Commentary
PUNTLAND WILL CHOOSE ITS OWN ALLIES: TURKEY CANNOT DICTATE GAROWE’S FUTURE
The political narrative surrounding our region suffers from a double standard that is hard to ignore. When foreign capitals openly chase strategic ambitions in the Horn of Africa, it is accepted as normal statecraft. But the moment Puntland moves to secure its own borders, economy, and future, external forces treat it as a political crisis. Every functional government on earth looks after its own people first. Puntland is an independent reality, and it is time the outside world started treating it as one.
Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung
For decades, Puntland has stood entirely on its own two feet. While the political factions in the south remained trapped inside a few blocks of Mogadishu, Garowe quietly built a functioning state. We established our own ministries, funded our own infrastructure, and deployed our own security forces to systematically defeat al-Shabaab and ISIS militants. We did this with virtually no assistance from the south. The Mogadishu government claims authority, but authority requires governance, and they do not govern here. Puntland is not bound by any decree, agreement, or piece of paper coming out of the south, especially after the unilateral constitutional overhauls attempted by the southern administration. We are an autonomous entity, and we do not have to ask permission from a foreign capital to manage our own geographic and political destiny.
We see this clearly in the recent internet panic regarding Israel. A map displayed by the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office quickly sparked rumors about backroom diplomatic deals. A map on a screen is not a signed treaty. Until actual evidence surfaces, political commentators need to stop treating online rumors as a smoking gun. Puntland deserves to be judged on what its government actually does, not on a panicked reading of foreign slide decks. If our leadership chooses to evaluate new trade or security paths globally, that is our prerogative alone.
The real issue here is simple: absolute autonomy. The question we should be asking isn't who Garowe is talking to. The question is what Puntland gains, and what it keeps.
Look at the current foreign footprint in the region. The United States and the UAE provide direct support to vital counterterrorism units operating on our soil, such as the Puntland Defense Force and the Maritime Police Force. Meanwhile, Turkey and Qatar have focused their energy on securing commercial and political monopolies in the south, taking massive revenue cuts from the Mogadishu seaport and international airport while funding the Mogadishu government's security apparatus. None of these foreign entities act out of pure charity. Every country has a checklist of its own national interests, and our leaders must look at these relationships through a lens of strict pragmatism.
