The 2026 Edits
Writing has always been my cup of tea. Speaking, not so much. I grew up with a stutter. As a child, speaking was not always easy, and I gradually developed the habit of saying less, choosing my words carefully and speaking only when I felt something was important enough to say.
Over time, what began partly as a response to that difficulty became part of my personality. I learned to appreciate listening, observing and reflecting before contributing to a conversation. Even today, I am not particularly talkative. I rarely feel the need to fill every silence or contribute to every discussion.
Writing, however, has always been different. With writing, there is no pressure to respond immediately. I can pause, reconsider a sentence, return to an unfinished thought or spend as much time as necessary finding the right words. I can explore an idea without interruption and discover what I think in the process of putting it into words.
Writing became my preferred way of expressing myself, but also a way of understanding myself and the world around me. I began blogging in 2012. Fourteen years later, that habit remains an important part of my life. My early writing was not especially sophisticated. I wrote about what interested me, what I experienced and the questions I was trying to understand. Some of those early reflections would probably make me smile today. But I enjoyed the process, and I kept writing.
As I grew personally, academically and professionally, my interests expanded. Public policy, leadership, Social entrepreneurship, climate change, governance, development, technology and the future increasingly occupied my attention.
Writing evolved alongside those interests. What began as a personal outlet gradually became an intellectual discipline and a means of contributing to public conversations. I still write for many of the same reasons I did in 2012: curiosity, reflection and the desire to express an idea clearly. The difference is that I have become more demanding of the arguments I put forward.
A year of words, ideas and unfinished drafts
Looking back at 2026 so far, I have written tens of thousands of words in different forms: opinion articles, personal reflections, essays, research-informed commentaries, blogs and contributions to institutional and professional publications.
Not all were written under the same circumstances or with the same motivation. Some emerged from questions I had been considering for months. Others were written because of fellowship commitments, academic courses, editorial invitations, requests from organisations or conversations that stimulated a new line of thinking. Sometimes an upcoming deadline forced me to finally sit down and develop an idea I had repeatedly postponed. At other times, I simply felt there was something important I wanted to say. The outcomes have been equally varied.
Some pieces were accepted and published by international and regional media outlets. Others are still awaiting editorial review. A few were rejected. Some received encouraging feedback but did not progress further. Others simply disappeared somewhere between submission and publication, leaving me wondering whether anyone had read them.
That, too, is part of writing. Publishing is not an entirely predictable process. An argument that resonates with one editor may not interest another. A timely piece can become outdated while waiting for a response. Sometimes an article needs substantial revision, and sometimes the publication simply has different priorities.
Over time, I have become more comfortable distinguishing the value of writing from the outcome of publication. An acceptance is encouraging, but it does not make an argument unquestionable. A rejection is disappointing, but it does not necessarily make the idea worthless. What I can control is the effort I invest in reading, examining evidence, challenging my assumptions and developing arguments worth considering. And I am still learning to do all of these better.
The 2026 Edits: Twelve selected perspectives
Of the many things I have written this year, I have selected twelve pieces that reflect some of the questions, concerns and ideas that have occupied my thinking. They are not necessarily my twelve best writings, nor do they represent the full breadth of my work. They are a selection of perspectives that I felt were worth developing and sharing.
Some address immediate policy and development questions in Somalia. Others examine Africa’s changing position in the world. A few look further ahead, exploring democracy, technological uncertainty, generational leadership and the possibilities of different futures. Together, they offer a small window into what I have been reading, questioning and thinking about in 2026.
Climate, natural resources and economic transformation
01. Why Intergenerational Leadership Is Essential for Climate Action
World Economic Forum | November 2026
Climate leadership cannot remain the responsibility of one generation. This article explores why meaningful collaboration between younger and experienced leaders is essential to building more inclusive, forward-looking and effective climate governance. At its heart is a simple proposition: young people should not merely inherit decisions about their future. They should help shape those decisions today.
02. Africa’s Mineral Wealth Can Make It an Architect of a More Just Energy Transition
Climate Home News | March 2026
Africa possesses significant shares of the critical minerals needed for the world’s energy transition. Yet owning resources does not automatically translate into industrial development or prosperity. This piece argues that Africa should move beyond exporting raw materials and build the policies, industries, regional value chains and negotiating capacity necessary to capture greater economic value from its natural wealth.
03. Can Somalia Become East Africa’s Next Maritime Powerhouse?
TRT Afrika | August 2026
Somalia’s coastline, fisheries and strategic location present considerable opportunities for economic transformation. But geography alone cannot deliver prosperity. The article examines how investments in maritime governance, infrastructure, research, skills and value addition could transform Somalia’s ocean resources into productive industries, employment and long-term economic opportunity.
04. Oil Alone Won’t Transform Somalia — Governance Will
Dawan Africa | April 2026
Somalia’s renewed oil ambitions have generated considerable optimism. But the experience of resource-rich economies offers an important reminder: natural resources do not determine development outcomes; institutions and governance choices matter enormously. This piece argues for transparent resource management, stronger public institutions, human capital development and an economic strategy that converts potential revenues into lasting public value.
05. A Super El Niño Is Coming: Can Somalia Break the Cycle of Climate Disasters?
Dawan Africa | July 2026
Somalia has experienced repeated cycles of drought, flooding, displacement and humanitarian emergencies. Yet too often, responses are mobilised only after communities have already suffered substantial losses. Written amid warnings of a potentially severe El Niño, this article asks whether Somalia can strengthen its anticipatory capacity, early-warning systems and institutions to move from repeatedly responding to disasters toward reducing their impacts before they occur.
06. Development Cooperation Is at a Turning Point, Localization Should Come Next
Goobjoog | May 2026
As traditional development assistance comes under increasing pressure, this article examines the case for rethinking how development cooperation works. Its central argument is that meaningful localisation must go beyond transferring activities to local organisations. It should involve transferring authority, strengthening domestic institutions and building the capacity of countries and communities to shape and finance their development priorities.
07. Why Green Jobs Are Africa’s Bridge Between Climate Adaptation and a Just Transition
Goobjoog | July 2026
Africa faces two interconnected challenges: growing climate vulnerability and the need to create productive employment for millions of young people. This article explores how green skills, entrepreneurship, innovation, climate investment and supportive institutions can create employment while strengthening resilience. It argues that green jobs should be understood not simply as environmental opportunities, but as an important part of Africa’s broader economic transformation.
08. COP31 Must Make Climate Implementation Work for Africa
TRT Afrika | November 2026
After decades of climate negotiations, the central challenge is increasingly one of implementation. Written ahead of COP31 in Antalya, this commentary examines what it would take to translate international climate commitments into meaningful resilience and development outcomes across Africa. It argues that implementation requires more than financial pledges. It depends on effective institutions, credible investment pipelines, accessible finance, project preparation, technology transfer, technical capacity and the ability to deliver and sustain investments on the ground.
Governance, democracy and the future
09. Africa’s Democratic Future: Adaptation or Drift?
APF Compass | September 2026
Drawing on strategic foresight, this essay explores the uncertainties surrounding Africa’s democratic future. Rather than treating the future of democracy as predetermined, it examines how changing public expectations, institutions, leadership, technology and political pressures might shape different trajectories. The underlying question is whether African democratic systems can evolve sufficiently to respond to the aspirations and complexities of a changing continent.
10. Doing Life in an Uncertain World
Association of Professional Futurists / MohamedOkash.com | October 2026
This is a more personal reflection on the uncertainties shaping contemporary life. From artificial intelligence and technological disruption to geopolitical tensions and rising living costs, the essay considers how change affects people’s ability to work, plan and imagine their future. It asks a question that increasingly interests me: are we paying enough attention to people’s ability to actually live in the futures we imagine?
11. Why Evidence Fails to Influence Policy — Even When It Exists
MohamedOkash.com | 2026
Research is continuously produced, reports are published and evidence is presented at conferences. Yet many public decisions remain disconnected from available knowledge. Drawing on my engagement with policy and institutional processes, this article explores why evidence struggles to influence decisions and what can be done to strengthen the relationship between research, public institutions and policymaking.
It argues that producing knowledge is not enough. Institutions must also develop the capacity and incentives to use it.
12. What Security Really Means to Africa’s Youth
The African Youth Survey 2026
This contribution, published in the African Youth Survey under the theme of redefining security, challenges conventional approaches that understand security primarily through conflict, military threats and political stability. For many young Africans, security also means decent employment, economic opportunity, access to education, trustworthy institutions and the confidence that tomorrow can offer a better life. The essay argues for a broader understanding of security that places human development and young people’s aspirations at the centre of Africa’s future stability.
The questions connecting my writing
These twelve pieces address different subjects, but I increasingly see a common thread running through them. It is the relationship between potential, institutions and long-term transformation. Somalia has considerable maritime and natural-resource potential. Africa possesses strategic mineral resources, a young population, growing markets and opportunities for technological and economic transformation. Climate negotiations have produced extensive commitments, plans and financing mechanisms. Research institutions continue to generate knowledge that could inform better decisions.
Yet potential, commitments and knowledge do not automatically produce results. Between an opportunity and its realisation lie institutions, incentives, capabilities, governance arrangements and choices made by people. A country may possess valuable resources without developing a competitive economy. It may produce sound policies without implementing them. It may collect evidence without using it. It may educate young people without creating opportunities for them to apply their knowledge and skills. These gaps increasingly shape the questions I ask in my writing.
I have also become more interested in the role of long-term thinking. Many decisions made today, whether about natural resources, technology, institutions or climate resilience, will produce consequences far beyond the political and economic cycles in which they are taken. Strategic foresight has helped me appreciate the importance of examining those consequences, questioning assumptions and considering alternative futures.
But it has also reinforced something more practical: imagining a better future is not enough. We must build the foundations that make it possible. This is not to suggest that all my writings arrive at the same conclusion or offer definitive answers. They do not. I am still developing my thinking, encountering new evidence and reconsidering positions as I learn. That is one of the reasons I continue to write.
Why I will keep writing
Fourteen years after I started blogging, writing remains both a habit and a personal commitment. I do not always enjoy the process. There are days when ideas refuse to take shape, when a draft feels unconvincing or when the distance between what I want to communicate and what appears on the page seems frustratingly large.
There are also moments when an argument finally becomes clear, when a thoughtful editor challenges me to improve it, or when a reader responds with a perspective I had not considered. Those moments make the effort worthwhile. I have learned that writing is not simply about communicating what I know. Often, it reveals what I do not know well enough.
It requires patience, discipline, intellectual honesty and a willingness to revise not only sentences but sometimes the underlying assumptions behind them. And there is something valuable about that process, even when a piece never reaches publication. I do not expect every article I write to change minds, influence policy or generate significant attention. But I hope that some of them will help readers examine an issue differently, question an assumption or engage in a conversation that matters.
I am grateful to the editors, publications, mentors, colleagues and readers who have engaged with my writing, challenged my arguments and helped me improve over the years. The 2026 Edits is not a complete record of what I have written this year. It is simply a selection of thoughts I have chosen to share more widely.
There are still unfinished drafts, unanswered submissions and many ideas waiting for the right moment and attention. I hope to keep developing them. I invite you to explore the twelve pieces, challenge their arguments and share your own perspectives. I am especially interested in hearing where you agree, where you disagree and what questions you believe deserve more attention.
As for me, I remain much the same person who began blogging in 2012. I still prefer listening to speaking at length. I still choose my words carefully. And I still feel more comfortable developing an argument on a page than delivering a long speech. Writing gives me the time to find out what I really want to say.