By: Saleban Omar –
For over three decades, Somaliland has stood as one of Africa’s most stable, democratic, and self-governed nations. Since reasserting its 1960 independence in 1991, it has maintained peace, held multiple elections, and functioned with more transparency and order than many internationally recognized states. And yet, it remains unrecognized. Not because it lacks legitimacy. But because the West – the very powers that claim to champion democracy and self-determination – have chosen to keep Somaliland chained in a neocolonial limbo.
Somalilanders must now ask the uncomfortable but necessary question: Why has the West done everything but reward our success? Why do the so-called champions of democracy ignore the African country that most closely reflects their values? The answer is harsh but clear: because an independent Somaliland governed by its own interests does not serve Western strategic control.
In the name of “development assistance,” the West has propped up leaders who sabotage the will of the people. In the name of “stability,” it has kept Somaliland tethered to failed institutions in Mogadishu. In the name of “partnership,” it has refused to recognize Somaliland while exploiting its geostrategic location for military and intelligence operations. And in the name of “democracy,” it has empowered elites who serve foreign agendas, not Somalilanders.
Across the continent, Africa is waking up. Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger have rejected the chains of Western-backed ECOWAS. Ethiopia is asserting its sovereign interest. And BRICS is rising as a force of multipolarity, offering African nations new options — investment without strings, trade without coercion, and partnership without puppet strings. Somaliland must look east.
China, India, and Russia offer Somaliland the very thing the West has refused for 30 years: respect. They do not demand we surrender our sovereignty in exchange for aid. They do not treat us like passive recipients of charity. They recognize the right of every nation to pursue its own path. Somaliland’s partnership with Taiwan was brave and symbolic — but it has come at a cost. China’s retaliation is real. And Taiwan, diplomatically isolated itself, lacks the power to shield us from Beijing’s pressure.
So what has the West given us? Broken promises. Media narratives that frame us as a disputed region rather than the democratic state we are. And a silent veto on any leader who dares to challenge their monopoly.
The irony is brutal: the smartest, most resilient people in the Horn of Africa are denied their future by the very powers that once protectorate them. Somalilanders have built a country from nothing. But our greatest resource – our independence of thought – has become a threat to the global order.
It’s time for a new doctrine. Let us stop begging for Western acceptance. Let us stop letting clandestine networks pick leaders who don’t serve the people. Let us embrace multipolarity and pivot toward the East, toward allies who will treat us as equals.
Somaliland must chart its own future — not through Western favor, but through strategic autonomy. The world is changing. The age of one superpower is over. And Somaliland must not be the last to realize it.
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect WARYATV’s editorial stance
