By Said Ahmed Ali - Former minister of health and former minister of constitutional affairs in Southwest State of Somalia.
“Perhaps this is a lesson from the president’s leadership: the strongest hand is not necessarily the hand that strikes hardest.” Said Ahmed Ali
Introduction
There is a kind of strength measured by the weapons a government possesses, and another measured by the restraint it shows when it has every reason to use them.
For Southwest State, this distinction has become increasingly important. Recent changes in the state have opened a new chapter in Somalia’s political history. The return to one-person, one-vote elections after almost six decades was about more than casting ballots. It reflected an aspiration to bring political legitimacy closer to the people and allow citizens to choose their representatives directly.
The ballot therefore carries a profound message, set out in Article 1 of Somalia’s Provisional Federal Constitution: power belongs to the people.
Winning political legitimacy is only the beginning. The real test comes afterward: What does a leader do with that legitimacy? Does he use it to settle political scores or bring people together? Does he treat every opponent as an enemy, or distinguish political disagreement from lasting hostility?
This is where reconciliation becomes particularly relevant to the political dynamics of Southwest State.
The Greatest Demonstration of Strength
Southwest State President Adan Mohamed Nur (Madobe) brings extensive experience in public service and politics. His career has included serving as a district commissioner, helping pioneer peace efforts, participating in the Rahanweyn Resistance Army (RRA), and signing the agreement that established Somalia’s Transitional Federal Government in Eldoret, Kenya. He has also held ministerial portfolios, served twice as speaker of the federal House of the People, and acted as Somalia’s president after the resignation of the late President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed. The state’s current political circumstances present a demanding test of his leadership.
Madobe understands that the state must protect its institutions and resist attempts to overturn political authority by force. But military strength has limits.
As one of the senior living figures among leaders who endured hardship and defended the dignity and political rights of the Digil and Mirifle community, Madobe has experience of both peace and conflict. The battlefield may determine who controls a position today; reconciliation helps determine whether people can live together peacefully tomorrow.
That is why the president’s appointment of an inclusive committee and his effort to mobilise a broad reconciliation process matter. They signal that political disagreement need not lead to permanent confrontation.
His directive leaves room for elders to speak, religious leaders to advise, politicians to negotiate and communities to heal.
Perhaps this is a lesson from the president’s leadership: the strongest hand is not necessarily the hand that strikes hardest, but the hand that can strike and chooses to extend itself.
In political terms, a government unable to defend itself may have little choice but to negotiate. A government that can defend itself and still chooses reconciliation is making a different statement: it will protect the state and its institutions, and it will not allow force to replace law; at the same time, it will not allow political disagreement to destroy social bonds.
That is not surrender. It is mature leadership.
When the political contest is over, the people of Southwest State will still share the same roads, towns, markets, mosques, memories and future.
Ballots, Not Bullets, Should Pave the Way for Political Legitimacy
The significance of one-person, one-vote elections is not simply that people go to polling stations. The process affirms that ordinary citizens have a political voice. A farmer, herder, shopkeeper, mother, teacher, student, pastoralist or government employee may lead a very different life from their neighbours, but the ballot gives each of them a say. That places a greater responsibility on political leaders.
One of politics’ hardest lessons is that a leader who gains legitimacy from the people must eventually govern for those who opposed him as well as those who voted for him. Elections create winners and losers for a moment; the community must continue living together long after the vote. Reconciliation, therefore, is not an accessory to governance. It is part of governance.
The ballot confers legitimacy; strength protects it; wisdom restrains it; and reconciliation gives people a way to live with it. That is the real meaning of peace through strength.
The Strength to Fight, and the Wisdom Not To
Throughout the development of nation-states, a foundational principle has been that states should have the right and capacity to secure their territory and protect their political institutions. No state can remain viable if armed actors can dismantle its institutions whenever they disagree with those in power. The rule of law cannot endure if political authority belongs to whoever can assemble the largest armed force.
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Southwest State, like any functioning administration, has a responsibility to protect its institutions and people. Yet there is something greater than having the capacity to use force: having that capacity and still choosing dialogue.
That is what the current leadership under President Madobe is pursuing. This is not a weakness in the state leadership; it is restraint that deserves encouragement.
The Reconciliation Committee: A Bridge, Not a Surrender
The political dispute involving former Southwest State leaders has made the situation especially difficult. Former leaders continue to claim the presidency and have openly declared their intention to use any means to capture Baidoa, the state’s interim capital. Forces loyal to the former leadership have carried out multiple attacks in pursuit of that objective, raising serious questions about the methods used.
President Madobe holds the state’s mandate to govern for a five-year term and, under the state constitution, serves as commander-in-chief of its forces. Yet he has chosen to give negotiations and reconciliation a chance by establishing a process involving ministers, traditional elders, religious leaders and knowledgeable members of the community.
The contrast is clear: one side is pursuing force, while the government, despite its capacity to respond, is extending a hand for peace, reconciliation and negotiation.
The government is acting on the principle that political disagreement need not become permanent conflict. A former leader may disagree with a successor or reject the legitimacy of a process, but there must be a line between political contestation and the destruction of state institutions.
If every political disagreement ends with armed mobilisation, elections become pauses between conflicts and sustainable politics recedes. A state cannot rebuild itself after every political dispute.
Southwest State needs a political culture in which institutions are protected, elections matter and opponents can disagree without reaching for weapons. Elders must be able to mediate, religious leaders appeal to conscience, and politicians sit together after bitter disputes. Former opponents must also be able to return to peaceful political life.
That is the kind of reconciliation the state leadership says it is seeking.
The Stronger Person Who Still Extends His Hand
Imagine two people on opposite sides of a disagreement. One is clearly stronger and could impose his will. Instead, he extends his hand and says: “Let us talk.”
That moment tells us something about the kind of leadership being exercised. The stronger party is not negotiating because it has no options; it is negotiating because it has options and has chosen a path that may preserve something greater than victory. That is one of the most difficult forms of leadership.
When a leader is weak, compromise may be forced. When a leader is strong, compromise becomes a choice. A choice made from strength can carry a different moral weight: “I can confront you, but I would rather find a way for us to coexist peacefully.” That distinction separates power from leadership. Power asks, “Can I defeat someone?” Leadership asks, “What happens to our people after the fight?”
Political reconciliation and negotiation should not be confused with surrender. A leader can defend the constitution and state institutions while showing forgiveness and kindness. He can reject armed confrontation while respecting the dignity of the person across from him. He can insist on accountability without seeking revenge.
Conclusion
The future stability of Southwest State depends on balancing institutional strength with inclusive reconciliation. Political legitimacy derived from the ballot must be safeguarded by resilient state institutions and exercised with the wisdom to unite rather than divide.
Reconciliation pursued from a position of strength is not surrender. It is a strategic choice that can reinforce democratic governance, protect the rule of law and nurture a culture in which political transitions occur without tearing society apart.
By embedding reconciliation within a framework of peace through strength, Southwest State can support peaceful coexistence and democracy, while ensuring that changes in leadership serve the people without undermining the foundations of the state.
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About the Author:
Said Ahmed Ali is a former minister of health and former minister of constitutional affairs in Southwest State of Somalia.
The views expressed in this article are the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the editorial position of Dawan Africa.