Changing a prime minister would not solve the complex political crisis in Ethiopia

Tigrai Online, Feb. 25, 2018

Changing the prime minister or changing the entire legislative body would not stop the ongoing destruction of Ethiopia

Despite the false propaganda lies spread by some deluded elements of Ethiopian society, Ethiopia and the Ethiopian people as we know them have never been truly united willingly, but so are most of the countries in the world. The difference is many of the countries who have similar historical, political, cultural, religious, and ethnic multiplicity as Ethiopia graduated into real statehood centuries ago. Ethiopia on the other hand remained fragmented in political, cultural, linguistically and socioeconomically terms.

There are multiple reasons for the lack of genuine unity in all aspects of life in Ethiopia, but the main reasons are the kings who tried to unify the country used force to bring people together. When they incorporated new territories to the empire they tried to suppress their language, demean their culture or steal their history. Forced assimilation never brings real unity, but what is worst is when novice people try to assimilate people who are far superior in all aspects of human development, the venture ends up in a costly failure. It has been seen throughout history and the result is always the same. Even in relatively similar societies, example the Scottish and the British in Great Britain assimilation didn’t work out as it should and after hundreds of years the Scottish people wanted to be on their own. It is the same story in Catalonia in Spain, Kurdistan in Iraq, South Sudan and Sudan, and many more examples in the world.

Notwithstanding the overwhelming facts in Ethiopia some delusional Ethiopians claim Ethiopia has been united country where all the people lived in peace and harmony until the TPLF/EPRDF came to power. Nothing can be further from the truth than the above statement; however the pseudo historians keep repainting the same lies year after year. The EPRDF government instead of correcting the falsified history and teaching the real history of the people, it created its own propaganda lies based on its socialist orientation. EPRDF dismissed (hid) the long history of the people and tried to glorify its own.

EPRDF also failed miserably to convince its young generation its own vision of the country and they turned against the party and against each other. Many of the youth born since EPRDF came to power are confused and they are easily manipulated to become foot soldiers for the extremist groups who are hell-bent to overthrow the government.

Some of the policies of the EPRDF government are not based on well researched studies rather they are temporary fixes in reaction to situations and their effectiveness and longevity is also temporary. When the situation the temporary fix was designed to address changes the fix becomes useless and the cycle repeats itself time and again.

For example let’s see the Addis Ababa expansion plan fiasco. If the expansion plan was done based on a well research, a full consultation of all the stake holders especially the local population, it wouldn’t have ended the way it did. On the other hand if the policy was done right the government should have been steadfast to complete the plan. Instead the government backed off at the first sign of demonstrations looking weak and sloppy.

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We can examine year after year and case after case where the government was confronted with demonstrations they always give in to pressure or they resort to same familiar temporary fixes which would cost them much more in the long run. While the terrorists and extremists gloat at their success.

The haphazard EPRDF policies are the main causes over eleven thousand Tigraians were deported from Amhara regional state in 2016 and 2017. Hundreds of thousands of Somali and Oromo Ethiopians ended up in the same fate because EPRDF failed to take swift action to the deportation of civilians from Amhara region.

Year after year things are progressing from bad to worst and people are losing their lives and their livelihood. In 2018 despite all the hoopla about the “deep renewal of EPRDF”, the current situation in Ethiopia is most dire than any time in history. Some constituents of Ethiopia are questioning the wisdom of staying in the federal system if they can’t live and work in their country peacefully.

EPRDF is in a panic mode now and it is back to its routine practice of trying to come up yet with another temporary fix and that is to bring a new prime minister. The silent majority Ethiopian masses didn’t ask for new prime minister. They are asking for safety and security of their families, they are asking for good governance, and they are asking for the government to reign in on the rampant corruption in the country. The above grievances are real and they should be tackled urgently, however they would not be addressed by destroying factories, blocking highways and roads, by looting businesses and killing innocent people. You might ask why are people doing the above horrendous actions while their problems are with the government? The answer is beyond the borders of Ethiopia, because there are powerful forces manipulating the legitimate grievances of the Ethiopian people and turning them into a destructive tools against Ethiopia. The sad truth is the EPRDF government and most of the demonstrators are being used as instruments to disintegrate Ethiopia.

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So, changing a prime minister or changing the entire legislative body would not stop the ongoing destruction of Ethiopia. If EPRDF wants to save the country, first it has to stop being fearful. Second it has to stop giving in to pressure and start crafting its policies based on research and concrete studies.

The two urgent matters that need to be addressed while the state of emergency is in effect are answering the people’s questions in a truthful and transparent manner and going after the internal and external forces that are working day and night to destabilize Ethiopia. The question of who should be the next prime minster is insignificant when it is seen in the larger grand scheme of things.