genocide in Darfur, and their financial backer, the United Arab Emirates. We appeal to people of conscience from all over the world to act against these genociders and the enablers.

Greed and Insanity: Hassan Sh’s. & Adan Madoobe’s articles of faith Reports from much of Somalia is one of destitution and near famine. But Hassan Sh. and Adan Madoobe are insanely oblivious to the plight of our people. I have seen and read reports that show people in Galmudug and parts of Southwest are sliding closer to famine. According to several ministers, the Somali Cabinet under the chairmanship of the Deputy PM refused to listen to these reports from responsible authorities during their last meeting. In contrast, the regime’s most urgent priority is to extend the parliamentary session by a month in order to gerrymander the constitution and illegitimately perpetuate itself in power. This is how heartless the elite has become. The time has come for those who claim to be people of faith to show their mettle and challenge the regime. Failing to do them will insure absolute doom.

NERO FIDDLES WHILE ROME 🔥 🔥 🔥 Hassan Sh. and his inept cabal celebrate their farcical election and their loot of the country's meger resources, just when our existence faces calamitous encounters. Tragically, the rest of the political opposition is raderless as our collective despair deepens. Today's omen mimics an earlier catastrophe when our total existence was in peril. IT IS NOW OR NEVER!!!

My most recent article on inequality and Segregation in Africa. pambazuka.org/index.php/Rein…

A Challenge to Trump's demonization of Somalis. youtube.com/watch?v=7-SR0W…

Challenging the tyranny of the United Arab Emirates in the Pan African Parliament.

Advancing African countries are guided by coherent and sustained policies. Unlike other African states, Hassan Sh's regime is guided by illusion. Such an illusion recently prompted him to declare that kswahili will be taught in our schools. He does not even know that most of our children can not read and write proper Somali. dailymaverick.co.za/opinionista/20…

Somalia’s animal farm was on display today First, we want to pray for those injured or killed by Hassan Sh’s thugs in Mogadishu today. May Allah rest their soul in peace and in Heaven. Aamiin. Second, today, Hassan Sh. and his regime have lost whatever shared of legitimacy they thought they had as Somali leaders.  His deep and unprecedent corruption, abuse of authority, cruelty to our poor people, and disrespect for the national laws and ethos now seal the fate of his regime. Given this, the Somali people, and especially those in Mogadishu, have a legitimate duty  to salvage our national soul by mobilizing continuous and non-violent mass resistance to get rid of this most hideous regime and albatross on our national spirit. Now, the challenge is with the political opposition: the nation demands a unified political agenda to lead the movement rather than individual political projects. Such a unified and principled coalition is the surest way to national salvation. Finally, Now is the time for the Somali Spring of liberation & Unification. May Allah guide us.

The Somali Flag:  A Jewel of Somali Unity I recently learned about an opportunistic effort to soil the most precious symbol of all Somalis and not only those in the old republic. I think Somalis deserve to honor those who valiantly fought for our liberation and unity. May Allah treat them to Fardousa, Aamiin. Let me briefly tell the good public how our flag was brought to existence.  The territorial Somali Council, under the UN called on the public to submit proposals for a national flag. The leading Somali liberation party (SYL) and others in the national assembly created a committee to solicit ideas for Somalis’ national flag in 1953/4. Somalis from all corners of our lands submitted proposals to the committee. The Committee vetted all submissions and unanimously chose the now symbolic light blue background with a five-pointed star. The designer intended the five points of the star to represent the five Somali territories under colonialism, while the blue back represented our beautiful sky. Walaal Mohamed Awale Liban was the sole designer. What an incredibly beautiful mind and spirit he had – the same spirit that drove the unification of British and Italian Somalilands. I urge all Somali of goodwill to honor the work of our liberators and ensure that spirit lives on eternally. youtube.com/watch?v=pBIjbS…

The Elite’s Politics of the Belly The Somali political class and most particularly the regimes in Mogadishu have been the source of all of our political ills. Ordinary Somalis, even in Mogadishu have paid incalculable price for the misdeeds of this class for the last fifty-five years. The natural instincts of the leadership of the elite and those in power in Mogadishu have been how to make life harder  for our people. Such politics have fragmented our nation and continues to alienate us from each other. A most recent example of such policy is the new requirement for an online visa for entering the country. Airlines have been told that they cannot transport anyone to Somaliland (Hargeisa)without having the new visa. This means that Somalis going to Hargeisa from the Diaspora must first get the new visa at $64 per person and then get another visa for $60 in Hargesia. Such thoughtless surcharge penalizes ordinary Somali families who are working hard to keep their families together and to maintain strong cultural ties to our homeland. Beyond the regime in Mogadishu, the so-called Somaliland representatives in the Mogadishu parliament and government are so tamed by the regime that they dare not raise their voice on behalf of the very people they claim to represent. The politics of the belly is what keeps these folks in Mogadishu and not a belief in our country unity.

This is my most recent interview for Xogmaal Media. youtube.com/watch?v=Gw5Ts0…

Deceit is the Hallmark of the Somali political elite Dishonesty, deceit, corruption, tribalism, and lying has been the core characteristics of Somali politics for a long time. The political elite has come to live in this dystopia while the disorganized and deeply traumatized population pray and hope that somehow either the elite will wise up or that a miraculous intervention will right the wrongs. Hassan Sh’s naked greed and incompetence, and the latest shenanigans among the political opposition in Mogadishu reconfirms the diabolical opportunism of most members of the elite. As one of Somalia’s freedom fighters noted nearly eight decades ago, prayers alone will not deliver liberation. Tragically, without a highly disciplined, faithful, wise, and patriotic front, the Somali catastrophe will fester for a long time!

Pure Evil & Soomalinimo Poor Somalis have been the ultimate victims of warlords, political thugs, and mindless terrorists. However, the current regime in Mogadishu and much of the political class in the country are desecrating the last remnants of the soul of Somalinimo. The most devilish culprit is the current occupant of Villa Somalia who has lost any sense of shame. Today, another group of poor families were dispossessed like trash. Here is how a neighbor of the community described what he witnessed: “I just got out from the residential building I live and all I meet were poor women, children, and the elderly scrambling to collect their meager belongings. They were instructed to vacate the land as it was sold. This is at the Daljirka Boondhere -ex-ministry of health, just opposite the ex-parliament building. I asked if they were offered some handouts for transport and they said all they were offered was warning to leave. It is heartbreaking.” The ultimate measure of leaders is how they treat the indigent and most vulnerable member of a community. Villa Somalia’s resident and his associates have amply demonstrated that they are nothing more than “Fircawn wa qilatu caqlihi.” The trash can of history is the destiny of such a cabal. I call upon skilled young Somalis in Mogadishu to develop a GIS Map of the city that depicts, in flashing colors, all the public plots the looters have appropriated. Such a map will become an albatross on the neck of the looters. In addition, the map will be a record of the public properties to be reclaimed once the regime is ousted. Aluta continua!

Türkiye’s Partisan Involvement in Somali Affairs is Courting Disaster Türkiye original humanitarian support in Somalia has morphed to a partisan agenda. The government of Türkiye is either incapable of understanding the toxic and sectarian political culture of the Somali elite or it has made a deliberate decision to takes sides. Either way, it is courting a tragedy. The appalling and inane Somali political elite destroyed the country and continues to torment the indigent population. Somalia’s current president will go down in history as the most corrupt and tribalist leader since Somalia gained sovereignty in 1960. His lust to loot the meager public resources, dispossess the poor, and illegitimately remain in power at any cost to the Somali people have created serious conflicts with the political opposition. This struggle has become violent pushing the country to the edge of a new precipice. Just three days, Hassan Sh. used the national army to attack Jubaland, the second time he had done so. Meanwhile, Al-Shabaab has made significant gains on the ground in the last year, the direct consequence of Villa Somalia’s dereliction of one of its two most vital duties. In the heat of this political conflict between Hassan Sh. and the political opposition (including Puntland and Jubaland), the Ankara regime has decided to take sides by attempting to deliver weapons to the former. Türkiye’s frivolous explanation that the weapons were destined for the Somali army is the proverbial ostrich’s head in the sand. It shows that Türkiye’s political leaders and diplomats either are oblivious to the serious political conflict in the country or have deliberately decided to work with whoever is in power in the country in order to exploit poor Somalia. Türkiye’s interventions in Somali politics, particularly during the last three years, has seriously corroded the goodwill its original humanitarian intervention engendered among Somalis. Siding with Somalia’s discredited, corrupt, and tribalistic president will serve neither Türkiye nor the Somali people. There is limited time left for the Ankara regime to step back and regain some respect among Somalis by stopping its blatant support for a disgraced regime.

Somalia has become Türkiye’s Neo-colonial client May the creator bless you all, Aamiin. Somalis and their genuine well-wishers are deeply concerned about Turkey’s evolving role in the country. Over four years ago, I wrote an essay warning about the looming trouble. It’s clear now that Türkiye has a neo-colonial agenda and its humanitarian cover has been lifted. This neocolonial agenda is assisted by the Somali president who is deeply vulnerable to Ankara’s political blackmail. The secret petroleum deal, as well other strategic ‘businesses’ such as the management of the Mogadishu airport  and seaports, the secret defense treaty, and the proposed satellite launching station  along the east coast of the country signal Türkiye’s concerted agenda to turn Somalia to neocolonial Türkiye client. Our challenges are towering but united we shall overcome. Attached is the 2022 essay that warned about the troubles ahead. dailymaverick.co.za/opinionista/20…

Posted below is the link to my latest essay on Somalia's enduring nightmare. The essay explicitly provides a diagnosis of our disaster and a clear way out of it. This article underscores the role the AU and the International Community plays perpetuating the catastrophe and how they could be more constructive. dailymaverick.co.za/opinionista/20…