Zeila is one of the more ancient and prestigious cities in its part of the world, and was an important trading centre for at least two thousand years. It has often been independent, and at least once the capital of a fairly large state. It lost its importance around 1900 with the establishment of Djibouti and the construction of railways and other infrastructure in that city.
What if the competition between the Ottomans, French, and British had gone slightly differently, and Zaila became the centre of French Somaliland and investment, then continued to be the most important port of call in the region, and also became a hub of rail, roads, and later telecommunication?
What might its population be by 2016? What sort of differences might exist between the "Republic of Zeila" and OTL "Republic of Djibouti?"