Osman shared with him the wide consultation he had had regarding the state of the na- tion and the essential qualities he was looking for in the new prime minister. Without directly criticizing Sharmarkee, the president conveyed his decision not to renominate the prime minister. Osman stressed that the naming of the prime minister was the only occasion on which the president had a direct hand in the administration of the affairs of the state.

Abdi Ismail Samatar, Africa’s First Democrats, loc. 706