The Danger of Hijacking the Democratic Effort Is Real

The Danger of Hijacking the Democratic Effort Is Real
The most serious mistake made in the country that is, no matter how the socialist pundits of the nation are looking at it might be, the so-called revolution gave unwarranted leeway to the countryside. It does not seem that no one had asked the question, how much leeway did they exactly need? There were good reasons that necessitated the allowing of some leeway for the countryside, but the fact that it should have been done differently is becoming, more and more, evident. The reason for that could be inferred from how the countryside put to work the leeway that it was granted by the then revolutionary forces that might not have a clear picture of where they were taking the country to, because of the priority on their agenda, which was to get rid of those rich absentee landlords and walk into their shoes. They had vowed at least not to be like them, but as ill prepared revolutionaries, it is only history that will judge them.

This could lead to a conclusion that those who were in charge of the revolution were reaping some immediate benefit because they were the ones who were calling the shots and had numerous means of lining up their pockets. Although no one might have wanted to notice it, they must have definitely advanced their cause. When looking at the countryside, it is very difficult to say they were better off working on a small parcel of land. The outcome indicates that they had managed to manifest that they were better off from their earlier condition when they were under the control of the absentee landlords and that had been attested by the lifestyle they started to lead that had lots of excess, as those who were outside of the country were told or from eye witness account. The fact that there is such a population explosion could also be attributed to that and it is a sign of lack of direction even if there might not be anything wrong with it if putting some kind of cap had been thought of by those who were in a position.

Still, the question that lingers is, were they really in need of the leeway they were given? This is a qualified question without denying the fact that they were able to work on a small plot of land that they can call their own with the sense of security that goes with it, while at the same time they were able to keep for themselves what they worked hard for. In spite of that, what the revolutionaries did might have obviously destroyed the fabric of an agriculture system that had been working for centuries, especially in the northern part of the country where the farmers, for the most part, owned their own land. In the southern part of the country it is different because those people were pasturalists for the most part and it was lately that they started to mix both. The fact that the neftegnas were able to snatch a good portion of the southern land might be because land was used in that part of the country only for pasture. People were moving from place to place leading a nomadic life chasing green pasture and they used to measure their wealth by the number of cattle they own instead of the amount of land they have registered under their name. In fact, land was a communal property whose main use was availing the needed pasture. The time people were living like that might not be very far. Because of that it is possible to say the southern part might have been benefited because the land that was confiscated by the neftegnas had gone back to the rightful owners, probably who were made to work on their own land, since they did not know what it means to settle down on a land and conduct farming, as their main occupation was cattle raising or that might have changed partially because of the contact they had made with the northern people and might have learned their way of life.

In the mid of all such backwardness, there was an agriculture system that was feeding the nation, although those who were in charge of it were charging for their service, whether they grow the food themselves or others were growing it for them. Therefore, it is possible to say the revolution had destroyed the fabric of such an agriculture system that was in existence hoping that it will be replaced by a Soviet style collective farming that would have done wonders if it had worked, but because it did not it has brought the dreary situation the country is in.

Agriculture was not the only economic activity that was taking place in the country as there were northern forces that were fighting for their freedom, which would mean losing a good portion of what was then known as Ethiopia, that will include the two ports through which most of the goods the nation was using were coming into the county, although one of them Massawa was used for military purposes. What is obvious here is there was a forceful change of hand when the military junta took power and another forceful change of hand took place when TPLF/EPLF together toppled the Derge and as we know it that is how TPLF/EPRDF came into existence. It was almost a deja vu where those who usurped power started to look after their own interest while meeting some requirements of leading a nation. Looking at this new group shows the ethnic group they belong to, the Tigreans and on whose name they are doing what they are doing are around 5 percent of the population, a very miniscule percentage. It seems that the others did not wake up until it was too late or they could have been systematically overwhelmed, but when they tried to make a correction they believed is proper in their own judgement, they found out that it was too late for them. Why? Because the country was very different where there is no per se one ethnic group that is exploiting the others. The various ethnic groups are working hard to find a middle ground. In the midst of all this commotion TPLF, as it was said many times by various sources does not want to relinquish power since they have become cognizant of what it avails. That, however, does not guarantee that they will always stay on power, because it does not work like that in the modern world. We all know what is keeping them going and there is not a guarantee that all of it will stay intact for a long time.

What is worrying when we look at what is taking place in the country is that the resistance and the movement to replace them is still coming from the wrong group and this group has become a minority although it might number more than TPLF and company. Secondly, everybody knows what this group wants and that is the status quo that it created that it itself encountered haphazardly, because if Atse Yahoos was not killed, that is if he had managed to evade death that could have been masterminded by this group or could have been accidental, it is difficult to say where Ethiopia will be today or what TPLF is doing is a continuation, the exact replica of where the nation would have been, no matter how eerie it sounds.

The reason why all this diatribe is important is to save ourselves time, because the only movement, whether it is military or any other means that will work in the country is a movement that originates from the so called oppressed people without spelling out who they are. These groups who have the majority in the country should be the initiators of the change, because if groups such as CUDs or their satellites and affiliates are allowed to take over, the outcome will be the same or worse. The first thing they would do would be to dismantle what had been attained up to this point and put themselves on top of the whole country. What will follow in the wake of their takeover is oppression, exploitation, and vengeance of the worst kind. The assumption is almost everyone knows that with few exceptions where there might be opportunist individuals who do not care about what is going to happen to the nation, as long as they get ahead with their own life. This kind of outlook is atypical of the earliest regime before Derge that had suffered a demise because it did not want to make the required corrections while the public was demanding it. It is not only that, to show that it was firmly grounded it took measures that led to the uprising of those who were severely oppressed giving weight to what the revolutionaries were doing.

What takes place currently is not the same, because the countryside had tasted some freedom although because of some technical failure it is not attaining the kind of advancement it needs. Therefore, here, for example, there is a good reason why the nation need change, because the country as a whole is not getting the required change and advancement it needs, for a reason that could be beyond one regime, group, or political party. This is one of the reasons why there should be frequent political change in any country. The drive is not to replace TPLF by CUD or by some of the other satellite parities its members have created, because it is possible to say these people are the same people who are reemerging by changing their form. The nation cannot be an experimental ground forever where the public will trust what these politicians are talking about and in another 5 to 10 years find out that all they are doing is lining up their pockets, because this kind of action is endemic in most third world countries. The elite believes that they have a special right to look after their interest more than anything else, and they could get away with it most of the time because the big majority of people are not educated, nor advanced enough to come together and demand for what is legitimately theirs. It is this group that will do what is good for the countryside, which means if there is a quarrel or a conflict of interest it is among those who are educated. There will always be a group that is after its own interest, although it had to engage in a makebelieve activity that should resemble shouldering the nation’s responsibilities.

Amid all this, it had been proven that the population is not barren of people who feel responsible for the nation they belong to. Its bleak future worries them. The fate of the future generation worries them, because if the present generation does not do the right things now, they are going to suffer and we do not even want to think of what would await them. That had been proven now in our time, where people are refusing to stop bringing children in a system they have already destroyed, because they might not provide for them adequately. It is not only that it does not make economic sense when the population of a nation explodes beyond the available means and the kind of yesteryears where people used to say children will grow according to their God given luck does not work now.

Therefore, the reason why this issue is important is again to save time. It is always very difficult to tell people to look at things this way. If people start to look at things this way, for example, CUDs will not work day and night to topple TPLF and strive to repeat what they were doing, which is looking after the interest of their group, while oppressing others. If that is the case there will be another group in the making that will work hard to topple this group for the same reason of working for the interest of the group, grab whatever is available and when the time to go comes, those who survive will get away and the most they will accomplish will be to lead a comfortable life somewhere else while the people in the country are suffering.

If there is anything that should change, this should be at the top of the list and the next force that will come into office cannot be anyone that will look after its own interest, because it is going to be only a hogwash, since the same thing could be repeated. If we look at the other ethnic groups that were labeled as oppressed, either the oppression had worked effectively to keep them in the dark, because we do not see them or hear them fighting for what is theirs, since they lack the preparation or they still are not ready to demand for their right place. They need more exposure to what the other world is living for before they can see which parts would be beneficial for them. Until then, it is the job of the elite to do that for them. In order to do that there has to be a lot of integrity, self sacrifice and a future vision where to take the nation, which is more than lining up the members’ pocket.

The reason why this is important is we have to continue to fight any kind of consorted effort to hijack the system, because even if all of them do not have equal representation in what is taking place in the country, it is those who had been oppressed that are running things in the country, hand in hand, with every ethnic group. If there is a new arrangement that should be allowed to replace this kind of working arrangement, it is another democratic administration, although we all know how the term democracy is misconstrued particularly in our country. It seems that some people understand it because it allows the economical prosperity of the members of the nation, it would mean that it could be done at the expense of others, without feeling any responsibility, as long as it is possible to get away with it. That is not really the case because, it means that even if people are free to do what they want in a democratic setup, the only time they can achieve that kind of freedom is when they meet all the requirements. These requirements are lengthy and might be readily available in the constitutions and laws of every country, although everyone can evade them. But nations who had curtailed the evading of those laws even if they are in a position to do so are those that are showing progress, because it is no more the western countries only that are adhering to the rules of democracy. Many democratic countries are emerging and are showing good result that is growing by the day and where our nation should belong is there.

Those who are in a position should not take measures with a grudge to punish others because they feel that they have done them wrong for putting some kind of a cap on their wrongdoing. Instead, they have to come up with a genuine plan that would take the country forward. If we look at it, TPLF/EPLF had one administration that was dominated by one ethnic group to fight. And that ethnic group was despised because of the wrongdoing that it was immersed in that made things easier for these two forces to topple it easily. At this particular juncture if a party like CUD and any of its affiliates engage in a guerilla war they should know that they are not only fighting TPLF, but the whole nation that does not want to go back to where it was languishing.

The conclusion is what we should be driving at is, the only movement or party that will take the country into the future is any group that can unify the whole ethnic groups together and should be much better than TPLF in sharing power, the only leeway the nation would need at this time, because if there is any malfeasance that emanate from what TPLF is doing it is possible to put an end to it if such group emerges. In reality, there is something that needs changing, but it is not for any reason replacing one group by another that has its own interest at the top of the agenda. It is always possible to create a plain level field and from then on, by meeting the requirements of the nation, almost everyone could do what he or she wishes without anyone intervening, but the priority always has to be the nation and its people. That is only attainable when the whole nation works together, where there is no one that feels for some feable reason that he or she deserves better than the next citizen.