Mogadishu (WDN) – Former President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, who continues to push forward with his unilateral one-person, one-vote (1P1V) electoral plan, is facing mounting and increasingly fierce opposition from across Somalia’s political, traditional, and civil society sectors. Opposition leaders, regional administrations, elders, and activists have raised growing concerns that the process lacks consensus and risks deepening political divisions and instability at a time when the country is in a dangerous crossroad.
In a blistering condemnation, opposition figure and Member of Parliament Abdirahman Abdishakur Warsame issued a sharp political critique of the former President Hassan Sheikh, drawing a stark contrast between the broad coalition of forces that once brought him to power and the increasingly isolated political position in which he now finds himself.
In a lengthy statement widely circulated on social media, Abdirahman Abdishakur argued that Hassan Sheikh rose to power through alliances, political partnerships, and opposition cooperation, but once in office governed as though he had seized the country through force alone.
“Hassan Sheikh came to power through the support of allies, friends, and opposition coalitions,” the opposition leader wrote. “But once he entered office, he behaved like a man who single-handedly conquered the state.”
According to Abdirahman, the former president gradually developed the belief that everyone needed him while he needed no one in return. Loyalty, he said, became more important than competence, honesty, or constructive advice.
He also criticized those within the president’s inner circle, arguing that instead of holding him accountable or correcting mistakes early on, many competed to please him and defend his decisions unconditionally.
“Some of his allies believed they were political partners sharing power and shaping national direction,” he said. “But Hassan Sheikh viewed them merely as employees and instruments to protect his rule, not as equal stakeholders with influence over the future of the country.”
The MP further argued that the president made little distinction between longtime political allies, comrades who struggled alongside him for years, and individuals he only needed temporarily for political convenience.
“They believed they were his friends,” Abdirahman wrote, “but in reality, he was loyal to no one. He did not value people based on their competence or contribution to the nation, but on their usefulness to his political survival.”
The statement also accused Hassan Sheikh of failing to build strong and independent state institutions capable of functioning beyond the influence of individuals. Instead, Abdirahman argued, the administration relied heavily on personal relationships, temporary alliances, clan-based support networks, foreign backing, and short-term political calculations.
“In a fragile country like Somalia,” he warned, “any leader who attempts to operate without institutions and believes he can govern while making himself indispensable eventually ends up politically isolated and alone.”
Abdirahman said political arrogance and poor judgment rarely destroy leaders overnight, but instead isolate them gradually.
“First, allies drift away. Then longtime friends distance themselves. Eventually even those bound only by political interest abandon ship,” he wrote. “By the time the leader realizes he is alone, he has already destroyed the very alliances and political pillars that elevated him to power.”
The opposition politician concluded by arguing that Hassan Sheikh now finds himself politically weakened, governing after the expiration of his constitutional mandate while still operating with the same political mindset that, according to him, created the current crisis.
“Today Hassan Sheikh remains in office despite the expiration of his mandate and without clear legitimacy,” he wrote. “He continues to operate with the same political thinking that produced the crisis he is now trapped in.”
Abdirahman rejected the notion that the president’s current difficulties stem from opposition pressure alone, instead describing him as a leader isolated by strategic miscalculations and political arrogance.
“Hassan is not a strong leader under siege,” he stated. “He is a politically isolated man who miscalculated.”
He concluded with a broader historical observation, saying leaders who rise through coalitions but later attempt to govern as if they conquered power alone are often brought down not merely by their opponents, but by their own arrogance and the destruction of the alliances that once sustained them.
WardheerNews