Dr. Nagàso Gidàda’s Transformation – From Oromianist Through Orompianist to Oropianist!
By Fayyis Oromia*
Years ago, I read with mixed feelings that Dr. Nagàso Gidàdà, the former president of Ethiopia, had joined the opposition party UDJ. Was this move constructive or destructive to the national liberation movement of his own people—the Oromo? Was his political journey a step forward, a step backward, or simply a lateral shift—from the vision of an independent Oromia (as he once supported in OLF), to a federal Orompia (Oromummà-led ethnic federalism, as pursued in OPDO), and eventually toward an integrative Oropia (Oromummà-led geo-federal Ethiopia), as seemingly embraced in UDJ?
To answer these questions, we need to examine the inherent tension between the interests of the Oromo nation and the broader interests of Ethiopia—a state composed of many nations, historically dominated by two Abyssinian groups over the last 150 years. In short, we must explore the complementarity and contradiction between the Oromian liberation movement and the Oropian democratization movement.
Read more: https://orompia.wordpress.com/2023/05/0 ... ropianist/