Episodes
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Keep it local - Somalia’s data should sleep at home
Greetings from Perth, Western Australia, where I have finally landed after a busy couple of weeks on the road. Our book launch roadshow took me to Brisbane, Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne, with a good deal of airport coffee in between. Along the way we deposited our books with the State Library…
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Somalis have talent to succeed abroad. Why can’t we build at home?
Rebuilding Somalia through education and technology - MI’s 5 Minutes of Fame | Week 40 of 2026. Part 2 of the Week 39 (The time of forming ) discussion. Personal achievement matters, but rebuilding Somalia requires us to turn what we know into institutions that serve everyone. The uncomfortable...
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Somalia is missing from the global digital future
MI’s 5 Mins of Fame - week 38 of 2026 presents… Watching the Ai revolution from the sidelines, while powerful countries debate how Ai should be controlled, Somalia risks becoming a consumer of systems designed and governed elsewhere (In Somali Language see https://tinyurl.com/yx53k9m5). I still...
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From education to evidence: Somalia and the search for knowledge
For the past three years, much of my thinking about Somalia has returned to one central question: what does serious nation building actually require? Security, government, economic growth and infrastructure all matter. Beneath them lies something more fundamental: the ability of a society to...
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Educating Somalia for peace and stability
MI’s 5 Minutes of Fame: Securing Somalia’s place in global education and knowledge. Week 35, 2026. (See Somali language version, here). Some weeks leave behind more than photographs, meetings and travel memories. They force us to pause and ask what genuinely matters. For me, this week has been...
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Walking through Ibrahim Meygag Samatar’s final chapter
MI’s 5 Minutes of Fame - Week 34 of 2026 This week’s MI’s 5 Minutes of Fame is different. It concerns someone who is no longer with us. It therefore calls for a sober tone, particular care and respect for the dignity of the deceased. Before sharing anything further, I must also make one point...
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Can census cure Somalia’s 4.5 virus?
MI’s 5 Minutes of Fame | Week 30, 2026 This week’s message is addressed principally to Somalis in Australia. I encourage every Somali household to complete the 2026 Census accurately, include every person living there and pay particular attention to the question about language used at home....
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Somalia’s 63 Universities: Expansion Ahead of Verification
MI’s 5 Minutes of Fame. Week 28, 2026 Welcome to Week 38 of MI’s 5 Minutes of Fame, where I share ideas, observations and views on matters concerning Somalia and the Somali people. This week, we revisit the state of Somali tertiary education. In particular, we must ask whether the rapid growth in...
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How the .5 plus 4 destroyed Somalia...
MI’s 5 Minutes of Fame | Week 27, 2026 Coming to you from Venice I am writing this from Venice, where I have spent short time wandering through some of the more compelling exhibitions at the 2026 Biennale Arte. Venice in June has a particular quality: the light off the canals, the unhurried pace…
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While we debate the Ai algorithm in Somalia
AI, Somalia & Me: A Nerd’s Perspective from 40,000 Feet MI’s 5 Minutes of Fame | Week 26 in advance I was on the road again this week, this time on a 14 hour flight. Sealed in that aluminium tube, I watched three films: one about DeepMind, one about Vitalik Buterin and Ethereum, and since I was...
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Who is shaking the jar in Somalia?
There is a parable that has circulated widely in recent years. It goes something like this. Take one hundred red ants and one hundred black ants and place them in a glass jar. Nothing happens. They coexist happily and peacefully, navigating around each other, living side by side like Somalis at...
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Somalia Reads, Somalia Rises
The header video clip for this week was recorded while I was in Indonesia, where I had travelled for a project centred on books and education outreach. I began filming it there because what I wanted to say felt inseparable from where I was standing: in a city where people had decided…
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Africa Day 2026... DownUnder Style.
Africa Day in Melbourne, Australia- Week 22 of 2026 I just walked through the door. Still have my coat on. A small, quietly dignified gathering at the University of Melbourne this evening marked Africa Day, and I have to say, credit where it is due: they got the date right. May 25. The actual…
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Somalia, May 15th, and the End of the Mandate
MI’s 5 Mins of Fame | Week 19 | 15 May 2026 This week’s edition covers three issues. The most important, and the one that demands the most of our attention, is what I am calling a watershed moment for Somali politics: 15 May 2026, a date that carries both historic weight and present-day…
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Celebrating Books in Somalia and beyond....
World Book Day, celebrated every April 23 (in Somali language), is a reminder of the deep relationship humanity shares with books, reading, and the written word. While this day highlights the power of books, it also draws attention to a paradox in the global book market, where copyrights and...
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In Somalia, money takes a long uncertain road.
This week, my 5 Mins of Fame for Week 15 of 2026 moves from Australia to Zimbabwe, by way of Somalia, along a revealing monetary route. The journey begins with a hole punched through a Spanish coin in colonial New South Wales, then moves to Zimbabwe’s reserve-backed attempt to stabilise a…
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A Gentle Call to Somali Australians to Show Up
Few things reveal a community’s civic strength more clearly than whether it votes. For Somali communities in the diaspora, especially in Australia, that question deserves serious attention. This week’s MI’s 5 Minutes of Fame reflects on voting, civic duty. And why stronger participation can help...
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Somalia’s Mobile Money Oligarchy...
Returning to the Real Economy - Week 13 of MI’s 5 Minutes of Fame returns to familiar ground (in Somali language). Over the past few weeks, I have written extensively on Somali politics, and that was necessary. But now, back in a quieter and more peaceful part of the world, and once again within...
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Baidoa and the limits of political power
MI’s 5 Minutes of Fame - Week 12 (In Somali language). Yes, I know we are already in Week 14, and I am still catching up on the weeks I spent in a region around 25N above the equator, where airports were dealing with delays, cancellations, and the kind of uncertainty that turns even simple travel...
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Somali politics in reordered global economy
MI’s 5 Minutes of Fame – Week 11, 2026. In Somali language. Somalia is drifting toward its most dangerous political scenario. At the worst possible global moment. A few weeks slipped by, but the world did not pause. This week’s note brings together two developments that demand attention. One...
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Somalia at the Edge of Choice
MI’s 5 Minutes of Fame. Week 10 ( in Somali language, see https://ayuub.org/doorashadan-soo-socota-ee-soomaaliya/) This upcoming election in Somalia is no longer just about who wins. It is about whether rules still matter. As Somalia moves closer to another electoral cycle, the stakes have…
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Eid Reflections. Renewing Trust, Restoring Respect
From the spirit of Eid to the ethics of leadership. A call to reclaim trust through honesty, dignity, and mutual respect. These are not optional ideals, but the foundation of responsible governance and real political renewal in Somalia. The Return of MI’s 5 Minutes of Fame - After a short break...
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Somalia’s Constitution Moves Forward
Somalia’s Constitution. Imperfect, Necessary, and Still Ours Here comes Week 8 of MI’s 5 Minutes of Fame (in Somali language). I am slightly catching up this week while enjoying the blessings of Ramadan. It is a time for reflection, patience, and perspective. I also find myself praying deeply for...
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The House Is Burning. The Republic Is Not a Stage.
Week 7. Delayed Reflection. Urgent Reality. This reflection comes later than usual. Ramadan demands priority. Yet that delay is insignificant beside the paralysis confronting the nation. Somalia stands at a decisive moment. It requires seriousness, not spectacle. A Somali language version of this...
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What is draining Somalia’s political capital?
MI’s 5 Minutes of Fame for Week 6 (in Somali language visit https://ayuub.org/732-2/) asks a simple but urgent question. Can leadership survive without trust, and can trust survive without principled leadership? In Somalia’s political landscape, the distinction between mistrust and distrust is…
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A Parliament in Crisis, A State by Design:
Writing MI’s 5 Minutes of Fame each week is not an exercise in self-promotion. It is not driven by the pursuit of likes, followers, bells, or subscriptions. It is sustained by something far more demanding: a commitment to continuous, honest exchange among like-minded Somalis who care deeply about...
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Is parliament slowing down Somalia’s political and economic developments?
For the past month, this series has interrogated mobile money (MM), dollarization, inflation, and their consequences for everyday survival in Somalia. We have seen how, in a context of prolonged institutional fragility, financial systems have nonetheless evolved into remarkably efficient…
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Davos After Davos....influence to insularity
Welcome to MI’s 5 Minutes of Fame - Week 3 (2026). This week’s episode was drafted in the Middle East, but published from Indonesia, purely because travel commitments have had me moving across time zones and working in transit. In between airport gates and shifting schedules, I also found myself...
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Somalia’s Remittance Paradox - Challenges ahead.
The recent delay of MI's "5 minutes of fame" post (available also in Somali language) highlights the complex and evolving landscape amidst unfolding global geopolitical uncertainties. As these challenges continue to reshape global financial ecosystems, there remains a compelling opportunity to...
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Somalia at the Fault Line of.....
Reading the Charts Without Anaesthesia If 2025 was about diagnosing the patient, 2026 is about reading the charts without anaesthesia. This first MI’s 5 Minutes of Fame post of the year opens with a simple premise: Somalia and the wider Horn of Africa no longer suffer from a lack of attention…
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Somalia’s election was more than a political event
In light of the extraordinary and long-awaited historical moment that unfolded in Mogadishu, I have decided to postpone MI’s 5 Minutes for Week 52 by a few days. As promised, the looking back, looking forward reflection - together with a short year-end note - will be shared before the close of…
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Resolving Somalia's electoral confusion
Week 51 of MI’s 5 Minutes of Fame opens with a note of commendation, before getting into the complex terrain of Somali politics and elections. It is important to acknowledge the exemplary work of Somalia’s Ambassador to China in advancing diplomatic engagement and deepening economic cooperation...
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Rule of law or rule of the rumor in Somalia
Doha Forum 2025 convened on 6–7 December under the theme “Justice in Action: Beyond Promises to Progress,” foregrounding justice, accountability, and the rule of law as antidotes to a world sliding into moral and geopolitical disorder. In that same spirit, MI’s 5 Minutes of Fame this week returns...
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Why half the country is on mute....
Before this week’s main discussion, I pause to reflect on the recent dispute between the U.S. presidency and Somalia, whose tone and near-emptiness reveal far more about the deterioration of leadership in Washington than about Somalia itself, especially when contrasted with the more measured...
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From African coups to Japanese consensus
Week 42 of MI’s 5 minutes of fame spans continents, from the turquoise waters of the Indian Ocean, the heart of Africa to the political corridors of Tokyo, capital of the rising sun of Japan. Two worlds bound by ambition and transformation. After an eventful trip across Africa, my planned hop…
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Ideas on the move to turn encounters into action in Somalia
MI’s 5 Minutes of Fame – Week 39 This week’s reflections come from the road. What began as a brief three-day visit to Mogadishu organically extended into eight days—a testament to the depth and vibrancy of my interactions with colleagues and friends across the education and technology sectors.…
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Somalia -A nation walking into bright future with its past in tow
Apologies for the delay in delivering MI’s 5 minutes of fame this week. Yes I know I know this edition is late, brilliance always insists on being slow-cooked rather than microwaved and takes a little longer to marinate. Think of it less as being late, and more as being fashionably intellectual....
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Is Somalia ready for E-Visa?
This is MI’s 5 Minutes of Fame for Week 36 of 2025, written from Perth, Australia. Somalia’s launch of a fully digital e-Visa system is undeniably good news, signaling progress in governance and mobility. Yet, as aggregated by my AI-enabled analytic tools from the online Somali discourse, the...
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Somalia Between Two Summits: Why Yinchuan and Yokohama Matter?
I find myself “back home” (a contested concept for many of us), in Perth, to be precise where the African Australian Universities Network (AAUN) is convening on 1–2 September, followed immediately by the 23rd edition of Africa Down Under (ADU) from 3–5 September 2025 at the Pan Pacific. But…
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Japan–Somalia Collaboration in a Changing Global Order
A quick note before I begin: I realise the video I shared earlier raised several themes I haven’t yet addressed here. My time in Japan was shaped so strongly by the TICAD9 summit that it dominated both my schedule and reflections. This post aka my weekly five minutes of fame focuses on Somalia’s...
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The Governance Gap in Somalia’s Financial Sector
MI’s 5 Minutes of Fame – Week 32, 2025 This week’s reflection coincides with two anniversaries that speak volumes about national trajectories and the politics of resilience. Singapore marks its 60th year of independence a city-state that, in the same timeframe, transformed from a struggling...
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Stranded and stateless! Somalis Suffering at Foreign Airports
Much has transpired since I began drafting this brief “five minutes of fame” reflection. In Somalia, piracy has ominously resurfaced, casting a shadow over maritime security in the Horn of Africa. Mogadishu’s political theatre continues with convoys of four-wheel drives paraded by the usual power...
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Role of parliament in rebuilding Somalia
As I noted in an earlier note last week, this piece offers a reflection on the role and condition of African parliaments, through the lens of my recent visit to both the old and newly built parliaments of Zimbabwe. These contrasting spaces serve not only as architectural landmarks, but as symbols...
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Ai assisted message from Italy to my Somali Wantoks
I’m currently at Gorky Park in Milan, making my way on foot toward Milano Centrale, a 10-kilometer morning walk that’s become part of my routine. As I walk through this beautiful urban park, I’ve taken a moment to reflect and record another short video, sharing some of my observations about…
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Trapped in endless conflict.... is Somalia facing forever war?
MI’s "five minutes of fame" comes to you from Colombo, Sri Lanka… a very hot and humid day, but am in my elements and enjoying it. This is a nation that once bore the scars of a protracted civil war, yet has since transitioned into a relatively stable democracy with functioning institutions and...
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Starlink - delinking not empowering Somalis.
This week my Five Minutes of Fame segment I will revisit an issue that I have briefly addressed last week, see here. As anticipated, the topic generated considerable discussion within the Somali tech community, both abroad and in Somalia—precisely the kind of engagement I had hoped for, see...
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Somalia’s so-called medical tourists ...
This week’s 5 minutes of fame post is a blend of reflections from different moments and themes from Asia—please pardon the combination, as each carries its own weight and urgency. During my recent return journey from Hyderabad, see here, here, here, here and here from my early morning walks. I…
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Why and who dallarised the Somali shilling?
I am currently travelling, with a recent 15-hour stay in Singapore (please refer to the references and my commentary below for context, see also this and this), followed by onward travel to Hyderabad, India, to attend the World Summit Awards (WSA) event. This update, therefore, spans a diverse…
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Beyond Tech... culture and history matters
This week, I had initially planned to reflect on the recent Global Finance & Technology Network (GFTN) event held at the University of Western Australia’s Winthrop Hall from 24 to 26 March 2025. However, I have instead chosen to focus on a matter of cultural and ethical significance by sharing…
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Why Education Must Anchor Somalia’s Future? A Generation Adrift...
I hope this message finds you in good health and high spirits during this blessed month of Ramadan—a time for reflection, spiritual renewal, and thoughtful reading. Please find attached my reflections for Week 12 of 2025. I would like to offer my apologies for the change in schedule regarding the...
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Somalia - the good, the bad, and the unsure.
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