The Ethiopian Prime Minister came to power on the crest of Oromo demonstrations. That is one lesson to be drawn from the wedge his authoritarian agenda has driven between him and his stronghold, Oromia. He was a leading member of Oromia region leadership when the opportunity to appoint a new Prime Minister from Oromia emerged.
Given how Abiy Ahmed responded to challenges from the Oromo political leaders not associated with his party, Prosperity, it is clear to many people that the Ethiopian Prime Minister misunderstands the goals of the peaceful political change in Ethiopia. For two years (2016-2018) Oromo demonstrators did not risk their lives to replace a pro-federalism but mildly authoritarian government with a dictatorship led by one of their sons who feigned support for political change while harbouring ambitions to return Ethiopia to political dictatorship. Abiy Ahmed discussed his Oromo roots twice to dispel allegations that he does not belong to the tradition of the Gadaa, “ an egalitarian and democratic socio-political and cultural system of governance.”
In the Gadaa system the eight-year period in government and how the Kulu gets elected can shed light on the democratic features of the system. Gadaa system abhors communal violence and refers cases to adjudication. Gadaa is against the very idea of one all-powerful leader in power for a very long time. Perhaps this aspect of the Gadaa system unsettles Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. Dr Asmerom Legesse, who wrote a seminal book on the Gadaa system defines it as “a system of generation segments or gada classes that succeeded each other every eight years in assuming political, military, ju- dicial, legislative and ritual responsibilities.”
Zelalem T. Sirna studied the compatibility of the Gadaa with modern institutions of governance. ” The Gadaa System in its social organisation, political systems and legal institutions resembles to democratic governance systems. That is why most scholars argue that the Gadaa System is a genuinely African governance system that can be a solution for some of the political challenges African states face today” he argued. The principle of single term office in the Gadaa system gives the elected leader an eight year mandate. His mandate is reviewed midterm by the Gadaa Council.
The irony is that Abiy Ahmed, who claims attachment to the Gadaa system, is making wrong political choices by directing resources to suppression of his fellow Ethiopian compatriots who do not share his view of the federal system. A tutorial on the Gadaa System could help the Ethiopian Nobel Laureate gain insights into the potential of the Gadaa to contribute to reconciliation and transition to genuine democracy in Ethiopia.
Medemer, the book Abiy Ahmed Ahmed wrote to usher a new era of democracy in Ethiopia, had turned out to be an exercise in renaming an authoritarian leadership style. It has totally disappeared from Ethiopian political discourse. Happy Irreecha.
© Puntland Post, 2020
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