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An open letter to His Excellency Mr. Awal Arba Unde
The president of the regional state of Afar
Dear Mr. President,
I hope you agree with me when I say that the development lag and challenges in our region are primarily attributed to a lack of leadership and good governance. This cannot be refuted as various reports and research findings claim that mismanagement and poor leadership have brought the Afar region to its current shape and form. I think it’s up to the current generation of Afars to refuse to settle for such a shameful reality and find ways to make things better. As the old Afar proverb says, it is always best when improvement starts from the top. It is for this reason that I am writing this letter to convey some but important advice to contribute to the rejuvenation of leadership in the Afar region.
Mr. President, we are living in a time of great challenge and collective leadership is more necessary than ever. I believe that it should not be left alone with the burden of deciding on all regional issues alone. Rather, people need to offer help because, as regional president, you are not expected to know everything. However, you are expected to surround yourself with specialists and professionals whose primary responsibility will be to support the president in making key decisions. Mistakes made by key people like you have far-reaching consequences, and consultants are the best people to consult to avoid making unfortunate mistakes. In this regard, consider establishing a “Council of Presiding Advisers” to help you formulate policy, set development priorities, and exercise your constitutional power appropriately. Among others, the advisory group should include constitutional and legal advisers, business advisers, development advisers, policy advisers, communication advisers, and peace and security advisers. It is my firm belief that with a group of these professionals, your leadership will achieve amazing development results.
Speaking of development, it always puzzles me how a leadership of an independent region with a massive land mass and rich natural resources tries to tackle underdevelopment without a “Regional Development Plan”. As far as I know, the Afar region of Ethiopia does not have a comprehensive “Long-term Regional Development Plan” in which the future of education, health, population, livelihoods, politics is discussed in detail. , the economy and other issues of the region. As a result, no one can predict what the region will be like after five, ten, thirty or fifty years. In the absence of such an important document, the Afar region is like a sailing ship trying to find its way without a compass. Therefore, consider harnessing the knowledge of the highly skilled Afar community from the diaspora or the appreciation of the region to develop a Region-wide Development Plan that will serve as a roadmap into the future. A few years ago, the African Union developed a 50-year continental plan for Africa called “Agenda 2063”. If it is possible to plan for a large continent like Africa, why not for a region?
Another important issue worth mentioning here is the fact that the completion of development comes with the precondition of ensuring a peaceful environment. Where there is no peace and stability, development for development is impossible and the lack of peace cannot coexist in the same place. Given the current reality, it is foolish a waste of time, temperament and resources to try to develop the Afar region without the prevailing peace and order. Very often, the region has been drawn into confrontation and the different powers have continued to pose an existential threat to the citizens of the region. And when threatened, the armed forces are not only essential to provide security and deterrence, they are also the most potent manifestation of force. Therefore, before thinking about developing the region, it would be very wise to reinforce security measures and increase regional security forces in size, training, equipment and experience. In doing so, the region will also be fulfilling its constitutional mandate to establish regional police forces such as the police and special forces. I understand that war is very destructive and must be avoided at all costs. However, desperate times call for desperate decisions and security forces must be used as a last resort to protect citizens.
Also, given the changes that are currently taking place in the region, I would say that it is very important to understand the situation on the ground. The distant region is no longer the same as it used to be. Especially after the arrival of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, things are changing at a rapid pace. For example, taking advantage of the expanded political space, exiled political parties such as APP, ALF and Ugugumo have returned home to advance a peaceful struggle. Youth groups and social movements such as the Xukko Cina movement have emerged to challenge the political status quo in the region. Regional peace is deteriorating due to increasing tensions and conflicts over natural resources and land claims. # COVID-19 is attacking the region at its core and life with coronavirus has been the new normal. Therefore, in order to respond adequately to the changes that are taking place, conducting a “contemporary analysis of the region” to understand how and why change is occurring is a very timely decision.
Finally, I want to make it clear that my advice does not come from an experience lived as a regional president, because I still do not have such exposure. However, it all stems from the lessons learned over years of exposure to the international environment, shared platforms with global leaders, and years of assisted leadership trainings at world-class institutions. To this end, I am sure you will not resort to ignoring my advice as a premature decision. Good luck, Mr. President.
Sincerely,
Dawood Mohammed Ali
Dawud Mohammed (MSc, MBA) is Professor of Business and Development Project Management at Samara University, Chevening Scholar, UK, 2018/19, Mandela Washington Fellow, USA, 2015 IVLP Exchange Scholar, USA ., 2013
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