Trading Trap—Dabin Ganacsi: “Dahabkaaga ku Badalo Nacnac”

By Dr. Abdulkadir Osman Farah

A king once sent a bag of gold coins to a scholar, expecting political support in return. The scholar refused the gift.

His family and close associates criticised his decision. He answered with a story about a domesticated cat that frequented a royal palace for “lufluf” (leftovers).

One day, a wild cat passed by and asked, “Why do you always chase their ‘lufluf’?” The palace cat replied, “Without the king, I will starve.” The wild cat answered, “Remember, the king and the worm draw their food from the same earth. I would rather chew dry wood in freedom than eat rich meat in slavery” (ha illoobin in cuntada boqorka iyo tan dixriga ay isku dhul/ciid ka baxdo.

In aan addoonsi ku cuno hilib shilis, waxaa iiga roon in aan xornimo ku calaliyo qori qallalan).

The story illustrates how rulers, scholars, relatives, and wider networks can pursue conflicting goals. Politicians often seek to preserve power. Scholars seek to produce and share knowledge. Relatives and close associates may focus on meeting everyday needs. These priorities can clash and resist change and reconciliation.

The same tension emerges at a Somali transnational community centre in a Scandinavian provincial city. On a late-summer afternoon, friends gather for tea and discuss politics in their host country and homeland.

One says, “Our homeland has seen encouraging developments. Committed politicians have secured external aid for small water, health, and road projects.” Another adds, “These projects could help prevent conflict and support peace.” A retired educator nearby questions their conclusion.

“People may benefit from scattered projects,” he says, “but what must they give up in return?” The friends admit, “We have not considered that.” He continues, “Imagine offering candy to a child holding gold. You say, ‘dahabkaaga ku badalo nacnac.’ What would the child do?” A friend replies, “The child would probably exchange the gold for candy.” The educator concludes, “Trading lasting liberty and justice for short-term gains creates a trading trap—dabin ganacsi iyo in dahab lagu badasho nacnac.”

Each participant may see part of the truth: the king, relatives, networks, the scholar, the friends, and the educator. The issue is not simply who is right or wrong. It is whether people acknowledge their limitations, deepen their understanding, correct mistakes, and seek common ground. No one begins with complete knowledge.

Journalists once asked the renown Nobel Prize winning physicist, Einstein, whether anything puzzles him. He replies, “ I do not understand people who repeat the same mistakes while expecting a better outcome.” The lesson is clear: learning and changing requires correction. Knowledge and research advances when people present and test ideas, revise errors, and address and resolve new problems.

More recently, a young journalist in Mogadishu asked the Somali Danish intellectual Barre Maxamed Fiidow “Leento,” “What would you say to the Somali people?” Leento replied, “Somalis must correct their past and present mistakes. Adopting the 4.5 clan-based political structure was one of the gravest political errors.

Without dismantling this corrupt structure, Somalis cannot make substantial progress.” His plays and performances repeatedly called for social and political reform. Including a celebrated drama “Beeney Raadkaa Raacdo Kugu Maqan” (Oh, untruth, the track you follow awaits you) reflects this concern.

Younger generations of transnational Somalis in the diaspora offer alternative authentic path. Many of them reject the trading trap (dabin ganacsi). Rather than following divisive 4.5 politics, they champion for justice, fairness, integrity, and human dignity. Their electoral successes in several countries suggest the potential of this approach. One example is Sagal Abdi-Wali, the first British Somali elected to the UK Parliament at Westminster. Historic institution once shaping Britain’s imperial expansion and the division of world territories, including Somali lands.

Sagal Abdi-Wali’s election prompted debate among Somali diaspora intellectuals. “Why did Somalis who settled in Britain more than 150 years ago not reach this level, while some newer migrants and refugees have?” Sagal’s background as a university graduate and civic campaigner invites reflection on these different histories.

Earlier Somali arrivals lived within an imperial order that treated them as subjects. Later migrants and refugees sought liberty and justice outside such subjugating relationship.

Neither group had a single motive, but the contrast raises a broader question: how does migration shape political ambition? Throughout history, migrants and refugees have helped transform societies.

Displacement can sharpen awareness of injustice and reveal possibilities that established institutions overlook. Somali sayings capture this insight: “Nimaan Dhul Marin, Dhaayo ma Leh; Dhul Aadan Seexaneyn, Laguma Luloodo.” (Those who do not travel lack perspective; do not doze where you do not intend to sleep.)

Young transnational Somalis also make their mark in creative fields. Somalis have long been known as a nation of poets (ummad gabayga/sugaanta ku wada hadasha).

Poetry holds a central place in Somali expression and wisdom. Yet few expected Somali Danish writers born after the 1990s to refugee parents could win prestigious literary awards.

These writers also challenge two imposing pressures: calls for ” top-down Danish cultural assimilation” and the older generation’s attachment to “outdated Somali clan factionalism.” Their work affirms mutual respect rather than erasure: “Aan wada noolaanno, waa aan istixgalinno; Yaanan wada noolaan, waa aan istirtirno.” (Living together means respecting one another; rejecting coexistence means erasing one another.)

“Ruux walba dhiishuu cugtuu/ruxduu, caanaheeda dhamaa” (Everyone drinks milk from the vessel they choose/make.) Younger transnational Somalis, including Ilhan Omar and Sagal Abdi-Wali, pursue public roles with a wider concern for humanity. By contrast, some politicians in Somalia remain caught in disputes over regressive policies. Some even advocate for the subordination of the Somali nation to other countries.

Hadraawi once wrote, “Gedgedoonka maankiyo qalbiga, gocasho soo boodka…” The phrase “gedgedoonka maanka” evokes a troubled or questioning mind. It invites us to ask: where did the idea that Somalis must submit to other nations originate?

Why do foreign actors assume the right to save, instruct, or guide Somalis unilaterally? Despite severe challenges, Somalia has a youthful population, abundant natural resources, and educated professionals at home and abroad.

By building unity and correcting mistakes, Somalis can strengthen their independence. The goal need not be dominance over others, but a stronger, more cohesive society.

Earlier generations demonstrated this capacity through diplomacy. In the 1970s, Somali diplomats helped formulate the “Mogadishu Accord” to address conflict in Uganda.

Somali diplomats also supported China’s international recognition and representation at the United Nations.

International partners can support Somali recovery without undermining Somali agency. For instance, Mogadishu’s gradual recovery reflects the combined efforts of Somali transnational coordination, diaspora mobilisation, and Turkish engagement across several sectors. Turks and Somalis share a long history. A history and a relationship that both nations must continually reassess and strengthen.

Turkish resilience offers another illustration of the trading-trap metaphor. In an account of a diplomatic delegation’s 1968 visit to Riyadh, Saudi Rabia, during a welcoming meeting, King Faisal prayed, “Allahuma acdhiinaa iimaanal atraak” (Allah, bestow upon us the conviction of the Turks). The story presents a Turkish conviction in refusing to exchange lasting identity for immediate rewards— “ku badalo dahabkaaga nacnac.” Originally, fleeing, migrating, persecuted clans from diverse regions insisted, shaped and preserved subsequent Turkish civilizational history.

Similarly, among them Egyptian museums, held verified records of ancient Somali civilizations. Treasures hidden below the geo-physics of the Somali Peninsula proves much more.

Somalis continue to defend their nation and homeland despite prolonged and largely imposed hardships. Political commentators often highlight- describing Somalis as a resilient nation, persevering decades of factional conflicts, famines, weak state institutions, aggressive foreign interferences and damaging global media narratives.

Yet Somalis retain vibrant transnational ties and a shared solid presence across the Horn of Africa. The Somali Peninsula still belongs to the Somali nation as it has been in the past 3-4 millennium.

Their remarkable endurance reinforces the idea that though immediate assistance and joining alliances matters, such transnational actions and encounters must not cost people’s lasting historic freedom, dignity, or collective endeavour. Most Somalis might prefer that despite existing competing political priorities and perspectives, pursuing a Trading Trap (dabin ganacsi): “dahabkaaga ku badalo nacnac” may not produce sustainable option.

Dr. Abdulkadir Osman Farah

Email: [email protected]

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Dr Abdulkadir is a vvisiting Research Professor, Somali National University ; Associate Aalborg University, Denmark-Migrant Solidarity and Hospitality in Global Perspective; Research and Innovation Associate, Tshwane University of Technology, Pretoria, South Africa.