By Osman Hassan (Badawi)

History was made on 30 July 2025 in Northern Somalia (former British Somaliland) when a conference under the aegis of the federal government and attended by hundreds of delegates representing the clans of SSC-Khaatumo and Makhir proclaimed the merger of these two States and their becoming as full federal member states (FMS). Las Anod is to become its capital and Las Qoray as its commercial port city. Now follows the election of the State’s members of parliament who in turn will elect the president and his deputies.

The principal clan of SSC-Khaatumo (Dhulbahante) and the one in Makhir (Warsangeli) are bound together by deep bonds that neither share with any other Somali clan in the Horn of Africa. For a start, they are brothers hailing from the wider Harti clan. They are secondly neighbors. And thirdly they were together for over 80 years under British colonial rule. Under the panner of the United Somali Party (USP), which they formed with the people of Awdal region, they spearheaded the independence of the colony and its union with its sister, Italian Somaliland. So much for shared bonds and history.

The collapse of the Somali State in1991 caught these clans unprepared and made them an easy prey for the well-armed separatist clan which declared secession from Somalia in that year and a return to the former separate independent Somaliland in which they had been its masters since that date. That fear of occupation and to be forced on the secession compelled the Dhulbahannte and Warsangeli clans in August 1998 to seek an interim common defense pact with fellow Harti clans to the East. That was the raison d’etre for the creation of Puntland, then  merely clan defense protect until the revival of the central government which was presumed would resume to defend all its northern territory from the secessionists (but never happened).

As it turned out, joining Puntland was their biggest mistake. The secessionist, aware of Puntland’s indifference to defend the SSC regions, occupied them in 2007 and as they expected Puntland turned blind eyes. And yet it would still maintain its claim to SSC regions at no cost to draw some of the foreign aid due to SSC from the international community (the rest will go to Somaliland and hence to the intended beneficiaries). Disputing the SSC regions, rather than let them be free from them both, was the undeclared collusion between Puntland and the secessionists (that collusion has been recently revived by Deni and Abdirahman Irro).

History might have been different if Makhir and SSC-Khaatumo united from the outset after the collapse of the Somali State and relied on themselves for their defence. It is better late than never and that is what SSC-Khaatumo and Makhir did in Las Anod in August 2025 what they should have done in May 1991 when the separatist clan declared the secession and made it clear they would force it on all the northern unionist clans.

At last the union of Makhir and SSC-Khaatumo has arrived. It has been long overdue. When it finally materialized, it has understandably unleashed an overwhelming euphoria throughout the land and among their diaspora worldwide. The party is over now and realism and hard work have set in- the choice of capital, power sharing and the election of of the president of the new NE State of Somalia have taken the central stage. Las Anod is to become the capital. That was the easiest part since there is comparable city in Makhir to compare with it in terms of advantages. Now comes the most important task: the election of the president of the State.

When a new nation is born from the union of two peoples hitherto separated, teething problems, resentments and grievances are likely to crop up in the beginning. And of course, the secessionist one-clan enclave and the one-man ruler in Puntland would not miss an opportunity to fuel such frictions for their advantages. That is why the new State needs a wise leader to handle and fix those problems and hold the people together. That’s why the Somalia that united on 1st July 1960es was so fortunate to have Aden Abdalla Osman. That goes too for the North-East State (NE) of Somalia.

As it is, the union of SSC-Khaatumo and Makhir is far more fragile than the one on 1st July between the former Italian and British Somaliland(s). In the latter case, it was fully supported by the peoples on both sides. Not this one. It’s a union more on paper than one deep- rooted and unshakable. Whereas the Dhulbahante clan of the former SSC-Khaatumo are fully united behind the NE State, benefiting from a bitter revolutionary struggle and two years of self-governance, that’s not the case with the Warsangeli clan of Makhir. Like the Dhulbahane (until recently), they were “disputed” between Puntland and the one-clan secessionist enclave (Somaliland). Worse, now they’re “disputed” by three Sta tes. If the NE States has to be viable, it must win over the Warsangeli people as a whole from these predatory neighbours. Winning the non-committals and making NE irreversibly united is more important for the destiny of NE than winning the transient favours of an unreliable president whose disgraceful record on these regions needs no mention.

What leader from NE can rise to this challenge? It must be one like former President Aden Abdalla Osman- a uniter, a persuader, a reconciler and one with charisma to appeal to people and win them over from foes. These prerequisites would dictate that he should be from the Warsangeli because he would be the magnet to draw his people away from Said Deni and Abdirahman Irro. But there is a third reason, from the SSC-Khaatumo perspective, why the NE project should succeed. They need Makhir more than it needs them. The SSC-Khaatumo is landlocked. They need access to the sea. Berbera is out of the question after what SNM did in Lascanod. And Boosaaso is no reliable alternative. The likes of Faroole and Deni are prone to weaponize NE’s access to their ports and use it to get their way. That would not be the true with the Warsangeli. It’s not in their nature.

Ambassador Gamal Mohamed Hassan is the only candidate who meets these requirements. It’s therefore indispensable that he should be the first president of NE, who can unite it, guide it and ensure it safely takes off, airborne and cruising, out of reach for its enemies. But there are other equally weighty considerations why Amb. Gamal should be the one to lead NE, all the more now when it desperately needs help from the federal government, and above all the international community. His years as ambassador in Kenya, his service with regional organizations, his term as minister of planning in the federal government, all reinforced each other to make him the best champion of its development. NE State badly needs Jamaal. Let it have him.

Osman Hassan (Badawi)
Email: osman.hassan2@gmail.com