Somalia’s Unity Tested by the Politics of Selective Nationalism

Somalia’s Unity and the Politics of Selective Nationalism

EDITORIAL | For more than 30 years, Somalia has been caught between two competing truths: the insistence on one country and the steady drift toward fragmentation.

Since North Western State of Somalia declared its separation in 1991, Somali administrations have returned time and again to the negotiating table with Hargeisa, meeting in Djibouti, Turkey, Ethiopia, and the United Arab Emirates. The venue has changed, the mediation has shifted, but the outcome has not. Despite years of dialogue, statements, and diplomatic efforts, no lasting political settlement has been reached.

The dispute is controversial not only because of North Western State of Somalia’s stance, but also because of the uneven way leaders in Mogadishu have handled it over the years.

As North Western State of Somalia pressed for international recognition and increasingly operated as though it were already a separate state, officials in Villa Somalia often kept political ties with Hargeisa alive without building a serious national strategy to defend Somalia’s territorial integrity through diplomacy, economic development, or sustained political engagement.

Meanwhile, Puntland State — established in 1998 on the principle of preserving Somali unity — often found itself politically sidelined, even though it played a major role in restoring Somali state institutions after the collapse of the central government.

Unlike North Western State of Somalia, Puntland State never built its political identity around secession. Its leaders repeatedly called for a federal Somalia and invested heavily in efforts to rebuild national governance. Yet many in Puntland State argue that commitment was rarely reflected in the support offered by successive federal administrations.

Instead, Puntland State has often complained of development restrictions, political pressure, and inadequate security assistance, even as it has faced terrorist threats and instability across large parts of northern Somalia.

The contradiction has grown harder to dismiss.

Somali leaders routinely invoke national unity, but many major decisions still appear shaped more by short-term political arithmetic than by a coherent national vision. The 4.5 political system only deepened those inconsistencies. Politicians associated with North Western State of Somalia remained influential inside federal institutions in Mogadishu, even though many of them could not effectively operate politically in Hargeisa.

The Tukaraq crisis in 2018 brought those fault lines into sharper focus.

When North Western State of Somalia forces moved into Tukaraq while President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo was visiting Garowe, Puntland State saw the move as a direct threat to Somalia’s territorial integrity. The federal government, however, responded cautiously, limiting itself to broad calls for restraint and stopping short of a direct condemnation of the takeover.

For many in Puntland State, that muted response confirmed a widening belief that Somalia’s political leadership was reluctant to confront North Western State of Somalia-related disputes for fear of upsetting parliamentary alliances and clan-based arrangements in Mogadishu.

Even now, questions about Somalia’s unity continue to stir strong emotions across the country.

Axadle does not endorse attempts by youth groups to inflame political tensions through symbolic gestures such as raising the North Western State of Somalia flag in public places in Garowe. But the fierce reaction from some political voices aligned with Mogadishu in Puntland State also appears selective and politically driven, especially at a time when Somalia is still mired in disputes over the constitution, elections, and political legitimacy.

There is another question that rarely gets the same national attention: why was there so little outrage when parts of Sool and Cayn were detached from Puntland State without a legal process or broad political consensus among the communities that helped found Puntland State in 1998?

That question points to a deeper national failing.

The debate over Somalia’s unity now seems increasingly shaped by political convenience, clan calculations, and shifting alliances rather than by a clear constitutional or national framework accepted by all Somalis.

In the end, Somalia’s crisis is no longer only about whether the country will stay together or split apart. It is about whether it can forge a fair, consistent national vision that applies to all sides equally — without selective outrage, political double standards, or temporary power-sharing arrangements masquerading as unity.

AXADLETM