He was jailed alongside his fellow cabinet members for over 3 years and imprisoned on several occasions during the dictatorship of General Mohamed Siad Barre.
He left the country and senior management jobs to join SSDF, the first rebel group formed outside Somalia to challenge Said Barre's dictatorship in late 1970s.
When Barre’s regime collapsed, he joined the efforts to establish Puntland as self-ruling authority in Northeastern regions of Somalia that signalled the first signs of Somalia becoming a federal state.
He was delighted that Eyl, his native district, had in October 2021 become one of first three districts in Puntland to elect municipal councillors in a one-person one-vote poll.
