Finfinné: The Beautiful Capital City of Oromia, Ethiopia, and Africa!
By Fayyis Oromia*
What a great privilege it is for the Oromo to have Finfinné as the beautiful capital city of Oromia, Ethiopia, and Africa. We only need to promote Afaan Oromo to its rightful leadership position in the city. As long as the power center (Finfinné Palace) remains dominated by Amarigna, Ethiopia is, in practice, Amapia—an Amarigna-dominated country.
This Amarigna dominance over the palace has continued from the era of Yekuno Amlak (1270) to the present leadership of Abiy Ahmed. When change came in 2018, Dr. Abiy entered the palace with his family wearing Oromo attire, giving the appearance that the Oromo had taken over. However, that phenomenon changed quickly. Dr. Abiy and his staff began speaking Amarigna more than Oromiffa, revealing that his governance leans more toward Amarigna than Oromiffa.
Ironically, anti-Oromo forces wrongly accuse his government of being pro-Oromiffa. In reality, they are expressing their fear that true pro-Oromiffa nationalists may one day take over the palace. That is why they openly oppose and fight Oromummaa (Oromo identity). I hope that genuine Oromo nationalists will soon take power in the Finfinné Palace and legitimately promote Oromiffa—first in the palace, then throughout Finfinné, and gradually in a ripple effect across the world.
If Oromo nationalists are politically astute and can play the favorable cards we now hold, we can consolidate our power in the Finfinné Palace, liberate Oromia from all forms of Abesha domination, maintain our legitimate leadership of Ethiopia, integrate the Horn of Africa, contribute to the formation of a United States of Africa, and play our role in global development.
This ripple effect of Oromo politics, starting from the Finfinné Palace and expanding globally, must become the shared vision of all true Oromo nationalists. To realize this:
- Afaan Oromo should be promoted as the primary working language of Ethiopia and the African Union.
- Gadaa democracy must be modernized and, if possible, applied across Africa.
- Angoo Oromo (Oromo power) in Finfinné Palace must be consolidated for the long term.
By establishing Finfinné as our center of power, we can imagine building multiple layers of Oromia:
- Cororomia (based on the OLF map),
- Ethioromia (an Ethiopia led by Oromummaa),
- Hornoromia (the Horn under the influence of Oromummaa),
- Afrioromia (an African federation administered from Finfinné),
- and even Globoromia (a global Oromo presence).
Obbo Léncô Latà once wrote about the importance of multinational federation, emphasizing how nations globally strive to secure culture, power, and economy through different administrative levels:
- Sub-state level to preserve culture,
- State level to hold political power,
- and Supra-state level for economic benefit.
That is exactly what Oromo elites—led by Dr. Abiy—should have aimed to achieve. Now, the Oromo are free to play our legitimate role in the world. We must be politically intelligent and capable of operating at various levels of Oromo politics:
- Above all, we must liberate the heart of our nation—Finfinné—from Abyssinian domination and own it. We need committed politicians like Adanech Abebe active at this level.
- We must promote Oromo nationalists dedicated to liberating and consolidating Oromia, free from all foreign influence—like Galasa Dilbo once did.
- We need leaders like Marara Gudina to ensure the unity and integrity of Ethiopia.
- We should be inclusive of all Oromo and non-Oromo people in the Horn, as Leencoo Lataa advocates.
- We must support Dr. Abiy’s focus on African integration with Finfinné as the political center.
- And we need Oromos like Fayyis, who think globally and envision the Oromo as world citizens contributing to humanity. After all, all peoples of the world—descendants of Adam and Eve—are said to be Oromo, for the Oromo are the root of humanity.
Many Oromo nationalists are questioning Dr. Abiy’s true motives regarding the Oromo struggle for freedom. His prioritization of Ethiopia over Oromia has made us skeptical. This skepticism arises partly from the internal conflict among Oromo nationalists regarding which land we consider our country.
So, which is our country? Oromia (Biyya-Oromo)? Ethiopia (Biyya-Kush)? Africa (Biyya-Kam)?
In truth, all three are ours—Biyya-Kenya. It simply depends on the level of political discourse.
The conflict mainly lies in claiming Ethiopia as our country. Some Oromo nationalists strongly reject it. Yet historically, Ethiopia is not purely a Habesha empire. It is, in fact, a Tuulama empire—formed through the alliance of Habeshanized Tuulama led by Emperor Menelik and non-Habeshanized Tuulama led by General Gobana. Both were key founders of today’s empire, with a majority Oromo army. One could even argue it is an Oromian Empire—and now, it must be transformed into an Ethiopian Union.
The difference is crucial:
- An empire is a forced union through domination.
- A union is a voluntary coming together of nations.
Oromian independence, as advocated by some, may occur either:
- If all neighboring nations reject the union and establish independent states, or
- If the Oromo vote for independence in a referendum.
Dr. Abiy’s OPP favors the former approach: “Let minorities leave; we are the majority at the center.”
OLF favors the latter: “Let the Oromo people decide—independence or union.”
In any case:
- Biyya-Oromo is imperatively our country.
- Biyya-Kush is optionally ours.
- Biyya-Kam is inevitably our continent and home.
Thus, we can see all three—Oromia, Ethiopia, and Africa—as layers of Biyya-Kenya.
We may also use the term Biyya-Kenya (our country) in a double sense:
Whether it’s Oromia (Biyya-Oromo) or Ethiopia (Biyya-Kush), both can be our final self-determination outcome, depending on the will of our people through democratic processes.
From my perspective, the most pragmatic solution is:
Self-rule in Biyya-Oromo within shared rule of Biyya-Kush.
The Oromo must now concentrate on consolidating power in our mind-and-heart city—Finfinné. From this base, we can transform politics at the national, regional, and continental levels.
That’s why it’s a positive sign that Dr. Abiy encourages Oromo empowerment in Finfinné—so we may:
- Liberate Oromia (the core),
- Democratize Ethiopia,
- Integrate the Horn,
- Federalize Africa.
Whatever area is administered or influenced from Finfinné can be called Oromia. Therefore, we need Oromo politicians who can promote this transformative Oromo political vision.
Let Oromo politicians:
- Preserve our culture at the sub-state level (Oromia),
- Consolidate power at the state level (Ethiopia),
- Secure economic advantage at the supra-state level (Africa).
This ripple effect of Oromo politics, from Finfinné Palace to the whole world, is truly inspiring.
May Waaqaa guide us to understand and fulfill this vision.
Galatôma!
Read more: https://orompia.wordpress.com/2023/06/2 ... the-globe/
Re: Finfinné: The Beautiful Capital City of Oromia, Ethiopia, and Africa!
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