The sharp exchange reflects the growing political rift between Puntland and the federal government in Mogadishu.

Minister Dirir’s remarks came after Defense Minister Fiqi criticized two Puntland ministers — Interior Minister Abdi Farah Said “Juxa” and Information Minister Mahmoud Aydid Dirir — describing them as “hungry and dishonorable men” for attending a ceremony in Garowe marking Ethiopia’s dam project.

Reacting angrily, Minister Dirir dismissed Fiqi’s comments and hit back, calling him “a hungry man who digs graves for money,” while accusing him of being a former extremist.

“Fiqi himself is the hungry one, digging graves [evictions of cemetery in Mogadishu] to earn money. He should stop digging graves. He was Al-Shabaab before, and everyone knows his extremist past. His photos with the Islamic Courts are everywhere. Fiqi has sat in every extremist circle, from the Islamic Courts to Al-Shabaab,” Minister Dirir said.

The latest war of words underscores the tense relationship between Puntland’s leadership and Mogadishu, which has been marked by disputes over power-sharing, federalism, and alliances with foreign partners.

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What was once a mechanism to uplift Somali communities has now become a tool of coercion, deployed not for development, but for domination.

Millions of dollars earmarked for Puntland—resources secured in the name of the Somali people—are either diverted, delayed, or deliberately politicized by a federal administration bent on centralizing power at the expense of regional autonomy.

The donor community, whether by willful ignorance or silent complicity, enables this injustice. By funneling aid through Mogadishu without enforcing equitable distribution, international partners are empowering a centralized elite and undermining the very federal system they claim to support.

Let it be stated clearly: Puntland will not be strong-armed into submission through manipulated aid schemes or bureaucratic blackmail. Our people have endured decades of adversity—not through handouts or appeasement—but through self-reliance, governance, and sheer determination.

We built institutions when others faltered, and we maintained stability while others dissolved into chaos. To now be treated as a subordinate entity, expected to beg for what is rightfully ours, is not only unacceptable—it is an affront to our dignity and legacy.

This conspiracy to starve Puntland into political obedience will fail. No amount of donor deception or Mogadishu maneuvering will erase the will of a people determined to chart their own course. Puntland does not reject aid—it rejects manipulation. We will welcome partnership, but only one that respects our autonomy, our rights, and our people.

The international community must choose: continue propping up authoritarianism cloaked in federal rhetoric, or stand with regions like Puntland that actually embody the democratic and developmental aspirations they so often preach. Time is running out for neutrality. Silence, at this juncture, is nothing less than endorsement of tyranny.

Puntland is not for sale. We will weather this storm, as we have others—by standing firm, standing free, and standing together.

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Ismail Warsame is a digital journalist based in Toronto, Canada. He is the former Chief of Staff, Puntland State Presidency.

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