Thomas, from Asmara!
Posted: 13 Dec 2025, 20:00
Please wait, video is loading...
Mereja.Forum
Thomas, from Asmara!
Page 1 of 1
Re: Thomas, from Asmara!
Posted: 13 Dec 2025, 20:08
Eritrea's choice to withdraw from IGAD surely captured global attention, revealing IGAD's transformation into a dangerous vessel jeopardizing regional stability.
See below for the full commentary I'm titling--Navigating Peril: Eritrea's Withdrawal Exposes IGAD's Dangerous Drift.
It is fair to say, the pros and cons of Eritrea withdrawing from IGAD can be debated by smart and technical experts alike. That said, the real conversation needs to focus not only on the obvious dysfunction of or issue with IGAD itself, an organization that has long ago drifted far from its founding principles, but also on how it has become a tool or source of problems for its member states and the region. Reestablished in 1993 with Eritrea holding its first presidency to
promote peace, prosperity, and integration among member states,
IGAD now is simply a hijacked ship at the port, full of toxic and incendiary cargo that endangers the very nations it was meant to support.
Based on my reading, the turning point for IGAD came sometime after 2000 when the West, led by the US, exploited IGAD as a tool to push its geopolitical agendas in the region. Rather than serving the collective interests of its member states, IGAD was reduced to a pawn for foreign powers. Today, a staggering 80-90% of its budget-- a whopping 60 million dollars--is funded by foreign states, including Western NGOs with their own sets of priorities. The age old saying,
He who pays the piper calls the tune,
rings ever truer in this context.
Simply put, IGAD was turned into a stage for external actors to further their influence and control the region.
Fast forward to the present, and IGAD is now simply a puppet of the UAE via its proxies, Ethiopia and Kenya. These two nations, while caught in a perpetual struggle for “supper puppet” status in the region, are using IGAD as a vehicle to impose destabilizing policies that threaten the sovereignty of other member states, including Somalia, Sudan, and South Sudan. Interestingly, Ethiopia, a fragile country on the brink of disintegration, is deeply engaged in proxy activities that not only serve to undermine its neighbors but also hasten its own demise. The consequences of this reckless behavior could be disastrous—not just for Ethiopia, Sudan, Somalia, or South Sudan but for the entire region.
Needless to say, the reality today is that IGAD is a two-horse race, ie Ethiopia and Kenya lead the charge, with Djibouti playing a minimal role that amounts to little more than logistical support as a host country. Remember how Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya and Abiy Ahmed of Ethiopia battled to control the Executive Secretary position, in 2019? That power struggle was a clear display of their ambitions, resulting in compromised leadership that watered down IGAD’s potential. The UAE's efforts to capture Kenya afterwards, while using Ethiopia as a puppet state, shows how this organization has turned into a fortress for their proxy. Meanwhile, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, and Eritrea have been sidelined, their voices muted in a forum that was meant to amplify regional concerns. In essence, IGAD has morphed into a battleground for competing agendas, where the question isn’t which state can foster regional stability, but rather which can best serve foreign interests while acting as a proxy.
Perhaps Eritrea’s withdrawal should be seen not as a standalone choice, but rather as a symptom of IGAD’s failure. IGAD is a hijacked ship contaminated by distracting external influences. There is little indication today that IGAD can be repaired or revitalized, or even shed the strings of its foreign puppeteers.
In a world where geopolitical landscapes are shifting rapidly everywhere, the Horn of Africa region needs to wake up to reality and start to think for itself, charting a course that prioritizes its own interests over the whims of external powers. Without decisive action by all countries in the region, and collectively, IGAD will remain a hijacked vessel full of toxic material, docked at the port and continuing to endanger the entire area. That concern remains. @AligidirEritrea