Why Was Prime Minister Meles Gobena an Economically Effective Dictator, Unlike Dr. Abiy Ahmed?
By Fayyis Oromia*
Interestingly, some of us have already lived under the last four regimes led by biologically Oromo but politically Amhara rulers: Teferi M. Gudisa, Mengistu H. Ayana, Meles Z. Gobena, and Abiy A. Ali. All these leaders have proven to be pro Amharic-domination and anti Oromic-leadership. They were authoritarian, effectively suppressing the Oromo identity and language to the point where Oromic lost both demographic and geographic legitimacy as a primary language of the country.
When comparing the last two dictators, one may ask: Why was Meles such an economically effective dictator, unlike Abiy? I see two main factors:
Meles aligned with the TPLF, which was widely seen as the vanguard organization of the Tigrayan people. As a result, he had the full backing of his constituency. In contrast, Abiy foolishly alienated the OLF, which had long been seen as the vanguard of the Oromo struggle, and thus lost support of the Oromo majority.
Meles effectively neutralized and replaced the entrenched Amhara bureaucrats, who were often skilled at sabotaging economic development. He filled key government positions with capable Tigrayan intellectuals. Abiy, on the other hand, alienated Oromo intellectuals and instead privileged inefficient OPDO cadres, weakening the administrative backbone of his regime.
Read more: https://orompia.wordpress.com/2023/04/1 ... as-fayyis/