Business As Usual

What the political reading in the country says is TPLF knows very well what it is doing. There is not a better place than that to start. The latest hot news is if push comes to shove and TPLF is cornered in anyway, their final exit could be to declare independence and defend their own region as much as they can, because that is their given right. Along that the Afar region might join them or it might want to declare its own independence as there is such movement in the making there too.

When that happens what will be left is the south part of the country, the Amhara region, and a few ethnic groups that would happily like to join the South if some kind of demarcation comes into existence or they might know what is better for them. What this means is the country is going to lose someone important that is taking all this risk in order to see, not necessarily democracy flourish in the country, but at least the various ethnic groups will be free of any kind of unwarranted abuse from any other ethnic group. That was not the case since the stunt that was pulled off some one hundred years ago and created the Ethiopia we know today. The decedents of that group are among us and it could include many of us. The problem is some are trying hard to bring back that status quo and might try day and night to deceive others by playing the role of the wolf and the lamb, but they cannot deceive the Tigreans who had grown up in the same household doing similar things for years even if one group finished being dominant like it was mentioned earlier by pulling off a stunt that had bought it enemies for life. No one knows what they are going do to avenge themselves, but for the time being what is crystal clear is it is only the TPLF/EPRDF that is in the way or to put it in a better perspective the government is their protector simply because they are part of the country known as Ethiopia and unfortunately they cannot fend for themselves after they lost for TPLF/EPRDF.

Therefore, the serious concern is knowing those who claim to be the descendants of those who were behind the stunt at the time of the colonial expedition would want to keep the status quo at any cost. On the other hand, what will happen to the rest of the country if for some reason TPLF gets tired of this fruitless infighting where there are a bunch of wrong-minded people who are trying to organize other wrong-minded people day in and day out. TPLF has to fight them for no reason when they can pack and go and start developing their own region, where the intervention could be bearable. It does not mean they will be immune from the craze that is engulfing some group to control the whole of Ethiopia for absolutely wrong reasons, probably using outdated methods. But since the ambitious, those who are trying to rekindle the stunt are a scant minority, they can be easily kept out of their territory and the menace they would cause could be stifled drastically giving them room to breathe and work toward developing their region.

What this would mean is unless the nation is transformed into a democratic country directly from where it is now, the minute the adversaries get the upper hand what will take place is to go back to the old days where one ethnic group is going around and miscarrying justice that is restored to an acceptable level currently and keep the remaining country backward, because that is the only time they will get what they need. If the southern part of the country is developed and had started to be decisive as the Tigreans or Eritreans are about their future, the wrongheaded ambition and aspiration of this small group would crumble down. In fact, it had crumbled a long time ago and what should happen is they should not get a chance to pick up the pieces. Therefore, even if sowing this kind of thought in people's mind is not the best way to go, awakening people to the danger that is awaiting them might not be an unholy endeavor.

Most probably if this group had completely changed its stance, instead of working day and night to weaken what had been started and recognize the fact that taking the country back to where it was is a formidable task that is not worth trying, all these unnecessarily problems would have not surfaced. What is taking place now, more or less, is the continuation of what the Derg movement brought to life, even if Derg was unable to see its fruition on its watch. The ambition to take advantage of the situation by a few diaspora, their supporters in the country and abroad has resulted in the withholding of aid money Western countries were happy to avail for the country and the government and it is leading to a dreadful crisis. It is not difficult to read from the innuendo the TPLF members are making, because if things continue like this, what will happen is everyone will have to fend for themselves. That might not be possible because it is not difficult to tell that no one is ready. What that would mean is all that effort would go down the drain and if anyone has a contrived plan of their own, which will not be different than to take advantage of the anarchy that will be created to make themselves rich quickly, then it is possible to create a Somali kind of lawlessness and what will follow in its wake is subordinating others.

The only way out is to know exactly where we are, because people will find it difficult to accept what TPLF/EPRDF doing is the right thing for the nation when there is so much noise condemning them day in and day out. What this means is it looks as if there is something important going on, but the truth is there is nothing important than what the nation is doing. The fact that a small ethnic group has to call the shots means the others are not ready at all. The problem is it does not mean things will remain like this for a long time, because everyone is working from every direction to show each other which direction is better to take. And everyone has zeroed in on democracy except those who are clamoring to bring back the status quo and anyone who is supporting them is not in their right minds, because these few insignificant supporters are enjoying some kind of democracy in their own country. But it is difficult to come to grips with how they justify their having to do anything with a movement that is working day and night in the open to subordinate others. Yet, society is full of criminal elements that are becoming out in the open vociferously, and it might be time to see a neo nazi or a neo fascist rebound. Other than that the normal society that is strapped with numerous problems of its own will soon get the time to put them back where they belong, because it is an insult to the civilized world that these participants who are working hard with those who are trying to subordinate others are using their name and offices. It is like saying that there are some who are running things, are in a position, and want to create a Somali like scenario in Ethiopia where they are going to pour aid money into that will end up lining up their individual pockets. If they get away with such stunt in the stark daylight, those who they represent need help to save them from these kinds of hungry wolves.

The conclusion is the useless division could tax the nation, but what it demonstrates is whatever was available in a form of aid from these particular sources was not meant to alleviate the nation from its problems, because these advanced nations cannot be deceived in a broad daylight by a group made up of a few adherents who are already drawing a list and are working hard to milk the situation, and it is not only hilarious but the nation might not have a choice other than writing them off literally until they come back to their senses. The problem is going to be the crunch that is going to show its bad teeth, and it should be those who are vehemently working to derail an otherwise striving system that should carry the brunt. At the same time, the other reality that TPLF might not be around always to implement democratic rule and play the leading role should start to sink in quickly, because there might not be time to indulge into thinking what the possibility will be. When that time arrives everyone should know what to do, otherwise going back to square one could be the order of the day. The best solution is to continue to work to build the already started introduction of democracy come rain or shine and make sure it will not be substituted by any make-believe effort that is intended to serve a purpose to a given group who are in a desperate hurry to enrich themselves, although everyone is watching and the correction might be around the corner.