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Somalia’s Education Minister, Farah Sheikh Abdulkadir, has rejected suggestions that terrorist groups could take control of the country.
Abdulkadir described such predictions as an “insult to the intelligence” of the Somali people.
Speaking on Thursday at a security panel in the capital, Mogadishu, Abdulkadir said such claims underestimated the capacity of Somalia’s state institutions.
The discussion, organised by the High Institute of Security and Strategic Studies (HISS), focused on obstacles to strengthening Somalia’s statehood, including governance, security and public confidence in government institutions.
“Sometimes I hear people saying that everyone will flee and that men who have emerged from the bush (terrorists) will drive people away. Such statements are an insult to the intelligence of the Somali people,” he said.
Abdulkadir argued that national security should be viewed as a collective responsibility rather than a conflict fought solely between the government and armed groups.
“The security belongs to the Somali people. It is funded by their taxes and sustained by their collective strength,” he said.
He also criticised those he accused of using political interests and grievances to spread warnings of national collapse or an imminent takeover by terrorist groups.
The minister said similar predictions had been made repeatedly since 2010 and urged Somalis to trust their security institutions.
His comments come as countries contributing troops to the African Union peacekeeping mission in Somalia begin withdrawing their forces, while Somali authorities seek to assume greater responsibility for the country’s security arrangements.
