Issa later relocated to the port of Merca at the age of sixteen, where he would work as a postal clerk from 1939 to 1941. He thereafter returned to Mogadishu and assumed a position in the Department of Economic Affairs.
After relocating to the port of Merca at the age of sixteen, Issa began working as a postal clerk for four years (from 1939 to 1941).  He then returned to Mogadishu and took on a role in the Department of Economic Affairs.