Agaasimaha SPA Mahad Wasuge ayaa kalmad ka jeediyay kulan ay isugu yimaadeen qeybaha kala duwan ee bulshada rayidka oo ay ku jiraan odayaasha dhaqanka, culimada, aqoonyahanada iyo haweenka ee looga hadlay xaaladda siyaasadeed ee dalka iyo kaalinta bulshada rayidka ah.
Halkan ka daawo kalmad dardaaran ah oo aan u jeediyay xaflad lagusoo gunaanadayay tababarka blog qorista oo ay bixiso SPA Learning Lab oo katirsan Somali Public Agenda ee loo qabtay dafcada 10-aad.
I received an invitation from the Doha Forum, the International Crisis Group, and the African Union Political Affairs, Peace, and Security Department on November 20 to participate as a speaker at the 23rd edition of the Doha Forum, held on December 6–7, 2025, at the Sheraton Grand Hotel in Doha. I was particularly invited to speak at a closed-door roundtable session titled “State-building in Somalia: Coordinated Strategies to Sustain Progress.” It was a great and rare opportunity to be invited as a speaker for my first time attending the Doha Forum. This year’s theme of the Doha Forum was Justice in Action: Beyond Promises to Progress.
I recently received an invitation to attend the commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the Arta Peace Conference and the inauguration of the Arta Peace Memorial. The memorial has been built at the same location where the historic conference for Somalia was held 25 years ago. I was pleased to receive the invitation and happy to know that efforts had been made to document evidence of that important conference for Somalia that led to the birth of the Third Republic – the Transitional National Government (TNG).
I recently traveled to Garowe to attend the third Annual Peace Conference, held from 21–23 September 2025. The conference, convened annually by the Puntland Development and Research Center (PDRC), often begins on 21 September—the International Day of Peace—and focuses on peace-related issues. This year’s theme was “Climate, Peace, and Security: Building a Peaceful and Resilient Future.”
Agaasimaha Somali Public Agenda, Mahad Waasuge, ayaa ka qeyb galay madal lagu gorfeeyay ka qeybgalka bulshada ee qorsheynta miisaaniyadda dalka oo ay soo qaban-qaabiyeen Madasha Muqdisho iyo Dalladda Ururrada Bulshada Rayidka Soomaaliyeed ee SONSA.
Waxa uu madasha ka jeediyay nuxurka warbixin ay Somali Public Agenda ku gorfeysay miisaaniyadda dowladda federaalka ee 2025 oo la daabacay bishii May ee sanadkan.
Nearly three months ago—April 7, to be exact—I was selected to participate in a Transformational Leadership course scheduled for June 9–20, 2025, in Arusha, Tanzania. I submitted my application on March 24, the final deadline and the same day I received the request to apply. It was during Ramadan. Fortunately, I was nominated and then selected for the course, which was tailored for leaders from both governmental and non-governmental institutions across Africa.
I travelled to Kismayo on Friday, 23 May. The trip was part of a series of roundtable discussions that Somali Public Agenda (SPA) and Puntland Development Research Center (PDRC) were convening to explore options for compromise on FGS-FMS relations, constitutional review, and elections.
On the early morning of Thursday, 27 February 2025, my wife, Shukri, called me with heartbreaking news: my beloved sister, Fowsiya Abdullahi Hussein, had passed away just moments before. At the time, I was in Nairobi, far from Mogadishu, where she took her last breath. The news overwhelmed me with grief. As I turned on my internet, I saw numerous missed calls from my mother and siblings. The painful reality set in—I had to plan her burial alongside other family members in Mogadishu. That same day, we laid her to rest.
Despite these realities, this is home. It is where I feel a sense of belonging. I visited and spent time with family members, relatives, neighbors, and friends. I asked my mother about the neighbors and visited them.
Dear son Mohamed,
This has been an important week for our family and for you. You have successfully completed the memorization of the Holy Quran, and we had the privilege of witnessing you speak in front of hundreds of participants at your graduation ceremony on December 4. You cannot imagine how proud we were to see you
From my childhood, I was very interested in working a media as a newscaster or
On 30 August 2021, my dear brother Abdikarim Abdullahi Hussein died in Buulaburte. It took me almost three years to put the painful feelings of his departure into writing. I was reluctant to write about the death of my beloved brother and the heavy emotions and pain I felt when he died.
My friend Mohamed Omer invited me to attend the Somali Youth Summit, which took place in Jigjiga between 25 and 27 November this year. I had never been to Jigjiga before, and I was interested and excited to visit the town and engage with its people. There is no direct flight from Mogadishu to Jigjiga. The two options I had were a transit to Addis Ababa or a flight to Hargeisa and then make road trip to Jigjiga. I wanted to maximize my travel experience and opted for the latter option.
I have previously written two blogs reflecting on ten-year milestones. The first, which was widely read and shared, was a reflection on the ten years I lived in Mogadishu. The second blog was about my ten years of teaching. Now, it is the ten-year milestone for my blogging journey. I thought it would also be appropriate to write a blog for this landmark. I published my first blog 10 years ago today – 15 September 2013. I reflected on my journalism experience. At the time I wrote and published that blog, I was a school teacher, not a journalist. I reflected on how, in 2008-9, being a journalist was my dream job but I ended up being a teacher.
This is the first travelogue I am writing for a trip outside Somalia. When I first started these travel blogs in 2014, my mission was to document and share my experiences and observations in the Somali cities I visited. Although I frequently travel to countries in the Horn, I often don’t write about these visits. Dar es Salaam Tanzania, unlike other regional cities I visited, has many similarities to Mogadishu, and this is probably my main motivation to write this piece. Someone familiar with Mogadishu and Dar es Salaam told my colleague traveling from South Africa to Dar es Salaam for the same meeting that Dar es Salaam is like the old pre-1991 Mogadishu.
I have been writing travel blogs about the towns I visit in Somalia since 2014. I was not, however, able to write about my previous visits to Garowe. 2014 was the first time I visited Garowe, but it was a short trip and spent only two nights there. While heading to Burco, I stopped over in Garowe for about an hour in September 2016. In August 2019, I stayed several nights, all in transition to three other districts – Badhan, Buuhoodle, and Gaalkacyo. In February 2021, I traveled to Garowe for a study I was working on with Somali Public Agenda and stayed for about a week. I did not manage to write a blog post on all these occasions. The time to write one for Garowe has finally come.
In the early morning of May 29, 2022, I woke up to the terrible news of the death of my friend, the long-time peace activist Abdullahi Shirwac. Following a sudden stroke, he was in a coma for about a week in a local hospital in Mogadishu where he died. It was entirely unexpected heartbreaking news for me as well as his close family, friends, and acquaintances. I could not digest the news for a while.
In March 2022, I traveled to Beledweyne for a Somali Public Agenda study. Since I concluded my secondary level education in Beledweyne in mid-2009, this was my fourth trip to the town. In the past 13 years, I had the opportunity to visit in 2010, 2018, 2021, and now 2022. This time, the Ugaas Khaliif Airport had a new terminal.
Today marks the tenth anniversary of my teaching; I started teaching at SYL Primary and Secondary School a decade ago today. It was the first time in my life I entered a class, introduced myself as a teacher, and wrote and explained a lesson on the blackboard.
After about five years away, I traveled back to the coastal city of Kismayo, the capital city of the Lower Jubba region as well as the interim capital of Jubaland state. It was my fourth trip to the city. I traveled to the city in 2014, 2015, and 2016. Sayid Mohamed Abdulle Hassan, the famous religious and military leader of the Dervish Movement, had the city’s airport named after him in May 2019. Upon landing there, things were smooth, unlike the past where I was interrogated and asked of a guarantor before I was allowed in.
I have had the privilege to travel to many towns in Somalia in the past eight years, but I did not visit any of the towns in the Gedo region. Recently, however, I had an assignment in the border town of Dolow, and everyone I asked told me that it is the safest town in the Gedo region. Nevertheless, I departed Mogadishu feeling unsure about how my trip would work out.
After almost three years away (two years and 9 months to be exact), I traveled back to Beledweyne for a short assignment. The last time I was there was in December 2018. That previous trip was my first return to the town after 8 years away. At that time, I wrote a blog post titled ‘Back to Beledweyne eight years later’. I was excited to go back to the town again. I spent three good years in Beledweyne between 2006 and 2009 studying at a secondary school. These three years shaped my life in many ways. I also learned many tough lessons from the fragile security situation, recurrent floods, and armed clashes.
I have been occasionally traveling to Baidoa since 2014. It is a nice, cool town, and its people are welcoming. It is always great to go back to the city and keep up with the great development going on. The last time I visited Baidoa was January 2021 when I was doing field research on fiscal federalism for Somali Public Agenda.
Although I have travelled to many Somali cities in the past eight years, I had never been to Jowhar, the capital city of Middle Shabelle region. Jowhar is also the capital city of Hirshabelle state – the newest federal unit – which was established in October 2016. I was excited that I was finally traveling to this historic town.
Going back to Buulaburte – my hometown – had a lot of emotional attachments. The last time I was in the city was August 2010, when I was about to start my sophomore year at Mogadishu University. I was now going back to the town after ten years and six months (or 10.5 years) on 16 February 2021. This time, it was not only me. I went back with my wife and our three young children – it was the first visit for all of them. We were all happy and excited about the trip.
Twenty years ago today, on a Thursday morning, 7th December 2000 (10th Ramadan 1421) my father died in Buulaburte, a district in the Hiiraan region. That night I was sharing a room with my three younger brothers. We woke up crying.
On 19 July 2020, I travelled to Dhusamareb, the capital of Galmudug State, for Somali Public Agenda study on Galmudug reconciliation process. It was my first trip to the famous old town. In the past, I visited several Galmudug districts, but access to Dhusamareb was not possible at that time due to the presence of Ahlu Sunna Wal Jameeca (ASWJ), which was at loggerheads with the Galmudug administration then based in Adaado.
After 11 years since our graduation from Sheikh Mohamed Moalin Primary and Secondary School in Beledweyne, I spent a memorable day with some of my high school classmates in Mogadishu. We had a lunch and afternoon tea/coffee together at the Peace Garden (Beerta Nabadda) in Mogadishu, a green space that people come for photos, weddings, celebrations and family gatherings.
On a sunny August day in 2019, I landed at Garowe’s Gen. Mohamed Abshir airport. I had visited Garowe several times in the past, however, this was the first time I had used the city’s new airport. This was the beginning of a three-week trip. During this period, I visited Badhan, Buuhoodle, and Gaalkacyo (North).
It was exactly ten years ago today, 14 August 2009, when I came to Mogadishu with a mission to study at university. It was the second time I had left my home town, Buulaburte, for study. Three years earlier, in 2006, I went to Beledweyne to pursue a secondary education because there was no high school in Buulaburte. When I finished secondary school in Beledweyne in June 2009, the city had no university. The nearest possible place I could access higher education was Mogadishu, the capital city of Somalia.
On the afternoon of 14 March 2019, a former Madarasa-mate Abdirahman Waare called to inform me that Moalin Abdirahman had passed away in Buulaburte several minutes ago. My brother and mother also called me shortly after to tell me about the departure of our great teacher.
Cabdiraxmaan Waare oo aan isku dugsi ahayn ayaa isoo wacay xilli galab ah taariikhdu markii ay ahayd 14-kii Maarso 2019 waxana uu ii sheegay in uu Macallin Cabdiraxmaan daqiiqado kahor ku geeriyooday Buulaburte. Hooyo iyo walaalkeey ayaa wax yar kadib isoo wacay si ay iyagana iigu sheegan geerida macallinkeennii.
I left Beledweyne in June 2009, soon after the graduation ceremony of my high school, to pursue a university degree in Mogadishu. I went back to the city a year later (July 2010) and stayed 11 days. In total, I lived in the city for three years of my life. These years were not without challenges. In fact, I lived through some of the most difficult moments of my life in Beledweyne. Floods, the emergence of the Islamic Courts Union in 2006, and the fight against Ethiopian troops when they entered in December 2006 to overthrow the ICU (while we were in the middle of a mid-term examination) were just some of the events I experienced in the city during those three years.
It was my third trip to Hargeisa. Last time I traveled to the city was November 2016 when I stayed two days. This time I was excited to be traveling to Hargeisa although I had concerns and uncertainty about the airport. A few weeks ago, the passport of a friend of mine was confiscated in Mogadishu airport after the immigration officers found that the Somaliland immigration authorities stamped an entry visa for the Somali passport holder upon his arrival at the airport.
Xarumihii waxbarashada Soomaaliya oo ay ka mid ahayd maktabaddii qaranka waa la burburiyey kadib markii xukunka laga tuuray dowladdii militariga sanadkii 1991-dii. Sanado badan oo burbur, dowlad la’aan, sharci la’aan, iyo dagaalo dabadheeraadey ah ayaa xigay. Xaaladda waxa ay ahayd mid aad u adag suurtagalna ma ahayn in ay maskaxda kusoo dhacaan maktabad iyo buugaag.
Somalia’s education institutions including the national library were totally destroyed after the state collapse in 1991. Years of destruction, anarchy, lawlessness, and protracted conflicts followed. The situation was arduous and libraries and books could hardly come to mind.
Kadib dhammaadkii shirweyne saddex maalin ka socday magaalada Jabuuti, waxa aan fursad u helay in aan tago magaalada Carta. Waxa aan la socday koox ilaa 20 qof ah oo ka qeyb galay shirka.
The extradition of Abdikarim Muse Qalbi-Dhagax to Ethiopia in late August this year highlighted the ambiguity of Somali citizenship. Qalbi-Dhagaxis a prominent member of the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF), a group seeking self-determination for the Somali region of Ethiopia. He was said to have been visiting a relative in Gaalkacyo when Galmudug security forces captured and handed him over to the National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA). A few days later the news of his rendition to Ethiopia had been made public.
Somalia experienced a leadership change in early 2017. After months of parliamentary (s)elections, lower and upper house parliamentarians were sworn in in late 2016. The two chambers of the federal parliament elected Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo as the president of the state. Within two weeks a prime minister was appointed and the parliament unanimously gave him their vote of confidence. The prime minister announced a large cabinet and the parliament, as per the constitution, endorsed the government in late March 2017.
On Friday evening 15th July, a faction of Turkish military forces attempted to topple the democratically elected President, Erdogan. The group declared a martial law on Turkish state television in Ankara. President Erdogan asked citizens go to streets and oppose the coup d’état. The tanks and helicopters of the group clashed with citizens and police in the streets of Ankara and Istanbul. On early Saturday, president Erdogan landed at Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport and it was apparent that the coup failed. At least 265 individuals were killed and more than 1440 were wounded. The Turkish government accused Fethullah Gulen as the mastermind of the failed coup. More than six thousand army officers and judges many of whom believed to be supporters of the exiled cleric are detained by authorities. Turkey’s opposition parties and many world leaders condemned the attempted coup. But the U.S. and its European allies in NATO reacted to the coup with caution, urging restraint.
Somalia is a nation where its people often focus on discussing about the nature of politics. Those people also look forward to holding positions in the government, regardless of their educational status. We see almost all Somalis claim that they are well-versed in issues related to politics. Strangely enough, most of those people never admit they are ignorant of the rudimentary knowledge in politics.
I started writing this piece when I was listening to one of Dahir Ga’amey Somali songs that he composed after his visit to Buulaburte. In the song, he vividly described the natural beauty of the city – lyrics that resuscitated my dormant memory.
Waxa aan bilaabay qoraalkan waqti aan dhageysanayay mid kamid ah heesaha Daahir Gacameey taas ee uu curiyay mar uu booqday Buulaburte. Heestan waxa uu fanaanka si qurux badan ugu qeexay quruxda dabiiciga ah ee magaalada.
Tan iyo markii uu dagaalkii sokeeye ka qarxay Soomaaliya, dalka waxa uu galay nidaam darro jirtay muddo ka badan labaatan sano. Maadaama uu dagaalkii sokeeye sii dheeraaday, kumannaan qof ayaa ka carartay dalka si ay naftooda u badbaadiyaan. Kuwa dalka ka qaxay waxa kamid ahaa dhalinyaro isugu jiray rag iyo dumar.
Since the civil war broke out in Somalia, the country descended into lawlessness over twenty years. Because of the prolonged civil war, thousands of people fled the country to salvage their lives. Among those fled were the young men and women.
When Somalia gained its independence in 1960, subsequent Somali governments structured a centralized unitary state. In the post-independent system, the President, Prime Minister, and the speaker of the parliament were those in the highest political leadership. After consultation with the political leaders, the President names the Prime Minister and then the Prime Minister appoints his cabinet ministers following a parliamentarian approval.
am taking an online course on Public Policy Challenges in the 21st century. In the first week of the course, the professor and the students were exploring issues that are likely to dominate the US public policy agenda in the year 2030.
After the overthrow of the former military regime in Somalia in 1991, all government institutions were destroyed. The country was engulfed by what a Somali architect described as ‘a man made earthquake.’ All public buildings were ruined by the prolonged civil war and the educational institutions such as The National Library were among the hardest hit.
The official currency of Somalia is the “Somali Shilling”. It is the weirdest currency anyone could encounter. Unlike normal banknotes, the Somali currency is made up of only one denomination, 1000 Shilling banknote. More importantly, private citizens print the money and no one knows how many of the notes are in circulation.
Galdogob is one of the districts of Mudug region. It is about sixty kilometers (60 km) west of Gaalkacyo town, the capital city of Mudug and is 12 Kilometers from the Ethiopian border. Though I was there for short 24 hours, I was however impressed with the progress and peace of Galdogob. The city has three radio stations, one large hospital built by the diaspora, two universities, and several primary and secondary schools. Its income mainly depends on remittances, the livestock rearing, and trade.
Civics is the study of the great theoretical and practical aspects of citizenship, its rights and duties; the duties of citizens to each other as members of a political body and to the government. It includes the study of civil law and civil code, and the study of government with attention to the role of citizens in the operation and oversight of government. Civics is all about the study of good citizenship and proper membership in a community. It helps citizens understand the civic affairs and their duties and rights.
It was my first time to travel to Baidoa. The days were limited, and here are five things I observed from Baidoa.
Somalia has many resource endowments. The most notable resources are the large fertile land, the livestock and the marine resources. Research shows that according to our migration from the rural to the urban, the number of livestock dropped. The agricultural production is also too weak. In addition, we do not know how to make use of our marine resources.
Waxa ay ahayd subax Jimco ah. Waxa aan usoconnay aniga iyo saaxiibkey degmada Xamarweyne. Waxa aan taagnaa isgoyska Banaadir. Waxa aan sugayay gawaarida dadweynaha aadda Xamarweyne siina marta wadada Sayidka si aan dhaqsi ugu ugaaro halkii aan u socday.
After a semester of my graduation, I was called by the university and was informed that the university planned for me to teach a course to the faculty I had graduated. It was unexpected news. I felt happy. I informed some friends that I might teach the university this semester.
Every state has three main organs that design and implement the state’s goals and objectives – the executive, the legislative and the judiciary. The quality of the public servants and how they work to achieve state’s goals determine the success or failure of that state.
Dhanka Islaamka, guurku waa heshiis udhexeya nin iyo waliga haweeneyda, kaas oo uguuriya haweeneyda marka ay u wakiilato. Caruuska waa in uu ku waafaqaa haweeneyda inta ay sheegato in lagu mehriyo. Meherka sidaas u dhaca waxa loo yaqaanaa meher diiniyan ansax ah, waxana ka dhalanaaya xuquuq iyo waajibaad ay isku yeelanayaan labada lamaane ee is guursatay. Marka la is mehersanaayana waa ugu yaraan in ay goobjoog ahaadaan labo qof oo marqaati ah.
In Islam, marriage is a contract between the man and the wali of a woman, who gives her to the husband to be his wife. The bride is to consent to the marriage of her own free will. A formal, binding contract is considered integral to a religiously valid Islamic marriage, and outlines the rights and responsibilities of the groom and bride. There must be at least two Muslim witnesses of the marriage contract.
Unemployment refers to a situation where people are capable and willing to work at the going wage rates but cannot secure jobs. The numbers of people with the capacity and willing to work but not secure jobs were increasing recently in Mogadishu. Although there is no exact statistics, the rate of unemployed graduates is very high. The unemployment of the fresh graduates is a difficult problem that needs to be solved.
From my childhood, I was very interested in working a media as a newscaster or reporter. I used to listen radio programs most of my time. I used to pretend as a reporter and prepare a report from an issue or rehearse what other reporters said to an event that I listened from the radio. Being a journalist was a dream to my life.
