Every year, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation’s Contact Group on Somalia meets with grand statements about progress, security, and development, yet Somalia remains trapped in a relentless cycle of corruption, terrorism, and dependency. The recent ministerial gathering in Doha is no exception—another round of hopeful rhetoric amid a harsh reality few dare to confront.
Somalia’s Foreign Minister proudly touted the “handover” of military bases, troop recruitment, and economic milestones, while begging for more aid—logistics, surveillance gear, and funding to sustain gains that seem to evaporate by the next meeting. The OIC, despite knowing Somalia’s intricate web of corrupt officials mingling with terrorist groups, continues to pour money and goodwill into a government that remains fundamentally broken.
One must ask: why does this cycle persist? Why does Somalia keep begging for international assistance without meaningful change after more than two decades? Is the OIC merely a bystander, or does it play a role in perpetuating Somalia’s stagnation? The question hangs in the air, dripping with irony. The very organization tasked with supporting Somalia appears content with symbolic gestures while turning a blind eye to the root causes—the government’s entanglement with extremist factions and endemic graft.
The OIC Contact Group touts its Special Fund for Somalia’s Development and pledges coordination committees, but what good are these tools when the system they support breeds dysfunction? The Somalian state is not a fragile sapling; it’s a deeply rooted tree of failure nourished by its own leadership’s incompetence and, perhaps, by international enablers unwilling to demand accountability.
Somalia’s endless dance of federalization, constitutional reviews, and election preparations often serve as smokescreens hiding the grim reality: the lack of genuine political will and governance capacity to reform. Meanwhile, terror groups like Al-Shabaab grow bolder, security vacuums widen, and ordinary citizens suffer.
The OIC’s repeated endorsements and financial commitments have become a tragic ritual—an annual performance of solidarity masking a deeper impotence. It’s time to stop applauding superficial progress and start demanding hard truths. Until the OIC, the Somali government, and their international partners address the fundamental political and security rot, Somalia will remain a textbook case of how well-intentioned efforts can become part of the problem rather than the solution.
In short: Somalia keeps begging. The world keeps paying. And nothing really changes. Who benefits? Not the Somali people, surely.
