The Oromo, Who Fostered Ethiopia, Shall Transform It into Oropia!
By Fayyis Oromia*
There is no question that the Ethiopian empire was forged by two faces of the Tulama Oromo: the Habeshanized faction led by King Menelik and the non-Habeshanized faction led by General Gobana. The alliance between these two groups played a crucial role in driving the war of empire-building at the end of the nineteenth century.
After nearly a century of rule, the empire was taken over by the Habeshanized Agaw elite in 1991. Today, the struggle is not to retake the empire and maintain it as it is, but rather to transform it—either into a union that may still be called Ethiopia or to rename and reshape it as Oropia, an Oromummaa-led country. If transformation fails, there is little doubt that the empire will disintegrate and independent nation-states will emerge—among them, an independent state of Oromia.
Currently, it seems the Oromo are working to reclaim, reform, and rename the empire as Oropia. What a remarkable paradigm shift! During the dark era of the monarchy—when the Oromo were reduced to mere objects of oppression and faced cultural erasure—we envisioned only the liberation of Oromia, the Afan Oromo-speaking core of our homeland.
However, through five decades of struggle led by the OLF, we have made significant gains. Today, we possess a growing confidence that allows us to advocate for a federal union during this transitional period—from Amaranet's domination to Oromummaa's liberation. As long as this domination continues, with Amharic as the sole working language of the federation, Ethiopia remains de facto Amapia—an Amharic-dominated country.
It is understandable, then, that many Oromo nationalists still support the concept of Oromia's self-rule within a shared rule of Ethiopia. In the future, when Afan Oromo becomes the legitimate primary working language of the federation—replacing Amharic—we will likely gain the confidence to advocate for a geo-federation rather than an ethnic federation. At that point, Ethiopia will, in essence, become Oropia.
As long as we own Oropia (our gross income), there will be no need to limit ourselves to Oromia (our net income). Therefore, our core struggle today must focus on consolidating Oromo political power in the Finfinne palace, promoting Afan Oromo as the primary working language of the federation, and working toward the integration of the Horn of Africa—the historic homeland of the Oromo people, stretching from Meroë to Mombasa.
Galatooma.
Read more: https://orompia.wordpress.com/2023/06/1 ... d-country/