The rebirth of the Sate of Somaliland confirms with the AU charter since Somaliland has reclaimed her independence within the boundaries inherited from the colonial borders of the Ex-British Somaliland.

Some governorates combine more than one wilayah; others closely follow traditional boundaries inherited from the Ottoman Empire's vilayet system.

A rise in ethnic tension, while part of the worldwide explosion of claims of sovereignty and self-determination in the post-cold-war era, is particularly dangerous in Africa, where the boundaries inherited from colonialism do not correspond to the areas inhabited by ethnic groups.