What Puntland Could Learn from Its Founding President

[Deeq A.]

President Yusuf was pragmatic, principled and admirably believed in the national interest of Somalia.

Garowe (PP Editorial) — The founding President of Puntland State of Somalia the late Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed proposed a federal system in 1998, six years before he was elected the first president of the transitional federal government of Somalia. His conception of a federal system widely differed from the view taken by successive Puntland presidents, particularly President Abdirahman Faroole and President Said Abdullahi Deni.

President Yusuf opposed a rivalry between the federal government and Puntland. In 2006, he stood with his prime minister Ali Mohamed Gedi, when he had disagreements on policy issues with the late Puntland president Mohamud “Adde” Muse Hersi. It is noteworthy that Puntland was then bankrolling the federal institutions based in Baidoa.

In January 2009, several weeks after he resigned as a president of the Federal Republic of Somalia, Yusuf  delivered a speech to the Parliament of Puntland. Hec urged MPs to work together for a united Somalia.

In May 2009, when relations between Puntland State and the former Transitional Federal Government soured, President Yusuf, then in exile in Yemen, called on Puntland to work with the Federal Government of Somalia.

A local news website reported that “President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed, who is currently living in Yemen, is actively involving himself in the internal politics of Somalia’s State of Puntland.” The news website cited an unnamed source who claimed that ex-president Yusuf is engaged in active campaigns to “incite the Puntland public” against the current administration under President Abdirahman Mohamed “Faroole.”

When Puntland has gradually withdrawn from active engagement with the Federal Government of Somalia, its position was taken by the Somaliland Administration, a secessionist administration that has MPs and Senators in the federal institutions while claiming to have seceded from Somalia. Secession jeopardises the sovereignty of Somalia. When former President of Somaliland Administration Muse Bihi Abdi signed an illegal Memorandum of Understanding with Ethiopia in 2024, he  claimed that previous agreements between Somaliland Administration and Somali Federal Government contain articles that enable the secessionist administration to sign economic development agreements with foreign countries.

Past successive Puntland Administrations have shunned off-shore oil exploration agreements signed by the Federal Government of Somalia, debt relief effort and lifting of the arms embargo. The Federal Finance Ministry withholds budgetary subsidies and development and aid after Puntland rejected disclosure instructions from the Financial Governance Committee, which urged Garowe to harmonise its fisheries licensing with those of other Federal Member States.

The federal system has provided a sound basis for forming federal member states, also as a part of post-conflict state-building initiatives to prevent ungoverned spaces cropping up in Somalia. Puntland makes itself vulnerable to the accusation that it cites its pre-federal status to demand to be treated as such. How can Puntland champion the advocacy for full implementation of a federal system in Somalia when the presence and political visibility of other Federal Member States make it feel uncomfortable?

Puntland State of Somalia stands to gain significantly from re-engaging with the Federal Government of Somalia. A thorough review of the flawed Puntland Constitution could lead Puntland to recalibrate its political priorities in a realistic manner. The year 2025 is different from the year 2005, when Puntland was the only autonomous administration guiding the direction of the federal system. President Yusuf was pragmatic, principled and admirably believed in the national interest of Somalia.    

 © Puntland Post, 2025

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