Somalia : Challenges Awaiting President Hassan Sheikh

On May 15, 2022, Somalia had a new President in the name of Hassan Sheikh. It is the second time Mr Hassan is being elected President. The first was from 2012 to 2017. This time around, the leader of the Union for Peace and Development Party beat the incumbent Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo in a long-delayed election. His victory was made possible thanks to an unexpected majority win of seats in both legislative chambers in the second and third rounds of the election. Since the proclamation of the result, there has been a strong feeling of a new dawn in the country with many hoping that the 66-year-old politician can take the country out of its present quagmire. 
It is true that one of the challenges of the new government is to find an all-embracing ideology to provide original solutions to the myriad acute problems facing Somalia and to guide the war-torn country towards peace and progress. For now, the only group offering strong locally-based ideology is Al-Shabaab, which sticks to Islamism based as it is on the notion of militant fundamentalism. But this ideology can be eclipsed by Hassan Cheikh and his team. His oratory skills, persuasive arguments, ability to mobilise and incisive criticism of his predecessor are some of the tools he can blend to put in place an acceptable ideology. But succeeding in tapping the support of the people is not enough. Hassan Cheikh has to tackle the chronic issue of corruption. His inability to control his close inner circle of men during his first tenure played negatively against hm. Most of his allies were bent on enriching themselves from the State coffers. To deliver the goods, he needs to choose a new team of fresh technocrats that might help him win the hearts and minds of the Somali public. 
In his first tenure, Hassan Sheikh failed to curb the explosive attacks on Mogadishu by Harakat Al-Shabaab Al-Mujaahiduun. The consequences of their weekly assaults hindered any peace-building and state-building progress. He now has a better chance of dealing with the question of Al-Shabaab ...