By Anwar Maxamed Diiriye
Disclaimer: This is not a call to reject Somalia or to express hostility toward the Federal Government. It is a call to safeguard Puntland’s stability, rooted in a commitment to a united, functionally federal Somali Republic. Support for the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS) is both possible and warranted—when constitutional principles are upheld, when regional autonomy is respected, and when governance is conducted with fairness. But if Puntland’s autonomy and stability are deliberately undermined, Puntland not only has the right but the duty to defend the governance and peace its people have fought, bled, and sacrificed to achieve.
Puntland’s story is one of struggle, unity, and resilience; a history too often overlooked by Villa Somalia and, regrettably, sometimes downplayed by elements within Puntland’s own political opposition. When Somalia collapsed into civil war in the early 1990s, Puntland did not descend into chaos. Its stability was not imposed by foreign intervention or dictated from a distant capital; it was built from the ground up, drawing on indigenous wisdom, clan solidarity, and the stewardship of traditional elders. This legacy, a shield forged against national collapse, remains the foundation of Puntland’s governance.
It is in this context that today’s political tensions become dangerous. The Federal Government, aided by internal opportunists and foreign interests, increasingly acts as if it has forgotten both Puntland’s decisive role in rebuilding national legitimacy and the sacrifices; political, financial, and in the lives of its young people, that made this possible. Ignoring this history is more than careless; it risks undermining the very mechanisms that have allowed peace to endure in an otherwise fractured nation.
The devastation of the 1990s, marked by targeted repression under the military regime, especially in Bari, Nugaal, and northern Mudug, left all of Somalia vulnerable to chaos. When the military-led central government disintegrated, the northeastern regions chose a different path. They learned that unchecked centralized power is an existential threat. Unity was not born from blind clannism but from a deliberate historical reckoning.
While many regions succumbed to militia rule, Puntland turned to traditional elders. The 1998 Garowe Conference was a genuine exercise in Somali statecraft, guided by xeer (customary law) and shir (consensus assembly). It forged social contracts, resolved disputes, and restored legitimacy from within, not from outside. Instead of chasing invisible symbolic national power, Puntland focused on securing key towns, strengthening local administration, building revenue systems, and enforcing peace. Boosaaso Port became the economic backbone, a lifeline for trade, and a bulwark against dependency, a strategic choice for survival, not secession.
Even the lack of international attention proved to be an unexpected advantage. Free from donor-driven militia politics, Puntland built its institutions on its own terms. Now, the same centralist tendencies that once pushed Somalia toward collapse are resurfacing. Efforts to take control of Puntland’s security, economy, land, unity, and revenues are direct threats to its political autonomy and the safety of its people. Planting secretive destabilizers inside Puntland’s institutions and society strikes at the core philosophy that maintained stability when the central government collapsed. This is not ordinary political disagreement; it is the reemergence of the overreach that destroyed trust in the first place.
Federal leaders from less-affected regions during the 1969–1990 dictatorship sometimes dismiss Puntland’s insistence on autonomy as obstructionist. But for Puntland, a strong, unchecked central government is not a dream, it is a recurring nightmare. Demands for control over security and the economy come from necessity, not greed.
The danger is compounded by opportunists within Puntland’s own political class. Some in both Muqdisho and Garowe align themselves with a corrupt federal system, undermining the unity of their own people for personal gain. The same individuals, and their families, who fled to Puntland for safety in 1991 now return when they need peace and security, yet abandon it to grab a share of corruption’s poisoned spoils. In doing so, they insult, deceive, and belittle the very communities that once sheltered them. Such forgetfulness is a costly lapse in political memory.
Puntland’s peace was earned, not inherited. Preserving it requires conscious effort and historical awareness. Its story must be taught, told, and remembered; in classrooms, public gatherings, and family discussions, not as nostalgic history but as a guide for political survival. Disputes should be settled within Puntland’s own legal and traditional systems, using shir, xeer, and guurti (assemblies, customary law, and councils of elders) as the primary tools of resolution.
Elders must remain central to governance, but with accountability systems to prevent unchecked influence and the dilution of their authority. Too often, their leadership risks being drawn into everyday partisan politics, weakening the institution that once held the fabric of society together.
Engagement with the Federal Government must be firmly anchored in constitutional rights. The 2004 Transitional Federal Charter explicitly recognized Puntland as a founding federal entity with clearly defined political and administrative powers. These are not favors to be granted or withdrawn; they are binding commitments. Puntland should neither exaggerate its claims nor accept less than what the constitution guarantees, just as every Somali sees themselves as equally entitled under federalism.
Economic self-reliance remains the backbone of Puntland’s autonomy. Ports, airports, roads, customs, and other economic hubs must be expanded and modernized. Ethical investment, both domestic and foreign, should be pursued to ensure development serves the public interest rather than external exploitation. Civil servants and security forces must be paid consistently from local revenues, reinforcing both dignity and operational independence. Corruption must be uprooted from government institutions and from the public mindset. A corruption-free economy strengthens governance, reduces reliance on volatile federal transfers, and reinforces the social contract between Puntland’s government and its people.
Divide-and-rule tactics from Villa Somalia must be resisted. Political competition must be regulated by Puntland’s own institutions and laws, without external interference. Politicians who stir division from Muqdisho should face accountability the same as those who do so within Puntland.
Puntland is living proof of Somali resilience. It not only survived the collapse of the Somali state but also built a functioning administration rooted in Somali tradition and pragmatic governance. Today’s threat is not open warfare but the slow erosion of autonomy through centralist ambition and internal complacency. Protecting what has been built is not arrogance, it is clarity of purpose.
Puntland is not a “state-in-waiting” but a working model of how federal Somalia can function when its principles are respected. To forget this is to gamble with the future of Puntland and, ultimately, the future of Somalia as a whole.
Anwar Maxamed Diiriye
Email: anwar@usfamily.net
—–
Anwar Maxamedis is a lecturer in Comparative Cultural Studies and the author of The Literature of Somali Onomastics (2006) and the English-Somali and Somali-English Medical Dictionary (2010). He also served as editor-in-chief of the Gobaad Multidisciplinary Journal from 2000 to 2012.