Abdi Garad, PhD

A researcher focusing on state-building interventions and the associated security complexities of the HoA. Reposting does not mean an endorsement.

[Tim Brannigan @tim_brannigan]

Claims she has a button fitted on her belly, and when she gets the nod that he’s asleep she moves her hand and presses a button that wakes him. They’re calling her The Zapper. No idea if it’s true but it *appears* to line up.

[Abdi Garad, PhD @agaraad]

O Allah, graciously accept this prayer for us as we intercede for our parents, especially our mothers, who have endured so much from the moment they conceived us through all the years of raising us.

O Allah, grant Uncle Sirad Nurre, this great Somali poet who so eloquently captured the deep hardships mothers endure in his verses, a place in Paradise and honour him among the righteous.

Parents’, especially mothers’, sacrifices are beyond our power to repay, so we turn to Allah alone for His boundless mercy.

[Abdi Garad, PhD @agaraad]

@SomPundit After the ban on Qat was enforced, @Abukarawale should still be working hard to help rehabilitate those who misuse it, such as these.

[Abdi Garad, PhD @agaraad]

@Saleh5150385482 A valid point. However, could you elucidate how our actions have contributed to the progeny of these abusive people believing that they bear the burden of civilising others?

[Abdi Garad, PhD @agaraad]

@Voice_OfSanity Aamiin

[Abdi Garad, PhD @agaraad]

@AbdiwahabSheik7 “Justice for Wagalla is non-negotiable.”

[Abdi Garad, PhD @agaraad]

@YassSomali Hambalyo Hambalyo Hambalyo

[Abdi Garad, PhD @agaraad]

@MAbdirizak 🙏

[Abdi Garad, PhD @agaraad]

@Abukar_Arman @MAbdirizak @HassanSMohamud @M_Farmaajo Is that some confidential information? 😆

[Abdi Garad, PhD @agaraad]

I was thoroughly impressed by @MAbdirizak’s illustration of two men's destructive audacity.

The first boasted he could double whatever his rival did. The second called for judges and a jury, then, before them, gouged out one of his own eyes. Bound by his boast, the first man was compelled to remove both. The logic of competitive self-destruction leaves both blind, having competed to surpass the other only in mutilation.

Abdirizak invoked this analogy when he was asked about the logic of a faction of the Somali opposition group (the Council for the State’s Future) that proposed to return the country to a transition led by the African Union, which lacks the capacity to govern even its own organisation without aid, let alone a complex yet sovereign state.

In this analogy, @HassanSMohamud’s STATE CAPTURE is the removal of the first eye: a grave, self-inflicted wound. The Council’s proposal is the second, catastrophic move: the blinding of both.

HSM’s manipulation of the state through his caprice causes fragmentation, while the opposition group resorts to escalating damage, leaving the state stripped of any viable sovereign framework.

@HESharifShAhmed;
@AbdiShirdoon;
@HESaidADeni;
@PresidentMadobe;
@HassanAKhaire;
@Aynte;
@AAbdishakur;
@ThabitMhd.

[Abdi Garad, PhD @agaraad]

@SheiknorQassim 😆

[Abdi Garad, PhD @agaraad]

@YassSomali They are a shameful cult.

[Abdi Garad, PhD @agaraad]

@Deee_luul Soo barbaar. 😆

[Abdi Garad, PhD @agaraad]

The scale of alleged land expropriation under Hassan Sheikh Mohamud's administration (@HassanSMohamud) is beyond imagination and has spiralled completely out of hand.

The female claimant of this clip, speaking in a well‑articulated, scholarly tone, asserts possessory rights over multiple properties in central Mogadishu, located one block from Villa Somalia (@TheVillaSomalia). The chain of title documentation extends from the 1930s through the 1940s (the Italian colonial period) and continues through the Somali government's fall in 1991.

The holdings, she argues, were owned by members of the urban professional class, including doctors, pilots, and military officers, and are classified as demaniale (public domain), special within the Hamarwein, Shangani, and Bondere districts.

The claimant further stated that government officials demonstrated a lack of familiarity with documented tenure systems, which she attributed to their nomadic background (using the term "ACRABI").

She expressed confidence that a future accountable government would replace the current regime and that they would ultimately recover the properties despite interim dispossession.

She stated their willingness to tolerate the situation in the meantime.

Listen to the full story 👇🏽

[Abdi Garad, PhD @agaraad]

A non-Somali scholar specialising in Somali studies asked me, “Who is the most authoritative non-Somali expert on Somali issues?”

He expected me to name himself, but I confidently named Markus Hoehne and Ken Menkhaus.

He disliked my answer.

The fact that Somalis from the area (@AbdisalaamArab) are asking you about the location pictured confirms the accuracy of my reply to that scholar.

[Abdi Garad, PhD @agaraad]

@Abukarawale @faaraxsheekh This picture makes you wonder if your actions match the cause you're claiming to fight for.

My two cents: if you want people to see you as credible, it’s better to stick to your stance against khat and avoid hanging out in photos with folks who profit from it.

[Abdi Garad, PhD @agaraad]

I accept your argument, with the exception of the final sentence, which I respond to in two personal notes: (1) I hold a deep affection for Hargeisa and intend to relocate there; (2) I bear no ill will toward the city or its people, though I acknowledge we hold differing views on the question of secession. Thereafter, it is you who need to adjust yourself and accept differences.

[Abdi Garad, PhD @agaraad]

Recent reporting by journalist Mohamed Ilig (Voss TV) on diagnostic imaging cost gaps between Jigjiga and Hargeisa reveals a frightening but factual reality.

I verified Ilig’s post with a minister in Jigjiga (who requested anonymity), and the official confirmed the accuracy of the reported figures. The minister also mentioned that six additional CT scanners have been budgeted for major hospitals in the Somali Region this fiscal year.

I also attempted to cross-check with authorities in Garowe and Mogadishu but was unable to obtain conclusive information.

[Abdi Garad, PhD @agaraad]

@cunayee I'll have one

[Mehdi Hasan @mehdirhasan]

In six months time, the US bombing of Somalia, escalated by Donald Trump in recent months "will rank as the longest foreign war the U.S. has ever fought," writes Spencer Ackerman for Zeteo.

So why is no one talking about this particular 'forever war'?
https://t.co/qPFWRTh9aY