By Dahir Abshir Farah (Dahir Jeer)
“The more power a man has, the more he is revealed.” — Jean-Jacques Rousseau
1. Introduction
Somalia’s unraveling in 1991, following the ousting of President Siad Barre, unleashed an intractable civil war that fractured the nation and ignited diverse political ideologies. Amid relentless reconciliation efforts across Egypt, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Kenya, and Eritrea, three dominant political paradigms emerged: Unitary Centralism, Federalism, and Secession. Mogadishu’s political elites relentlessly pursued a Unitary System—an authoritarian blueprint aimed at consolidating absolute political and economic power within the capital, mirroring the hegemonic structure of Barre’s military regime.
In stark contrast, Puntland championed Federalism, promoting regional autonomy and fair resource sharing. It viewed decentralization as a safeguard against future authoritarianism. Mogadishu’s elite revived a Unitary model with an authoritarian structure echoing Barre’s regime, while Puntland advanced Federalism to ensure autonomy and fairness in governance. Somaliland, meanwhile, sought secession driven by past injustices.
Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s administration represents a calculated resurgence of Unitary hegemony under the guise of federal restructuring. This controversial strategy aims to neutralize Puntland’s federalist aspirations and dismantle its regional autonomy. His regimes signify not just a political shift but an ideological war, recalibrating Somalia’s state-building trajectory towards centralized autocracy, undermining the constitutional tenets of Federalism, and imposing Mogadishu’s political dominance upon Puntland.
Given that the dialectic between Unitary governance and Federalism has remained the fulcrum of Somalia’s state-building contention, President Hassan’s first-term administration in 2017 initiated a calculated campaign to amend and rescind critical provisions of the 2012 Provisional Federal Constitution (PFC). This Constitution was ratified under the auspices of the Garowe I and II conferences and the Galkacayo Principles, which the Puntland administration spearheaded under Faroole, who entrenched a federalist paradigm. In direct contravention of these foundational accords, Hassan Sheikh and his policy cadre unilaterally constituted the Galmudug State, encompassing Galgaduud and merely the southern segment of Mudug (notably Haradheere and Hobyo districts), thereby transgressing Article 49, Paragraph 6 of the PFC. “A Federal Member State may be constituted through the voluntary union of a minimum of two or more regions, with the decision to merge resting solely on the free will and sovereign discretion of the participating regions.”
During his second term, Hassan Sheikh’s administration deepened this constitutional violation by officially recognizing SSC-Khatumo as a federal member state despite it comprising only the Sool region and Buhoodle District). This egregious contravention of Article 48, paragraph 2, “no single region possesses the authority to unilateral establish itself as a federal member state unilaterally of a federal unit is constitutionally contingent upon the consensual amalgamation of at least two or more regions. This state formation process is subject to the oversight and regulatory authority of the Federal Government of Somalia. Furthermore, any region aspiring to acquire federal status is legally mandated to enter into such a merger within a constitutionally prescribed timeframe of two years.” and 49, Paragraph 6 of the PFC. But there is only one underlying agenda — the deliberate dismantling of Puntland. This entrenched modus operandi of politicizing security and international aid, concomitant with the centralization of authority and the unilateral abrogation and revision of the consensually ratified 2012 constitutional architecture, incontrovertibly evidence that Hassan Sheikh and his policy apparatus neither honor nor authentically uphold federalist principles.
Undoubtedly, this is far from the sole testament to Hassan Sheikh and his entourage’s unbridled repudiation of the federal architecture; they meticulously orchestrated blood-soaked conflicts that engulfed Puntland in mid-2023—a period when Puntland was deeply engaged in its historic one-person, one-vote electoral process. We remain acutely cognizant of Hassan Sheikh’s foreboding declaration: “Puntland, painstakingly forged over 24 years through its institutional bedrock, will collapse in a mere 24 days.” At the Presidential Mosque at Villa Somalia on May 5, 2023. This proclamation has been widely interpreted as a calculated and premeditated strategy aimed at systematically dismantling Puntland’s foundations and eroding its statehood.
The aspiration to translate the President’s rhetoric into tangible action, with the ulterior motive of orchestrating Puntland’s demise, culminated in unequivocal failure. This outcome is attributable to Puntland’s unwavering foundation, rooted not solely in governance and political acumen but, more profoundly, its clan-based consensus model and dispute resolution mechanisms, steered by its venerable traditional leadership—the ISIMO — and possessing profound insight into the enduring political confrontations between Puntland and the central government, spanning from the year 2000 to the current era, 2025—conflicts meticulously shaped by irreconcilable doctrines of Federalism and centralized absolutism.
2. Puntland — A Pillar of Federalism and a Bulwark Against Centralized Authoritarianism
While it’s still worth exploring how thoroughly Puntland has implemented the frameworks and policy tools needed to realize its federalist goals, what remains clear is that Puntland and its people have consistently shouldered the weight of instability, often finding themselves unwillingly caught in the consequences of Somalia’s prolonged failure to establish a workable federal system.
In the chaotic period following the 1991 collapse of Barre’s regime, Puntland’s influential elite—including politicians, business leaders, military officials, and other respected figures—fled Mogadishu, leaving behind their homes and considerable assets in the capital without expressing much visible remorse, likely due to the urgency of the situation. They resettled in the northeastern regions of Somalia (now known as Puntland), where they laid the groundwork for a new autonomous administration. Motivated by determination and a long-standing vision, they committed themselves to the idea of seeing Villa Somalia once again under Somali leadership, guided by practical and inclusive governance.
This ambition gained concrete momentum on January 8, 2007, when President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed—formerly the president of Puntland and later elected to lead Somalia in 2004—entered Mogadishu following a military campaign led by the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) and supported by Ethiopian forces. His return marked a symbolic and strategic milestone in restoring order to a city that had long been gripped by chaos.
However, not everyone welcomed this transition. Many in Mogadishu, including members of the political, intellectual, and business elite—among them Hassan Sheikh Mohamud—and parts of the diaspora who favored a unitary state model, opposed the Transitional Federal Government (TFG). This opposition mobilized clan-based militias across south-central Somalia. It secured constant financial support from diaspora networks, fuelling armed resistance against the transitional government and complicating efforts to stabilize the capital.
3. What has Puntland forfeited in its relentless pursuit of Federalism?
For nearly three decades, Puntland—comprising one-third of Somalia’s territory (82,000 square miles or 212,500 sq. km.)[1] [2] —has served as a beacon of peace and stability amidst the country’s turbulent socio-political landscape. Yet, it has continually faced political antagonism from successive Mogadishu-based administrations, beginning with the government of Abdiqasim Salad Hassan, established during the 2000 Djibouti-led peace conference in Arta, and continuing through to the current administration of Hassan Sheikh in 2025. These regimes have repeatedly stoked political unrest and insecurity, actively undermining Puntland’s hard-won stability.
Puntland, while earning acclaim for pioneering one-person, one-vote local elections across 36 districts in October 2021, May 2023, and July 2024—marking the region’s first democratic exercise of this kind in over 25 years and the first anywhere in Somalia except for Somaliland since the national elections of March 1969—has yet to implement meaningful administrative decentralization in line with the federalist ideals it so ardently advocates.
Despite its contributions, Puntland has remained systematically marginalized in the allocation of international aid destined for Somalia, receiving only a meager share of its rightful entitlement. Compounding this injustice, Puntland has been conspicuously excluded from international military assistance channeled to Somalia, forcing it to shoulder the fight against ISIS and Al-Shabaab alone—an isolated struggle devoid of external support. Puntland should advocate more assertively for equitable aid distribution and establish direct communication channels with international donors to bypass political bottlenecks in Mogadishu.
Meanwhile, political actors in southern Somalia have persistently opposed Puntland’s federalist vision, opting instead to manipulate the nation’s foundational legal frameworks, starting with the unilateral amendments to the Provisional Federal Constitution (PFC) of 2012. To counter this, Puntland could spearhead a coalition of federal member states to collectively resist constitutional manipulation and push for a binding framework for cooperative governance.
After 34 years of anticipation for the emergence of a functional federal government in Mogadishu, the people of Puntland now find themselves at a decisive crossroads—grappling with deep-seated despair and growing disillusionment. The once-steadfast hope for the realization of a genuine federal system in the capital has withered, overshadowed by political stagnation and a growing inclination towards unitary absolutism. This disillusionment could catalyze Puntland to reassess its federal engagement strategy and potentially advocate for conditional participation in national processes until key federal principles are honored.
Dahir Abshir Farah (Dahir Jeer)
Email: Daahirjeer1@gmail.com
[1] https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/history/puntland-region-somalia?utm_source=chatgpt.com.
[2]https://www.infoplease.com/encyclopedia/places/africa/somalia/puntland?utm_source=chatgpt.com#google_vignette.
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