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Philo Somalia
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Politics

9 essays

President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud holding an oversized Somali National Identity Card beside a NIRA official.
Politics

The National ID Is Not a Card. It Is a Gate.

NIRA, the Central Bank, and a prime minister’s order are turning Tirsi Aqoonsi into a license for the network. Puntland and Jubaland have already refused the license.

5 min read · Abdirahman Samawade

Mahad Wasuge’s memoir Chaos, Courage and Change in Somalia on a table beside a glass of shaah.
Society

Chaos, Courage, and Change in Somalia

Mahad Wasuge’s memoir is not an outsider’s book about a “failed state.” Written for his children, for Somalis, and for anyone who still only knows the country through headlines.

September 20, 2026 · 2 min read · Abdirahman Samawade

A writer’s desk with maps of the Horn and stacked books.
PoliticsGuest

Propping-up the Social Contract

A guest concept note on restoring social accountability in Somalia — and why the media is the entry point.

June 13, 2024 · 4 min read · Abdirizak A. Hassan

The Indian Ocean off the Horn of Africa, a distant dhow on the water.
Blue Economy

How Can Somalia Benefit from the Blue Economy?

The longest coastline on mainland Africa is not a postcard. It is a development strategy — if Mogadishu and the member states can share it.

March 23, 2023 · 2 min read · Abdirahman Samawade