This is not going to end well. If Bixi & Taani continue on the war path, they are in for a bigger surprise than the Aug. 25th one. https://fb.watch/nTYu_b6vfA/ And here is Firdhiye at the front. https://fb.watch/nTYJNvF6Sr/

It is truly sad. Some of my relatives are still in the denial phase whilst others have moved on now championing the Somali cause, which is good, I think. Reer Hargeysa mostly seem to have gotten on with life as if nothing happened a few weeks after the shock sank in, but the worse impacted are the HJ folks, who have thrown all their eggs in the Bixi/Taani basket with no reservations. From what I hear, since the election schedule has been released, the opposition have split into 3 camps: a) More seasoned camp led by Cawad & Co., who are planning to keep the pressure on till the final hour, with their fear being come Feb. 25th, Deni will be tempted to further extend the goal post. a) The Shiddo/Faroole/Hooley camp, who are prepping for a showdown with Deni & Co. come Jan. 8th. c) The 3rd camp find themselves sandwiched in between. The balance is the direction to which Issims tilt the pendulum. Yet, the bellwether on the side of the general public is on the affirmative turn favouring elections being held smoothly. We shall just have to watch the space, and hope @maakhiri1is wrong in that Issims are not as corrupt and awful as he posits.

Good man, I know you do, but I am just flailing your soft belly, yet being aware, and truly being intimate with inner goings are two different things, are not they? I could say with confidence I know little of what goes on in the land of my forefathers, let alone that of my dear mother's, albeit I am now more connected to Somalia than ever, and perhaps a bit more than you do. Or so at least I think. By the way, what happened to our resident Landers Oodweyne, GameChanger, XX etc? They have not committed mass suicide with the doomed SL project, have they?

Would you extend that to Issims in NE regions? If no, why conclude Garaado to be more of an obstacle than progress? What progress would you say Suldaan C/Salaam, Beeldaaje C/llahi, Garaad Jamac Garaad Cali, Islam Ciise, Islam Bashir to name a few have hindered? I thought you were aware of that, and did not see the need to state the obvious. In principle, Administrations in D block regions do not claim grazing lands of neighbouring clans, and observe clan demarcations, as they exist now, and not as was once, unless of course concerned clans wish to join. Good example is halting advances at Guumays, and not going for Caynaba, albeit we all know the history of the Ceelka Caynaba; other notables are the designations of Eastern Sanaag, and Northern Mudug as part of PL. Making claims is rather reductive, breeds conflict, further alienates neighbouring clans, and most of all does not advance the intent of reconstructing the nation. The goal of the bottom-up approach, ergo federalism, is creating independent regions, which incubates harmony amongst clans, from which intra-dependencies could be constructed in order to form a harmonious union. A tall order, a lengthy process, imperfect, but desirable! Now, think about it this way: SW functioning at own pace. JL is budding. GM & HS are trying. Banadir is blossoming. Khatumo is rising. Put SL & PL to aside for now. Bring along Awdal & Hiran. And envisage in 20 years or so down the road, said State names shall have less significance, with the name Somalia taking the centre stage. Do you not see the vision? If no, think about where we were in 2000 at Arte. Surely, you could see the gradual progress.

@Miskiin-Macruuf-AqiyaarYou know as much about East and North as I do about SW. Let us compare notes after I have visited Baydhaba later in the year Insha'Allah, granted both Beledweyn and Baydhaba are stable.

O' look, shock and horror, I did not realise you knew how to spell H@rti. I am pulling your leg, mate.

I was not suggesting they ought to be involved in politics, but I have zero confidence in politicians.

It is an old map, and not 100%, but one of the closest one could find. It is the map the UN and EU use for the old country.

No, it was not intended to be a "geff", but an observation. Again, as humans, we are all imperfect, and so are Issims. But then again, Issims' role in the East and North is much different from the South, and I would not expect you to be fully briefed as to their role. After all, "dhal kacaan iyagaa iska kaa yaqaan" !

You did not know reer Mudug & reer SSC share borders, grazing land, and water wells? They do, perhaps not as extensive as reer Nugaal, but do nonetheless, for example when there is conflict in Cayn, reer Mudug are the first on site before even reer Sool. But you knew that already. Here is a decent map. Actually it does not negate federalism, if anything it promotes it, for borders are clearly defined, known, and go by grazing demarcations by communities, hence nullifies the border query, unless of course your question had an ulterior meaning, in which case, you will have to demystify it.

I always suspected @maakhiri1 was not a genuine reer Maakhir, or perhaps one of those kids birthed in kakuma & sablaale camps, or worse yet "ciyaal kacaan". At every turn, he slags off Issms, the only revered authority, or "marjac" in said regions, where when all else fails, and politicians dice and lance at the expense of State and nation, they almost always save the day, with their imperfections and all.

I must admit I am not that familiar with the Wajaale trade route, nor the Cali Xaydh / Zeylac one. Thanks for the background info. It just boggles the mind as to why they would do such an insane thing.

What does "muqadas" mean? Current parliament's term ends on Jan 08th, therefore Elections could be held: No earlier than Nov. 8th, and no later than May 08. That is a plenty of time to organise elections. Article 42 re Elections, section (6) states: The date for each election shall be determined by the Electoral Commission, but a) It shall not be less than two (2) months nor, b) More than four (4) months BEFORE the end of the period of the elected functionaries.

PL Election Commission (PEC) just released election schedule with both Presidential and Parliamentary elections being held on Feb. 25th.

For me, 'cos I am familiar with this historical timeline of the SSC project dating back to the original Khusuusi, and I have been on the project from the days of SSHdA in early 2000s, SSC in 2007 onwards, Khatumo later, and SSC-Khatumo now, I am rooting for a Federal Member State in its own right. Of course, there shall be challenges, and opportunities. At the grand Issims conference, I am expecting there shall be a set of recommendations where people of neighbouring regions incl. Nugaal, Mudug, and Sanaag (Maakhir) shall have representation in the SSC Administration whilst people of SSC shall have representation in PL.

Indeed you are "dhashii kacaanka", but I shall give you a pass this time round. May he, his compatriots, his enablers, cohorts, and sympathisers all burn in hell.

On the question of Constitutional amendments, the process, whom to consult, and whom the stakeholders are, are clearly outlined in the Constitution, as in: Article 3, section (3) and (4), Article 132, section (f), Article 137, section (3).

Why reroute? Trouble with nomads: a) They jump the gun without the facts in, and b) Almost always leave out crucial details whilst shouting from the roof tops only to find out it was a mere storm in a tea cup. Now, even if so, for whatever the reason, surely reer Wajaale could build 10km to connect to the route, could they not? I read reer Bursaalax, Mudug took it upon themselves to build asphalt road to connect their city to Tuur dibi.

It is pending deliberation, and H@rti Issims scheduled to meet in Las Anod in the coming weeks shall determine. I hear loud voices including Sadiq Garaad, one of the most Sr MPs, that SSC's 17 MPs shall be represented as before, but will not participate in the forthcoming elections. Then, I also hear Deni & Karaash are brewing a crooked plan of their own, but I do not see their plan working if the opposition has a say. In a nutshell, to be determined.

a) Like democracy, federalism is more about the core principles rather than the configuration, for each nation could choose a model conducive to its own culture and society, and what suits one might not quite suit another. Somalia shall implement federalism in accordance with its customs and societal norms. b) The same applies to Somalia where farmers in Bay are different from nomads in Togdheer in terms of distance and lifestyle the same way farmers in Sh Hoose would be different from fishmongers in Bari whilst peoples in said regions share common needs, if ethnically of the same, and so shall each design what suits the locals best. The same way N Dakota is much different from Alabama in the US, and so does their State laws. In terms of distance, Fargo in N Dakota is just under 1,500 miles from Mobile in Alabama. And so is Baydhaba to Ceerigaabo, which is just under 1,200 miles. c) As nomads, we are the quintessential egalitarian and libertarian beings, and no system safeguards said social and cultural traits than federalism. Traditional elders and Issims are critical to federalism, as their role is more defined in State constitutions, more so clearly in PL’s than perhaps other States. In SL, there is Guurti, which occupies in the 2nd Chamber of Parliament, participating in the political process. And so their role shall remain an integral part of society till otherwise has been determined, but not in our life time. d) Now, your last point is valid, and I would agree our political leaders have no clue, and do require basic civics training, and till such time, we shall have to do with academic public discourse. And by the way, the “unnuka” phenomenon is global, and I am reminded of incidents where locals refused to give up land for public use, both in rural Britain and China on the ground of the waste land being their ancestral land. It is even more pronounced in the US with Native Americans. So, we are no different in that respect. Got to get on with my weekend to-dos before the snow.

Sorry, I seem to have lost track of this topic. The questions of sovereignty is critical mostly raising debate amongst well-meaning, anti-federalist enthusiasts, but let us define it at first in its political theory: the supreme power, ultimate overseer, or decision-making authority of the nation. In the decentralised format, sovereignty is addressed at multiple junctures, but at first, let me reiterate federalism is about dividing powers between members, and Federal institutions whilst safeguarding the greater common good. It is to lessen the power of the centre whilst strengthening that of the periphery where power flows to the centre. And in doing so, the stronger the Members, the strong the centre where the opposite is true in that weaker Members breed even weaker centre. In other words, the centre is as strong as its members. In architecture, in considering pitch and span, engineers design trusses along with load-bearing beams to share, carry, and spread the weight of the roof, and not solely rely upon a central beam, for doing so precipitates a single-point of failure phenomenon. The balance of power shifts back and forth between Member and the centre, as had been observed in the US from the days of Articles of Confederation to its current creative federalist model where State vs Federal relationship fluctuates. The larger the federal government, and by extension the stronger the centre, the greater the desire to pull the reins in towards States, as is the case now in the US. With respect to safeguarding the supreme power, the concept of dual sovereignty, where national and international powers are clearly delineated, comes into the equation, as discussed by Friedrich 1968, Elazar 1994, Schutze 2009, Beaud 2009, and Madison in the Federalist papers. Political thinkers like T Hobbes argued for an absolute authority to decide whereas others including J Locke, J Rousseau etc argued in favour of entrusting certain, limited powers to authority, as may be necessary for common protection. As explicitly expressed in the Federal constitution, as in Article 54, section (a), powers concerning international relations are granted to Federal institutions, are negotiated between Member States and Federal institutions, and where need to extend certain powers is seen necessary, so it shall be. Yet, one must be cognisant of our current state where the following are still true: a) Fear of tyranny flowing from a central authority, which does not serve the public interest, but that of the ruling class, b) Distrust amongst tribes, c) Federal institutions such as Legislature and Representatives out of touch with their constituency, where a culture of the centre dictating to the periphery instead of the periphery influencing the centre, takes command. The said was true when the Articles of Confederation had been drafted in the US, demanding mitigation controls be set in place to remediate said concerns. In Somalia, that is quite so yet, with there being no remedial controls or measures in place, and now, we have got a leadership, which just proposed unilateral amendments to the Constitution in order to usurp powers clearly granted to States under the Federal Constitution. I would argue said leadership poses the greatest threat to the sovereignty of the nation, and until such a time where a wise, seasoned, and just leadership could be had, strong Member States along with weak Federal institutions shall best serve the nation. Postscript: Here are Powers granted to Federal institutions, under Article 54, Allocation of Powers: powers entrusted unto the Fed. Government: (a) Foreign Affairs, (b) National Defense, (c) Citizenship and Immigration, and (d) Monetary Policy. --------------------------- And here is a summary of the proposed unilateral amendments to the Constitution, where the Federal government grants itself powers reserved for Member States: Here are the proposed unilateral amendments: A. Federal powers: Constitution, Sovereignty, Elections, and referendum, Foreign affairs, International agreements, Immigration, Religious affairs, Human rights, Census, and identity, Overall control of political parties and elections, A single Electoral Commission at Federal, State, and District levels, A national policy for land, marine, and aviation, National boundaries, Copyright, and intellectual property, Federal civil servants, A policy for personnel and human resources, Scale, measurements, and benchmarks. B. Economy: National economic development plan, Monetary policy, Determine national revenue sources, Federal taxation, and regulation, National statistics, Intra and inter rivers between and amongst Fed. Member States, Foreign trade, International investment, and financing, Policy for energy, and water. C. Infrastructure and Transportation: Ports and airports, Interconnecting roads, Transportation policy for land, sea, and air, Aviation, Postal, telephony,Internet, radio and television frequencies services along with Cyber Security, and data protection; telecommunication, and broadcasting. D. Security and Judiciary: Defence, and nation army, Federal police, and national secret service, Restoration of order, where there is instability in Fed. Member States, Ownership of personal small arms, Federal Courts, and Judiciary systems, Federal Military Courts. E. Public health, and services: National public health policy, National policy for remediation, medicine, and food, Immigration, refugees, and displaced persons policy, National policy for: Archives, Libraries, Theatres, and stadiums. F. Education: National education, and curriculum mandating examination of High school certification, Higher education, technology, and research. Shall pause there for the day.

@Miskiin-Macruuf-Aqiyaar@Arafaat@maakhiri1 Gents, Could not possibly be inadvertently, and indirectly praising gains of decentralised system of governance, could you?

Press conference FGS Interior Minister Fiqi & SSC Leader Firdhiye.

You all right mate, you come across as if in a foul mood; we all want that which is best for us all. By you guys, I am assuming you mean MMA. What the hell are Somali traditional elders and women doing meeting with foreign heads of State, and political leaders?