Abdirahman Abdishakur@AAbdishakur
The State of the Nation: Realities and Emerging Risks
The large-scale sale of public assets, the displacement of citizens, and the buildup of social, political, and economic pressures are steadily creating a dangerous situation. These are not isolated developments; they are interconnected forces pushing the country toward an uncertain and potentially volatile future.
1. The Expansion of Public Asset Sales
State-owned properties including ministry compounds, military barracks, hospitals, schools, maternal and child health centers, and commercial markets have been systematically sold. This trend has now reached Bakara Market, the country’s economic lifeline, underscoring the depth of public asset mismanagement and its direct impact on everyday life.
What is unfolding is, in effect, the gradual dispossession of the public.
2. Displacement and Economic Decline
Hundreds of thousands of vulnerable people have already been displaced, losing their livelihoods and becoming internally displaced within their own country. What is now underway is a broader form of economic displacement at a national level.
This is happening amid severe drought, economic downturn, widespread unemployment, and rising costs of food and fuel conditions that together point to a deepening economic crisis with no clear path to recovery.
3. Favoritism, Concentration of Power, and Inequality
Public resources and political power are increasingly concentrated in the hands of a small group comprising the President’s family, close associates, and political loyalists. This pattern reinforces perceptions of injustice, deepens inequality, and normalizes blatant favoritism.
At the same time, state institutions are weakened, while a select few accumulate disproportionate wealth and influence.
4. Political Tensions and Uncertainty
Economic strain is further aggravated by rising political tensions, including the risk of confrontation with South West State, unresolved disputes over elections, and uncertainty surrounding the political transition.
Together, these factors signal mounting pressure and a concerning trajectory for the country’s future.
5. Rising Public Anger and Early Warning Signs
Public frustration is intensifying, driven by poverty, corruption, and a growing sense of hopelessness. Meanwhile, the government’s response has been inadequate and often counterproductive marked by unlawful detentions, travel restrictions, threats, and inflammatory rhetoric.
As the Somali proverb reminds us: “Harsh words neither resolve conflict nor sustain peace they only drive peace away.”
The protests, gatherings, and press conferences led by citizens are not isolated events they are early indicators of a potential uprising whose course cannot be predicted.
A critical miscalculation is also evident. Public exhaustion and the widespread rejection of a return to civil war are being interpreted as weakness. In reality, they reflect restraint. But restraint is not limitless, if pushed beyond its bounds, it can give way to a powerful and uncontrollable backlash.
The grievances and injustices facing the public should not be underestimated.
Conclusion
The accumulation of these pressures risks triggering a sudden and far-reaching social rupture if not addressed with urgency, unity, and responsibility.
The current trajectory will not affect only those in power it will have consequences for the entire nation.
There is a collective responsibility to act before the situation becomes irreversible.
As the saying goes:
“A crisis can be contained at its beginning, but once it spreads, it cannot be controlled.”
