Da’ud Ali Comes Down, Abdi Omar Climbs Up

Somali region’s former president is out, but don’t rejoice yet. What goes around comes around. The former president of the Somali region of Ethiopia was sacked and stripped off all positions he had held for the region, including an executive position, on 10 July 2010 based on a poor leadership performance over the course of his tenure.

Da’ud Ali had been ruling the region for over a year before he was dismissed.The instant he came to power, he began aggravating and marginalizing some zones of the region for no apparent reasons; he will be remembered for his ill-advised treatments towards those zones.

He’s elected from Wardheer zone, where his sub-clan resides with other Somali clans. Today, the former president of the region is a simple person pondering over how to go about his personal life, or what’s in store for him.

Abdi Mohamed Omar, a former commander of the region’s armed forces, has taken over the region’s presidential chair. He is elected from Qorahay zone of the region. The two men, along with other individuals of the region, had teamed up to crackdown on anti-peace elements who have wreaked havoc and anarchy on the region.

Although they had tirelessly worked together, the two men have different personalities. One is stubborn, aloof and inconsiderate; the other is social, accessible, but bellicose. The former description characterizes the ousted president; the latter description characterizes President Abdi Mohamed Omar, who is now enjoying whatever prestige the presidential position entails.