Is Dr. Abiy Ahmed Despising the Oromo Just Like Dagimawi Menelik Did?
By Fayyis Oromia*
Today, a significant debate is taking place within the Oromo community about Emperor Menelik. Was he a hero or a colonizer? Was he Oromo by origin? I have addressed these questions in my previous articles. Based on my study of Ethiopian and Oromo history, I have concluded that all Habeshas are fundamentally of Agaw or Oromo origin. In particular, most of the monarchs who ruled from the time of Yekuno Amlak to Haile Selassie were essentially Amharanized Oromos. Menelik also fits into this category.
However, there is no doubt that Menelik was a brutal ruler who despised the Oromo. His most damaging mistake was marginalizing Oromic and elevating Amharic, turning the state into an oppressive force against the Oromo people. Today, we see a similar pattern with Dr. Abiy Ahmed — what I call the “Salisawi Menelik” (the Third Menelik). Biologically, both Menelik and Abiy are Oromo, yet psychologically and politically, they align themselves with an Amhara-centered Ethiopia — or Amapia — rather than building a more inclusive Oropia, an Ethiopia rooted in Oromummà.
It’s not surprising, then, to see Salisawi Menelik (Abiy) celebrating Dagimawi Menelik (Menelik II), despite the latter’s well-documented atrocities against the Oromo. Just as modern Germans do not identify with Hitler, the Oromo have every right to reject Menelik, regardless of his ethnic origin.
Read more: https://orompia.wordpress.com/2020/06/2 ... amharinya/