Open Letter to the Prosperity Party Leadership
From the Somali Community of Scholars and Concerned Citizens

Subject: A Call for Responsible Intervention and Reflective Leadership in the Somali Region

Addis Ababa | Jigjiga — April 2025

To the esteemed leadership of the Prosperity Party,

We, members of the Somali community of scholars, intellectuals, and concerned citizens — both at home and across the diaspora — write this letter with a heavy heart and a sharpened sense of civic duty. The silence of the past can no longer be afforded. The cost of inaction has escalated. And the weight of responsibility now rests squarely on your shoulders.

The Somali Region of Ethiopia, once poised to be a model of federal rejuvenation, now finds itself teetering on the edge of political decay and institutional paralysis. What was once hailed as a golden era — a rare window of peace, self-rule, and federal accommodation ushered in by Prime Minister Dr. Abiy Ahmed — has tragically devolved into an era marked by exclusion, political vendetta, administrative incompetence, and deepening societal fragmentation.

We must speak plainly. The president of the region, Mr. Mustafe M. Omer, entrusted with a historic opportunity, has squandered it. His tenure has been characterized by increasingly erratic decisions, divisive rhetoric, institutional manipulation, and a disturbing trend of targeting specific communities, elders, and critical voices. What many interpret as a deliberate campaign of suppression may, however, reveal something even more alarming: a possible deterioration in the president’s mental and emotional fitness to govern.

Leadership is not measured by intentions alone, but by the ability to steer complexity with wisdom, to unite rather than divide, and to uplift rather than personalize governance. If President Mustafe believes he is serving the people while delivering fragmentation, then we must consider whether he is governing through clarity — or confusion.