Ayrotv
Haji Hirsi Awale Ubeysh
The Richest man of Awdal in the 1930s.
Haji Hirsi Awaale was born in the Awdal region in 1906, during the time when the British colonial administration ruled the area. He was an exceptionally intelligent man who naturally possessed entrepreneurial skills and a strong business acumen. At a young age, he accumulated substantial wealth—something that was incredibly difficult to achieve in that era. By the time he was not yet forty, Haji Hirsi had become the wealthiest man in northwestern Somalia, during a period marked by the global conflicts of World War I and World War II.
Haji Hirsi founded a transport company known as Ba Ubeysh Company LTD. By 1938, the company owned a fleet of approximately 40 vehicles, which operated across Somalia, Djibouti, and Ethiopia.
During World War II, when Italy occupied British Somaliland after driving out the British forces, Ba Ubeysh Company LTD secured lucrative logistics contracts, particularly for supplying food to the Italian military. This business venture earned Haji Hirsi immense profits.
However, towards the end of World War II, when the British regained control of British Somaliland and other territories in the Horn of Africa, Haji Hirsi suffered devastating financial losses from which he never recovered. The British administration deliberately crippled his company, Ba Ubeysh Company LTD, reportedly through a British firm known as BIS, which played a role in the economic downfall of his business.
Although political motives were evidently behind the destruction of Haji Hirsi’s wealth, historical records indicate that a long legal battle ensued between him and the British company BIS. Ultimately, Haji Hirsi won the lawsuit, but the compensation offered to him was far below the actual financial damages his company had suffered.
There is still no official, verifiable information regarding the exact details of the dispute between BIS and Haji Hirsi, but if God wills, further investigations will be conducted to uncover more details, which will be shared here in the future.
Haji Hirsi Awaale owned the largest fleet of vehicles by any single individual in northern Somalia at that time. All his drivers were Somali. Interestingly, one of those drivers went on to become the most influential figure in Somali music and cultural history: Abdi Deqsi Warfa, known as Abdi Sinimo, also a close relative of Haji Hirsi.
Abdi Sinimo is regarded as the father of modern Somali music, the first Somali artist to compose and perform a song with contemporary melodies and music that urban audiences could listen to. He was originally a driver for Haji Hirsi Awaale, but he later played a crucial role in transforming Somali music from its rural, traditional form into an urbanized art form. More details on Abdi Sinimo’s legacy will be discussed in a separate article, God willing.
Haji Hirsi Awaale’s business empire and wealth ultimately collapsed due to the political and economic shifts that shook British Somaliland during and after World War II.
His story serves as a reflection of the political and economic downturns that befell the Awdal region, which can largely be traced back to the aftermath of World War II.
May Allah have mercy on Haji Hirsi Awaale Badeed, who passed away in 1982.
