The Halane compound, a heavily fortified compound in Somali’s capital, is preparing for a meeting between the President of the Federal Republic of Somalia and regional leaders to sign the final deal on the federal elections, under the UN and foreign representatives watch.
It took some time for Said Deni, the Puntland leader, to join his sidekick Ahmed Madoobe, the Jubaland strongman, who arrived five days earlier in Halane, Mogadishu.
Since the beginning of last week, it was announced that Deni would show up alongside Ahmed Madoobe. But Deni was missing for many days—which is not unusual, given his habit of arriving late to meetings. This time, however, there was something new.
The reason for Deni’s absence lay elsewhere. After emphasizing for so long that his disagreement with President Mohamed Abdullahi “Farmajo” was his concern for Somalia as a whole and not just Puntland, he found himself caught up in the mess on his doorstep.
Recent events have proved that he has much more to deal with in Puntland than to worry about Gedo, Banadir representation, the constitution, or security in Mogadishu.
In the last few years, Puntland has been so badly managed that it has been gripped by hyperinflation, making life unbearable in Bosaso—the commercial capital of Puntland state—as well as in Garowe and elsewhere. Any protest about the worsening economic situation has been harshly suppressed.
The worsening of Puntland economy comes with a widespread corruption in all government’s agencies, including at the highest level.
Living wage is so horrendous that poorly paid army and police officers have become unreliable. Recent Bosaso prison attack was expected, as prison guards would reportedly do anything for money.
When Deni’s inner circle of friends and family is so deeply immersed in corruption, one cannot expect better behavior from subordinates.
Human rights have taken a hit too. Deni jailed journalists for simply reporting on his mismanagement of Puntland or its unpopularity.
Deni has taken extreme anti-constitutional acts. He illegally sacked elected members of parliament, bypassed his vice president by appointing key allies in the government and the army, and prevented his vice president from using the official media outlet.
Last week, MP Dhore, one of eight lawmakers whose immunity was revoked, said he was targeted because of what he knew about President Deni’s election. He claimed that during the 2019 Puntland elections, Deni—then a candidate—offered him bribes to vote for him, but he refused.
Bosaso Mayor Abdisalam Bashir Abdisalam resigned following a statement from the office of Puntland leader Said Deni. In the statement, the president also ordered the Puntland Auditor General to investigate the management of Bosaso municipality’s finances.
He sacked high ranking police officers, in particular Garowe Police Chief, whom he blamed for not taking his orders.
In Gardafui region, an isolated area, the United Arab Emirates wants to take control to assert influence over the maritime area around Socotra Island. The local population is already at odds with the Deni administration, having been left out of any development projects.
By delaying his arrival in Mogadishu, Deni avoided facing the international community—the very community he had called upon for help in his dispute with Farmajo over the elections. Instead, he decided to clean up his own yard before giving lessons to the federal government.
If Farmajo were to follow the Puntland leader’s example, Deni would be in jail, Somalia would be a police state, or Farmajo would strip rioting MPs of their parliamentary status and their immunity.
Since his controversial speech on federal elections—which angered many in Puntland—Deni has become increasingly insecure, and his actions more unilateral. He has placed heavily armed militias on roads around major cities, searching cars for any signs of public demonstrations.
In fact, Deni inherited a rotten system and campaigned to fight corruption but he surpassed his predecessors, and now the regional state is on verge of collapse.
Puntlanders now know what they want and what they don’t want. They don’t want Deni’s mismanagement, corruption, police state, clan-based discrimination, nepotism, foreign takeover over their land, sea and resources and food insecurity.
They want security, decent living standard, unity, good governance, rights and freedom, a strong central government, independence from foreign meddling.
