Mogadishu mayor halts assault on foreign languages in the city, gives traders 10 days to act

Mogadishu mayor Yusuf Jima’ale has temporarily stopped the campaign to remove signage written in foreign languages in Mogadishu and asked traders to continue the exercise on their own upon which his administration will review the order in 10 days.

Speaking exclusively to Goobjoog News, Jima’ale who also doubles up as the governor of Banadir region said the move was still on but he wanted traders to show solidarity with his office on their own volition by embracing the Somali language in their businesses.

“We have not stopped the exercise completely. I want the traders to do this on their own then we can see what we can do next. We will revisit this issue in the next ten days,” said Jima’ale.

Officials from the mayor’s office Monday launched the campaign to remove signage with foreign languages and some traders even airbrushed some writings of brands like Samsung.

The move caused uproar in the social media particularly Twitter with many condemning the exercise as passed by time and not a priority for a city which is struggling to find its feet after many years of destruction.

Abdihakim Ainte @AbdihakimAinte wondered why Somalia would be concerned with foreign languages when the war on terrorism and corruption was being relegated to the back burner

But others praised the move as necessary for the promotion of Somalia language.