Abdirisaq

It’s 21 October. Read about the most, inept, confused and destructive regime in modern African history: Afweyne Siad Barre’s Kacaan.

Somalilanders must pause the name-change rhetoric. President Trump’s observation regarding the reputational baggage tied to the name "Somalia" should be noted. However, Somaliland’s legal battles are far from over. Immense legal weight, rooted in historical treaties, international law, and our declaration of independence on 26 June 1960, remains inextricably linked to our legacy name. We cannot discard that foundation on a whim simply because a foreign leader made an offhand remark at a political rally. Ismail, to borrow your analogy: a company does not execute a drastic rebrand on the eve of its IPO. Many Somalilanders are discussing names like "Republic of Adal" today. It is not a bad name, and it might solve a branding nuisance, but it severely risks muddying Somaliland’s strongest diplomatic weapon: our 1960 post-colonial legal existence and continuity. As Somalilanders, an enduring flaw of ours has been our tendency to let emotion dictate our direction. Less than 24 hours after the US president made an offhand comment, people are ready to abandon a name they have carried since 1960. Salfudeydkii 1960 yaan lagu noqon. It was precisely this kind of impulsive idealism that led us to surrender our hard-won sovereignty in 1960, a miscalculation that cost our people decades of suffering. The name "Somaliland" commands hard-earned goodwill today, built on the tireless sacrifices of generations over more than three decades. Let us secure our international recognition first. Only then, from a position of sovereign strength, should we debate a rebrand. Adal would not be a bad choice, then.