Disclaimer: I do believe (as of now) that Somalis are a single ethnic group, I am mostly playing devil's advocate, as I've seen many Somalis from diverse clan backgrounds make the argument that a Somali ethnicity does not exist, in their opinion as of lately.
What if a society rejects the concept of being Somali? I'm sure there has been instances in history where ethnic groups have split over time, after migrations or any other reason that might cause a shift in identity. Wouldn't those claiming their qabiil is an ethnicity in itself be justified to do so?
What does genetic unity entail? I've seen those make the argument that since the paternal haplogroups of Somalis are diverse, especially with beesha Dir having majority haplogroup T, that there is in fact no genetic unity amongst Somalis. Not to mention, the very prominent
ana Arab people that overlap the two main groups that most commonly reject being Somali and/or claim Arab ancestry. I personally think this obsession with paternal lineage is overrated, why is autosomal DNA thrown out the window by these folk?
Did the regional identities encompass all Somali people? With each of those names, is there evidence of Somalis from diverse clan backgrounds identifying as that? Or is is just one clan?
Isn't inter connectivity crucial to civilization building? There's no way Somalis were the only interconnected people on this continent. Lived as strangers, I'm assuming meant no trade, no migration, no conquering of neighboring lands, etc.