In 2005, he was opposed to the establishment of a new capital in Jowhar, which was the preference of President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed and Prime Minister Ali Mohammed Ghedi, demanding the capital be returned to Mogadishu. Baidoa was selected as a compromise location.[2]
On October 6, 2005, he was quoted as saying, "In my view, Ethiopia does not want a functioning government in Somalia and I want to see that the world knows this. Even if Ethiopia does want a government here, it wants a fiefdom government - multiple governments which are all weak."[3]