The Somalia union was jointly driven by both colonies, not forced by the north

Evidence

There has been a belief among Somalis that the unification was driven by overzealous protectorate nationalists and that Southern Somalis were reluctant collaborators. The evidence-based analysis presented here unambiguously establishes that the union of the two Somalilands was a joint project driven by the desires of Somalis in the two colonies. — Abdi Ismail Samatar, Africa’s First Democrats, 469

Categorization

• XREF: This corrects a common narrative about Somalia’s 1960 unification and speaks to the current tension about northern separatism.