By Dr. Ali Said Faqi
Thursday June 11, 2026
Somalia’s leadership has a habit of recycling failure. The latest example is Adan Mohamed Nur “Madobe,” now installed as the “president” of Southwest State through what many people in the region regard as a federal-run sham election.
In this op-ed, I will revisit the background, political record, and legacy that have shaped Adan Madobe’s career since he first emerged on Somalia’s political stage. His political career has been marked by conflict, controversy, and repeated accusations of disregarding both political and constitutional norms.
Madobe first emerged as a political figure through the Rahanweyn Resistance Army (RRA) struggle against USC’s General Aidid faction. Following the split within the RRA in 2002, forces loyal to Madobe and those aligned with Hasan Mohamed Nur “Shatigadud” fought a bitter war known by the locals as” Tuhun iyo Torabora” over control of Bay and Bakool. The conflict plunged the region into instability, resulting in the loss of innocent lives, including women and children, the displacement of civilians, widespread destruction of property, and deep divisions within communities that never healed. For many residents of Bay and Bakool, this period remains one of the most painful chapters in the region’s modern history.
The late President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed in his memoir “Halgan iyo Hagardaamo” portrayed Madobe as a man who constantly sought financial concession during his speakership term. This statement carries particular significance as it came from a leader who dealt directly with Madobe during the Transitional Federal Government period. The remark reinforced longstanding believes that the man views politics primarily as a vehicle for personal advantage rather than public service.
More than two decades later, the memories of that conflict are now resurfacing. Many families still remember the suffering, insecurity, and uncertainty that accompanied the fighting. The scars of war are not erased by the passage of time, nor are they erased by political appointments. This history continues to shape how many people view Madobe’s return to power. His political record remains inseparable from a conflict that brought hardship, displacement, and instability to the very communities he now seeks to govern.
His four years as Speaker of the House of the People did little to alter the concerns that had long surrounded his political career. Between 2022 and 2026, Somalia experienced repeated parliamentary crises, procedural disputes, and growing concerns over the erosion of legislative independence. Members of parliament were suspended under controversial circumstances, parliamentary procedures became increasingly contentious, and major decisions were pushed through despite objections from lawmakers. Rather than serving as an independent institution capable of holding the executive accountable, parliament increasingly came to be viewed as an extension of Villa Somalia.
Many Somalis believe that Madobe’s transition from Speaker to President of Southwest State was not a sudden development but a political project that had been in motion for years. As one of Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s most reliable political allies, he spent four years advancing and protecting the President’s agenda inside parliament. His elevation to the presidency of Southwest State therefore appears to many as a political reward for his loyalty and service to Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and Villa Somalia.
A parliament that should have served as the guardian of constitutional governance increasingly came to be viewed as an instrument for advancing executive interests. Rather than strengthening the authority and independence of the legislature, Madobe became closely associated with its decline. For many observers, his tenure as Speaker will be remembered less for advancing parliamentary democracy and more for presiding over one of the most controversial periods in the institution’s recent history. The result was a gradual erosion of public confidence in one of Somalia’s most important democratic institutions.
The process that elevated Adan Madobe to the presidency of Southwest State was literally a sham, despite claims that it represented a “one person, one vote” election. The process lacked the credibility, inclusiveness, transparency, and legitimacy required of a genuine democratic exercise. What occurred was not a competitive election in which political opponents participated on equal terms and the outcome reflected the freely expressed will of the people. Rather, it was a political process whose outcome appeared predetermined from the beginning, worse than the indirect elections. The objective was clear: to install a reliable ally of Hassan Sheikh Mohamud in one of Somalia’s most important federal member states.
The result will not produce stability, legitimacy, or political consensus. Instead, it will deepen existing divisions and create new tensions. Rather than bringing Southwest State together, the process will likely make the state more polarized than before. It also raises serious questions about the future of federalism and whether federal member states will be allowed to determine their own political destiny without interference from Mogadishu.
Many residents fear that Adan Madobe’s priorities lie less in governance and development than in political and financial gain. These concerns are particularly pronounced in Lower Shabelle, where communities worry that valuable agricultural land, coastal resources, public assets, and investment opportunities could be transferred to family members and political allies at the expense of local residents. The fear is that public resources will be used to benefit a select few rather than the broader community, leaving future generations with diminished control over their land, resources, and economic future.
Abdiaziz Hassan Mohamed “Laftagareen” continues to reject the process as illegal and unconstitutional. He maintains that he remains the legitimate president of Southwest State and continues to enjoy substantial political and security support across the region. The dispute is therefore not simply about who occupies an office. It is fundamentally a disagreement about legitimacy, constitutional order, and the right of the people of Southwest State to determine their own leadership through an agreed process that they recognize as lawful and credible.
The broader implications are deeply concerning. Southwest State already faces significant security challenges, including the continuing threat posed by Al-Shabaab across parts of Bay, Bakool, and Lower Shabelle. At a time when unity and cooperation are urgently needed, the state finds itself consumed by a political confrontation that risks undermining security and governance.
History has repeatedly shown that political settlements imposed through force, coercion, or external pressure rarely produce lasting peace. More often, they deepen grievances and create conditions for future conflict. If Southwest State is pushed toward confrontation, responsibility will rest with those who chose imposition over dialogue and political engineering over consensus.
Southwest State deserves leadership that enjoys genuine legitimacy, commands public trust, and respects constitutional governance. Its people deserve a future built on reconciliation, inclusion, and democratic principles rather than political imposition. No amount of political engineering can erase history, and no declaration from Mogadishu can manufacture legitimacy where it does not exist.
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Dr. Ali Said Faqi, former Ambassador of Somalia to the EU
