The Contradictions of Leadership: Abiy Mohamod Ali's Dual Faces in Addis Ababa and Ethiopia
Posted: 28 Jun 2024, 20:31
If Abiy Mohamod Ali were the mayor of Addis Ababa, he would likely receive an A for the facelift he managed to give the city in a short span of time. This assessment, however, does not take into account the sudden hardships faced by Addis Ababans who were abruptly relocated to the fringes of the city. These individuals could fall prey to Shimile's Oromia administration's whimsical decisions of dispassion and discrimination, in addition to struggling to reestablish their livelihoods from scratch. Setting aside these issues, we can evaluate him based on the changes he made to Addis Ababa. Although I am not fond of the glittering neon lights on buildings, other improvements such as widening the roads, installing streetlights, and planting trees along the roadsides are commendable and aesthetically pleasing. I am referring solely to the visual aspects, nothing more or less.
Now, let's consider Abiy as the Prime Minister of Ethiopia, whose responsibility is to lead 125 million Ethiopians, ensuring their peace and security, and addressing their economic concerns. Hearing that government employees sleep in their offices because they cannot afford housing in Addis should be concerning for any sane government. The fact that university lecturers live in dormitories with students because they do not earn a livable wage should also be a concern for the government. Farmers who lack secure routes to bring their products to market should be a priority for any government worthy of its name. Waging war against civilians in Amhara and Oromia and spending the meager hard currency on drones and expensive ammunition is insanity in light of the dire hardships Ethiopians experience every day.
While he fails to fulfill most of the above governing responsibilities, he is spending the little hard currency in the government coffers to wage a failed war on popular uprisings against his government by buying drones to kill civilians. Not learning from the mistakes of past failed governments of Ethiopia, he doubles down on his folly, spending more money on a war he is losing.
If Abiy had strived to establish strong unity among Ethiopians, regardless of their nationality, religion, and ideological inclination, with justice and equality as the principal anchors of his administration, he would have been a shining star in the eyes of the Ethiopian people. This would be due not to his personal actions but to the guiding principles he set for his administration. In many ways, Abiy is a very short-sighted leader who does not even realize the contradictory nature of his actions. Even if he acts purposefully with wicked intentions, the end result is that one side of his actions contradicts the other, making coexistence impossible, and one side will inevitably destroy the other. For example, he made a speech about Ethiopian unity in Amharic in parliament, but then went to Wellega to preach that his Oromo government is being threatened by Oromo enemies, urging people to stand with him and fight. Forget the anti-Ethiopian and anti-Amhara speeches made almost weekly by Abiy’s close confidant and henchman Shimiles, the nonstop military training and arming he does in Oromia, and the wholesale jailing of Amhara activists without due process. These contradictions are a tinderbox that awaits the right time to explode.
Despite the glitter of Addis and the celebration of the so-called "corridor development," the fundamentals of Ethiopia are so out of balance that it is only a matter of time before his administration collapses under its own weight.
Now, let's consider Abiy as the Prime Minister of Ethiopia, whose responsibility is to lead 125 million Ethiopians, ensuring their peace and security, and addressing their economic concerns. Hearing that government employees sleep in their offices because they cannot afford housing in Addis should be concerning for any sane government. The fact that university lecturers live in dormitories with students because they do not earn a livable wage should also be a concern for the government. Farmers who lack secure routes to bring their products to market should be a priority for any government worthy of its name. Waging war against civilians in Amhara and Oromia and spending the meager hard currency on drones and expensive ammunition is insanity in light of the dire hardships Ethiopians experience every day.
While he fails to fulfill most of the above governing responsibilities, he is spending the little hard currency in the government coffers to wage a failed war on popular uprisings against his government by buying drones to kill civilians. Not learning from the mistakes of past failed governments of Ethiopia, he doubles down on his folly, spending more money on a war he is losing.
If Abiy had strived to establish strong unity among Ethiopians, regardless of their nationality, religion, and ideological inclination, with justice and equality as the principal anchors of his administration, he would have been a shining star in the eyes of the Ethiopian people. This would be due not to his personal actions but to the guiding principles he set for his administration. In many ways, Abiy is a very short-sighted leader who does not even realize the contradictory nature of his actions. Even if he acts purposefully with wicked intentions, the end result is that one side of his actions contradicts the other, making coexistence impossible, and one side will inevitably destroy the other. For example, he made a speech about Ethiopian unity in Amharic in parliament, but then went to Wellega to preach that his Oromo government is being threatened by Oromo enemies, urging people to stand with him and fight. Forget the anti-Ethiopian and anti-Amhara speeches made almost weekly by Abiy’s close confidant and henchman Shimiles, the nonstop military training and arming he does in Oromia, and the wholesale jailing of Amhara activists without due process. These contradictions are a tinderbox that awaits the right time to explode.
Despite the glitter of Addis and the celebration of the so-called "corridor development," the fundamentals of Ethiopia are so out of balance that it is only a matter of time before his administration collapses under its own weight.