In a town hall style meeting with young leaders from across the African continent, President Barack Obama showed that, at least conceptually-speaking, he had a very good grasp of the Somali problem, which he said boils down to choosing between two paths. As he put it, “There’s going to be a path that takes us into a direction of more conflict, more bloodshed, less economic development, continued poverty even as the rest of the world races ahead — or there’s a vision in which people come together for the betterment and development of their own country.”

Although he did not explicitly mention Somaliland, it is hard for anyone who is familiar with the Somali problem not to think that President Obama is contrasting Somaliland which has taken the path of peace and development with Somalia which has taken the path of death and destruction. Since President Obama did not mention Somaliland up front, some might have reasonable doubt whether he was contrasting Somaliland with Somalia. But then all such doubt should dissipate when they examine the approach he said his administration will take: “In some cases, we may try to find a portion of the country that is relatively stable and start work there to create a model that the rest of the country can then look at and say, this is a different path than the one that we’re taking right now.”

Some might say even if President Obama is talking of Somaliland in contrast with Somalia, he is doing it in the context of Somaliland as part of Somalia. Those who say this are missing the forest for the trees. All they have to do to disabuse them of such notion is to remember that President Obama did not say that he envisions a single governance structure to emerge from Somalia but rather that he expects “governance structures”. Needless to say, one of these governance structures is the already existing Somaliland Republic.

President Obama’s conceptualization of the Somali problem in terms of choosing between two paths, his pledge to work with the portion that is relatively stable, and his eventual expectation that more than one governance structure would emerge from the wreckage that used to be Somalia, all dovetails with what Somaliland has been saying all along. Clearly there is a meeting of the minds between President Obama and Somaliland. But words are not enough and action is needed. We will soon find out whether Obama meant what he said, and whether his administration will put the ideas he outlined into practice. After all, the test of the pudding is in the eating.

Note: All the quotes in this editorial are from the transcript provided by Somalilandpress.com

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