NARRATIVES about countries, especially under-reported ones, can be hard to shift. For the last two years Somalia's narrative has been one of fragile progress. The international community rallied around Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, Somalia's president, selected in murky circumstances in 2012. The main threat to the new man was said to the continued presence of Islamist militants, the Shabab, who have controlled large swathes of south and central Somalia. A new offensive by African Union troops against the group, which was responsible for the deadly attack on a mall in Kenya last year, ought to be good news.
In reality it is a sideshow. The president, once popular with donors prepared to pour billions of dollars into Somalia, has lost his aura. The loss of two central bank governors in the space of two months laid bare the continuing bane of corruption. Yussur Abrar, who left her post abruptly last November, complained she had been pressured to sign deals that put frozen assets at risk and left "open the door to corruption".
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