Farmaajo to Donald Trump “Remove us from the list of travel ban”

Somalia’s new president Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo. (Courtesy)

MOGADISHU—Somalia’s new president Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo has appealed to the US President Donald Trump to remove the Somalis from the list of countries in the Immigration ban, saying it was not necessary.

Speaking to the VOA Somali service, Farmajo argued that the Somalis are hardworking and good people.

“It is part of my responsibility to talk this issue with the U.S. government by conveying our message to the president and his government that the Somali people are really good, hard working people,” Farmajo said.

He added that, “They raise their families in the United States. So we will see if he can change that policy and excludes Somalis from that list.”

Farmajo is a dual citizenship holder—Somali and the US—and he’s spent much of his adult life in the States in the northern city of Bufallo.

First priority

Farmajo noted that his first priority would be to appoint a Prime Minister that will deal with the country’s security and the drought that is ravaging most parts of the country.

“There is a huge drought everywhere in Somalia which definitely will produce a famine,” he said.

He appealed to the international community to provide humanitarian assistance to those affected by the humanitarian crisis.

In the neigbouring Kenya, President Uhuru Kenyatta has declared drought a national disaster. The drought is affecting 23 Arid and Semi-Arid counties.

Speaking after a briefing with Cabinet secretaries at State House in Nairobi, Uhuru called on all relevant ministries and authorities to scale up their drought-mitigation programmes.

The president invited the international community in mitigating the drought impact, saying the only government won’t be able to address it.

“Support from our partners would complement government efforts in mitigating the effects of drought,” Uhuru said.

Sakariye Cismaan, a Somali political commentator said Farmaajo must take great care in appointing his prime minister.

“The past four presidents all struggled with this and each went through at least three different PMs, with almost all the partnerships ending in acrimony” Sakariye said.

On the question of appointing a new Prime Minister, Majority of Somalis want the President to appoint a new person for the job.

“I expect the new prime minister can assemble a new cabinet in 30 days [we] will roll out a plan of action in the coming 100 days,” Farmajo, the most popular politician in recent times, said.