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Ethiopia has embarked on a journey out of centuries of poverty and backwardness and onto the road to modernity and prosperity. It goes without saying that this aspiration cannot be realized without a visionary generation and leadership, as well as a broad consensus on issues that are fundamentally related to the national interest. Although Ethiopia has a sizeable young population and a wealth of natural resources, they will count for nothing if you don’t use them properly. It can play an influential role in East Africa and beyond, as its people come together to take action that spurs growth on all fronts. This unity can be forged primarily through a concerted effort to reform the country’s deeply flawed political culture, which has long been characterized by historically unjust relationships. The signs seen now help to intensify this effort.
Modern Ethiopian politics have always been plagued by animosity and intolerance, leading to conflicts that have destroyed the lives and livelihoods of millions. Most political parties lack any semblance of ethics to govern their behavior and have turned the trafficking of false narratives into their commercial value, robbing them of credibility in the public eye. All this is attributable to a single factor: putting the interests of the parties above the public interest. In vain invoking the name of the public has become fashionable. The endless tug of war between parties for selfish political ends rather than doing everything possible to meet the needs of the people has turned them into adversaries of the forces that had set out together to bring about change. Although the problem has been escalating for some time, it now threatens to wipe out Ethiopia’s once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The dominance of the political landscape by actors lacking guiding principles has meant that they cannot participate in the dialogue necessary to bridge their differences and move the country forward. This has to stop immediately.
It cannot be denied that unless Ethiopia is decisively able to address the series of intractable challenges that continue to beset it, the fate of its more than 110 million people will undoubtedly be grim. The main challenges are chronic unemployment, an overwhelming level of both internal and external debt, spiraling inflationary pressure, the ever-high number of citizens seeking emergency help due to natural and man-made disasters, the inability to achieve Food security despite the large availability of arable land and considerable water resources, a weak industrial base unable to substitute capital goods and imported food, a growing trade imbalance, the debilitating socio-economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and the plague of desert locusts. Without concerted effort by the government and other stakeholders, these challenges cannot be overcome. This effort can be successful as long as the government itself and each and every segment of society uphold the rule of law, transparency, and accountability. Then there can be a shared understanding of the need to create a stable and inclusive political space.
The most important factor in securing the future of Ethiopia is the creation of a covenant between its children. One of the clearest examples to date of the futility of enmity and infighting ruining Ethiopian politics is the release of thousands of incarcerated prisoners in prisons across the country and the return of exiles, political parties and insurgents after the rise of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. (PhD) came to power in April 2018. The opportunities Ethiopia wasted by its exclusion from the political arena have taken a heavy toll on its people. It is paradoxical that these forces are the main instigators of the unrest that plagued the nation during the current transition. It is not too late to see through the transition for the democratization process to settle on a solid footing. The political space necessary to achieve this goal requires genuine trust between the government and the citizenry.
Intellectuals and the elite have an obligation to promote the free flow of constructive ideas and a culture of rational dialogue. It is also up to them to do their part to raise the political consciousness of young people so that they become critical thinkers who are not easily incited by elements harboring sinister agendas to perpetrate acts of violence against their compatriots. As they gain knowledge and begin to better understand the complexities of the environment in which they live, they will not only become intellectually curious, but will also generate solutions to society’s problems. Furthermore, as your world perspective broadens the conditions for the prevalence of the rule of law, democracy, equality and good governance may be favorable; there will be no place for tyranny and anarchy. That is when the political space can be truly inclusive.
In recent years there have been heated debates about whether ethnic politics or citizenship politics is appropriate for Ethiopia. The propensity of the defenders of the two schools of thought to allow their differences to degenerate into a destabilizing discord is a sign of immaturity. Why can’t the defenders of both ideologies agree to compete peacefully in their quest for public support instead of treating each other as sworn enemies? Is it impossible to address citizenship or ethnocentric issues without resorting to violence and other manifestly undemocratic means? In an environment where basic freedoms are fully respected, these competing beliefs can be freely defended. As long as politicians recognize the cardinal principle that they can assume the reins of power with the consent of the voters expressed through free and fair elections, they must abide by their decision. For this very reason, reforming Ethiopia’s political culture is an extremely important task.
