In the raw geopolitics of the Horn of Africa, where power belongs to those who actually govern rather than those who cling to outdated maps, Abdirashid Hashi’s latest X post (@AnalystSomalia) exposes itself as pure defensive propaganda. The former Somalia’s federal minister unleashes a torrent of accusations against Abdirahman Gaas’s measured op-ed in The Reporter Ethiopia, which soberly examines Türkiye’s growing leverage in Somalia and the Somaliland reality.
Hashi’s furious reply collapses instantly under facts: a flood of loaded attacks labeling the piece “misinformation,” claiming it paints Somalia as “hapless and without agency,” Türkiye as “cunning and exploitative,” and Somaliland as somehow legitimate, while supposedly normalizing Ethiopia.
He bristles at the publication venue and “loaded terms” like “strategic insertion” and “long-term dependency.” Then comes his grand punchline: Türkiye is a “close and reliable partner of Somalia and Somalis everywhere,” the hero that “forced Ethiopia to step back,” builds institutions, and pours in “billions” to make Somalia an oil powerhouse. Linking Türkiye with Ethiopia or Israel, he scolds, is simply “unbecoming.”
This is classic Mogadishu denialism — passionate, repetitive, and completely detached from 2026 realities on the ground.
Hashi’s Denial of Somalia’s Lack of Agency
Hashi vehemently denies that Somalia appears “hapless and without agency,” but his own record in successive weak federal governments amid endless Al-Shabaab threats, clan chaos, and total dependence on foreign troops and aid makes the denial laughable. The federal government barely controls pockets around Mogadishu and a few coastal strips. Revenue is pitiful, institutions are fractured, and federal member states run semi-independent courses. His lofty talk of a unified, powerful “Somalia” with eternal claims over distant lands sounds increasingly absurd against decades of failed state-building that still requires outsiders to mediate basic issues. Gaas simply states uncomfortable truths; Hashi’s denial changes nothing.
Hashi’s Denial of Transactional Leverage with Türkiye
Hashi passionately denies any exploitative angle, painting Türkiye as a selfless savior. This denial ignores hard evidence. The 2024 defense and maritime deals — expanded since — give Ankara real control over Somalia’s EEZ security, naval rebuilding, fisheries, and ports, often in exchange for 30% (or more in some resource deals) of future revenues through joint ventures tied to Turkish military-linked funds like OYAK.
Turkish companies already dominate Mogadishu’s port and airport. The expanded TURKSOM base and advanced deployments deliver some anti-militant support, yet they lock in exactly the long-term dependencies and strategic footholds Gaas questions. Hashi’s denial that these are anything but perfect “partnership” is empty deflection. External players chase interests, not charity — a point he conveniently ignores when it suits his narrative about others. His boast that Türkiye “forced Ethiopia to step back” flatters Ankara but whitewashes the persistent 2024 Ethiopia-Somaliland MoU and ongoing regional horse-trading.
Hashi’s Denial of Somaliland’s Separate Reality
Most glaring is Hashi’s ritual denial that brands Somaliland a mere “secessionist, unrecognized region.” This tired denial shatters against facts. Somaliland reclaimed its sovereignty in 1991 after the failed 1960 union collapsed under marginalization and violence. For 35+ years it has run itself successfully: holding real elections, keeping peace free of Al-Shabaab, issuing its own currency and passports, and building institutions through consensus and democracy.
Crucially, on 26 December 2025, Israel became the first UN member state to formally recognize Republic of Somaliland as a fully independent sovereign entity via a joint declaration signed with Somaliland’s president. This opened doors to diplomacy, security cooperation, agriculture, technology, and Abraham Accords alignment. Hargeisa celebrated; envoys followed. While Mogadishu, the AU, and some Arab states issued condemnations, Israel’s move acknowledges what exists: Somaliland meets every statehood test through effective control and stable governance. Hashi’s shrill denial and repetition of “One Somalia” cannot erase this breakthrough or the divergent path Somaliland has forged.
His emotional invocation of “Somalis, *Somalian* everywhere” and “our sea” simply denies the distinct identity and daily reality of Somalilanders, who have rejected reabsorption at conferences, ballots, and through self-rule. His outrage at Gaas publishing in an Ethiopian outlet — reflecting Addis Ababa’s practical interest in stable port access — reveals selective denial and indignation. External actors deal with Somaliland directly because it operates as a functional, separate state.
Hashi’s Denial Sidesteps Hard Truths
Hashi’s entire post is denial wrapped in heat: bias accusations, emotional unity appeals, and scolding for not deferring to the federal script. It brutally denies Gaas’s call for honest analysis of unequal deals and competing agendas in a multipolar Horn — Türkiye’s military-economic push, Ethiopia’s Red Sea drive, Israel’s security calculations against Houthi threats, and Somaliland’s proven separate success.
In 2026, paper maps no longer match ground realities. Somaliland has earned its independent trajectory through survival, self-rule, and now formal recognition by Israel. Hashi’s fierce denial of these facts only delays pragmatic solutions: letting stable entities follow their own realistic paths amid great-power rivalry. His empty rhetoric may fire up certain crowds, but it alters nothing about the region’s hardening divisions. The future belongs to those facing facts head-on, not those in denial chanting slogans of a phantom union.