Short Biography of Dr. Abiibakar Sheikh Abdi: Awdal and Somaliland has a lost a preeminent personality and a great scholar.

On behave of all Awdal Diaspora, including educators, doctors, other professionals, and the general public we are sending our heartily condolence to Dr. Abiibaker Sheikh Abdi’s family, his Amoud University family, the regions of Awdal, Salal and Gabiley where Dr. Abdi was hailed from, and all Somaliland for that matter. The news of the sudden passing and the loss of our loved one and friend have hit us like a sudden tectonic plates shift that unleashed a monumental earth quake. The news was so devastating to many people including his beloved family, Amoud University family, the Awdal Diaspora, and all the people of Somaliland. Abiibaker Sheikh Abdi was someone God blessed with great patience, great deal of ethics, exemplary behavior, deep Muslim religiosity, disarming sense of humor, utmost patience and perseverance. He was a family man, friend, a husband, and father of quite a large number of children, professor, and one of the founding preeminent members of the prestigious Amoud University. He was a great story teller, an eloquent gentleman who loves to be professionally dressed at all times. People would have never got bored when around Abiibaker Sheikh Abdi. Amoud has founded by many people who have put so much efforts and money in making sure to start and establish a prestigious University in Borama, but the main founders of that prestigious University were Professor Abiibakar Sheikh Abdi, Mr. Abiib Elburo, Professor Suleiman Ahmed Guleid, and Professor Farah Shuun, but one have to note there were so many others who took part in the founding of Amoud University.

 History will never forgot those courageous pioneers who started a whole university from scratch. Abiibakar Sheikh Abdi born in Togwagaleh, he was the son of a well-known religious personality (Sheikh). He went to his elementary in Togwajaleh, and completed his middle or intermediate school in the famous “Qalah” Boarding Middle School in the city of Gabily. Professor Abiibakar Sheikh Abdi went to Farah Omar High school in Farah Omar (secondary school) in Hargeisa the capital of Somaliland. Then he later on he went to College of Education (Lafoole) where he graduated with honors and acquired Bachelors of Science (B.S.) in Biology (Biology major, and Chemistry minor). After few years he became an assistant profession of Biology in the same college of education where he was graduated from. In 1983 he succeeded to receive a scholarship from the University of Ireland in the Republic of Ireland where he graduated with honors and acquired Master Degree of science in Poultry technology.  When he came back from his scholarship he went back to the college of Education in Lafoole, and became a department chair and full professor in the department of biology.

In 1991 when the former Somalia collapsed Dr. Abiibakar Sheikh Abdi and his family went back to Borama and started rebuilding their lives from scratch. In my 2017 visit to Boarma, Somaliland he gave me a glimpse of the hardships and adversities his family went through in the first few years when they came back to Borama, but as a very resilient and creative person in the Mid 1990s he became involved in the efforts to create a new university in Borama which he and the other pioneers eventually succeeded to open Amoud University in 1997.  Dr. Abiibakar Sheikh Abdi was not only a professor in Amoud University, he was a pace maker, mediator, problem solver, dramatic story teller, optimist, trailblazer, goal setter, good organizer, and an excellent human being who was always happy. I never saw him angry or bad mouthing anyone. I can’t summarize the biography of this great man within the confines of this essay, but I would like to take the opportunity to his family, Borama, Awdal, Salal, Gabiley, and the Republic of Somaliland has lost a great thinker, scholar, innovator, leader and a preeminent problem-solver. Again it is hard to capture the essence of such a towering personality within a limited word count. Abiibaker Sheikh Abdi has made a priceless and enormous contribution for the betterment of the community and the country. He was selfless personality who made great deal of sacrifice in the efforts to build a harmonious, peaceful, and cohesive community. He is an irreplaceable pillar our community has lost and he will be missed forever. We pray for him to become one of the blessed who will go to heaven.

Prof. Suleiman is freelance writer, political analyst and a senior science instructor.