Whom Shall the Nation Trust?

Some people certainly are elated because they were able to see a light at the end of the tunnel when the new alliance was announced and still no one can make what it will be as it is approaching because the possibilities are numerous. It is wise to refrain from putting ideas in the mind of the new members since it could be unsavory in the thinking of the onlookers and the would be incumbent party members themselves. However, from seeing what the alliance is made up of it is easy to tell that except CUD the rest had some kind of allegiance with TPLF when it was in the woods struggling, and for reasons that we can only speculate they had all chosen to follow their own path, because there must have been some sort a fallout like the one OLF had suffered and it might had also been a strategic move.

All along, they were not causing any significant problem to TPLF/EPRDF and let alone to threaten their existence there was nothing that was making them to lose their sleep over. The only grievance was coming from CUD’s camp to the point where some suspected that they might be hungry for power or if that is not the case they are hecklers at best that should be tolerated. But one caution to heed of here is CUDs are the devil we know that we have dealt with for many years, but no one would want to deal with them ever again. However, the new white knights that have come forward as an allied group are going to be the angles that we really do not know well even if that does not mean that we doubt any of their good intentions outright, which is badly needed in the nation with the hope that it might make a difference, and some of the problems that are gripping the nation might get solution.

Nevertheless, we do not have to forget that almost all the groups that make up the alliance have their own interest and agenda that do not need to be camouflaged, because everyone knows them, and it is enough to hear some of their supporters talk and form an opinion. In addition, they have a known track record of being freedom fighters. If we take OLF for example, their priority had always been the independence of Oromia and that was the cause of their fallout with TPLF. However, we still do not know whether it is going to be a secession or it is going to be a regional autonomy like the one they are enjoying now this time around, maybe minus some of the grievances they have about the intrusion of TPLF in their region. In addition, no one knows whether they have the support of the other Oromo political parties and organizations. Yet, the government has a responsibility of putting down any uprising that might lead to the seceding of any region for the mere advantage of a few groups. This means when the struggle does not have popular support, the majority of the people need some kind of protection, and there is no one better to do that job than the government.

The other groups also have similar interest, since they had all along been freedom fighters who want to see their regions secede for whatever reason they are furnishing that might have lost its teeth because of the regional arrangement, and such attempt might make sense in the earlier regimes where there were many grievances, but now since the regions have a, more or less, unobstructed freedom, if they want to stress on the seceding aspect of any of the regions it would mean that there are a few interest groups that want to get their way at the expense of the big majority, whatever the advantage they are looking at is. TPLF also when starting out were planning to secede their region but they changed their mind, because it is possible that they must have seen the advantage of creating a central government rather than seeing small regions going it alone, which is tough and unproductive in any way it is looked at.

When we talk about CUD if there is one thing we are certain about is they do not want to hear any secession talk, which means they want the whole nation to stay together, but given the chance they would not hesitate to bring back the Amhara hegemony that everyone is seeing with a dread. What this means is all the groups that are joining hands are loaded with their own agenda and secular interest and the public knows them as such, nothing different until they change their longstanding stance. Currently they are saying that they are ready to serve the nation, but even if it is early to tell there is no effort that underwent to assure the public that they are different from what the public used to know them for that is, they were either freedom fighters or in the case of CUDs they are an interest group that will not rest in peace unless they bring back what they were practicing even if we will not spell it out in this occasion in order to help them change and put the past behind them, and this is applicable to all of them. The public had noticed amid all the noise that was being made against TPLF that they had at least dedicated themselves to serve the nation to the at most of their ability and they have shown result.

The only problem is if the nation is going to call itself a democratic nation and apply democratic principles, one of the things it has to introduce is to vote in governments run by different parties periodically after the existing ones serve a given number of years or terms. However, that does not mean handing the key of the administration to the first opportune party that comes their way because there is a lot at stake. These newly entrusted people could demand drastic changes that the nation might not be ready for, or they might take advantage of their position and divide the nation without the support of the majority, and the possibilities are unlimited. There is a difference between usurping power and being entrusted with power, because in the latter case those who are entrusting the power will have to weigh the merits and demerits of the measures they are taking without being under pressure.

Therefore, what this means is the public has to know exactly what the stand of the new alliance is beforehand. It is just unfortunate that there seems to be no political body in the country that will play unbiased role in nation-building and nation-running because almost everyone has their own baggage that raises everyone’s hair. Parties like OLF and some of their supporters have a huge grievances on the country that goes back to the time of Menilik and Gobena, and the question is can they put them aside in the name of nation-building and unity and run the nation if they are elected for whatever term the public is willing to give them, and when they are done with their term they can go back to their bone-picking and examine their options. The lack of their being not fully accepted by the general public could prevent them from implementing appropriate measures.

For example, their forming alliance with CUD an all Amhara party might send a signal that states they could be for nation-building. However, since once we had taken the liberty of suspecting CUD themselves who would not want to see the country disintegrated for various reasons, healthy or otherwise, fearing that they might manipulate the alliance, because it is obvious that they have a better experience than most ethnic groups in the nation because of how things were, it would not be overzealous if we apply the same assumption to the new formed alliance. CUDs also have misguided outside supporters and sympathizers, which includes the diaspora who might want to take control of the nation’s affairs in absentia. And it is fair to apply similar doubt to the other members of the alliance who might want to run away the minute they are in charge of the nation’s affairs, again without the support of the majority of the inhabitants of the regions. If that is going to be the case what will prevent them? With such doubts hanging in the mind of the electorates, how are they going to vote for them?

The conclusion is they have a lot of homework to do to ascertain to the general public in no uncertain terms that what they want to do is bring the nation together and work hard hand-in-hand with everyone else to solve the problems the nation is grappling with for as long as their mandated term in office allows them. If they have other agenda that is applicable solely to their own particular regions, it will have to stay until they are done with their nation-running and nation-building mandated role. However, if what they have in mind is their own regional interest alone from the outset, as such if the main focus is secession, and they just want to take advantage of the situation to make things easier for themselves if they fail it will make them look bad in the eyes of their countrymen and women for a long time to come. As a result, instead of brining such irredeemable indignity on themselves, they might as well arm themselves and attain their goal militarily whenever they can that is before assuming public responsibility. Yet, that is not the best way to go as all members of the nation will have to learn the give and take paradigm, where they have to understand that as long as they start utilizing their regional freedom properly the sky is the limit, and this is applicable to everyone in the nation. This means, the new alliance will have to have all the fail-safe mechanisms built into it if it is going to go into office so that nothing will go wrong because of not taking the required precautions.