While Somalia’s lower house descends into chaos, the Speaker of Parliament, Sheikh Aden Mohamed Nur Madoobe, boards a flight to Algeria, hoping to lecture the Arab world about “regional cooperation” and “political challenges.” The irony could not be more grotesque.
In a week when rival Somali MPs physically clashed on the floor of parliament, and 20 lawmakers were banned for opposing the Speaker’s dictatorial overreach, Madoobe chose escape over accountability. His excuse? “Security concerns” and “parliamentary order.” His real mission? International self-legitimization at the expense of a crumbling democratic facade back home.
This is not governance. It is theater.
The expulsion of MP Abdullahi Hashi Abiib for missing two sessions—yes, just two sessions—set the stage for this parliamentary meltdown. Critics rightly call it a politically motivated move. In any functioning legislature, absenteeism is managed with ethics committees and transparency—not autocratic purges. But Somalia’s parliament has become a rubber stamp for executive manipulation, driven by fear and factionalism.
The Speaker now plays judge, jury, and executioner. His directive to suspend 20 MPs, many of whom are vocal critics of the administration, is nothing short of a political cleansing. This authoritarian behavior, dressed up in “procedural enforcement,” is a mask for the erosion of Somali democratic norms—what little there were to begin with.
And while Somalia implodes, its National Consultative Council (NCC) meetings are repeatedly postponed, sidelined by the absence of key regional states like Puntland and Jubbaland. With no electoral roadmap, no federal cohesion, and a parliament in self-destruction mode, Somalia remains a donor-dependent shell of a state.
The world needs to ask: How long can this charade go on?
Compare this with Somaliland. Despite international neglect and lack of formal recognition, Somaliland has conducted multiple peaceful elections, maintains relative internal security, and continues to foster genuine democratic processes. Its parliament debates laws, not fists. Its leaders don’t flee to foreign conferences during national crises.
Somalia’s elite are not just corrupt. They are complicit in the destruction of any hope for a functioning state. As the West continues to prop up Mogadishu with blind aid and diplomatic recognition, it is rewarding failure and punishing resilience. It is time to stop the delusion.
Let this be a wake-up call. The problem isn’t just Somalia’s dysfunction. It’s the international community’s willingness to ignore it—and sideline Somaliland, the one Somali-led democracy that actually works.
