ሩህ ሚዲያ – Ruh Media

By: Habtamu Girma Demiessie, Jigjiga University, Ethiopia

Introduction

This piece is a personal attempt to figure out the underlying reason behind the recent incidents that has claimed lives of innocents and threatened the peace, stability, unity and harmony of lingo-cultural diversities (a word that better represent the existing picture of diversity than a term ‘ethnic’, which to my perplex is slipping us all Ethiopians into confusion). Unless swift responses in a way to, Ethiopians are at stake to be engulfed by mass confusion.
As to my opinion, the rock bottom of the threatening mass confusion is all those wrong, if not corrupt, understandings on the essence and interpretation of history.

This piece also forefront possible way out of the paradox of today’s Ethiopia.

One can fetch a readings from original print source following this link: https://www.thereporterethiopia.com/article/mass-confusion-ailment-todays-ethiopia

The Political System, Mass Confusion and Wellbeing of Ethiopians.

Looking at Ethiopian context, mass confusion, though its existence long ago, has been a growing phenomenon in recent years and months. The very problems of Ethiopians is the political system itself. In essence, a political system is all about the way political business functions; how the political groups transact in political market.
An ideal political system is one which allows and/or guarantees the wider populace all the means and tools to seize the ultimate power and role in playing politics. The corollary of that is that a well to do political system is one which the political market is better freed from elitism , where the rule of the game in political transaction lies in logic and principles.
Looking into the Ethiopia political system, it is unfortunate noticing what governs political dialogue has been hatred, hostilities, victimhood mentality, and personal glory. To justify their vested interests, the political elites needs a covet, often counting on corrupt narratives and wrong interpretation of history. That is by far the source of the mass confusion threatening the peace, stability, unity and national integrity of brothrly Ethiopians.
A glimpse into the political history of Ethiopia entails that the political elites has incessantly taken Ethiopians into mass confusion at least in two ways. One is how the political circle understood the essence of history, where they divide history as bad and good. Such analysis about history is neither right nor wrong, but irrelevant altogether.
Basically, there is nothing of bad in history. The essence of history is all for good. If the narratives about the past depicts about the fraternity or animosity between groups or people, it is not bad at least. As holy books reminds all humanity, all the deeds of human past or present is for reason. The essence of history is for us to take lesson.
Hence, our past, whether it has an allure or detaching effect on the unity of all diversities in Ethiopia under one flag, it is there for Ethiopians to take lesson. History is a medium to learn.
The second form of mass confusion, which composes another nasty face of Ethiopian political system, is how political elites inteprete history. The political elites often appear with a political agenda with tendencies (implications) to heal past fractures by ‘redressing’ groups what they defined in their own ways as ‘loser’. Attempting to heal historic mistakes by ‘benefiting’ the loser by disfavoring what they dubbed as ‘oppressor’ or ‘exploiter’, rather than healing the scars of past injustices born another historic mistake.
Such interpretation of history would turn history rather than a remedy to problems of the present, would be source of present problems and sparks threats in future. Indeed, such a flaw is without an execuse, as history repeat itself twice, once to heal and second to perish. With historical past taking Ethiopians to endless disputes, hatred and naggings for bads, it takes for all Ethiopians and political groups to redefine the essence of history. Hence,unless a quick fix, the path our political system taking Ethiopian populace is all to demise.
Another face of Ethiopian political system is that there lacks a commonly shared values upon which the philosophy that binds different political groups into one, irrespective of their diverse opinions and interests. Commonly shared value system are simply essential drives of people in all departments of their life: be it social, economic, political, at all level: individual, community (societal) and country.
By implicating to the decision making behaviors of people at all levels and in all aspects of life commonly shared values shape the nature, forms and functioning of formal and informal institutions which in one way or another amounts the foundations of the system of political, economic and bureaucratic governance.
In the face where we lack to define common interests for the interest of our country and its people there will no any answer to political problems. Where such is case, pointing fingers among competing political on one another for every wrongs is nothing more than senseless.
The political elites being either the products or reflection of the prevaining political system, Ethiopians has to rightly locate their real enemy is rather the prevailing political system, where rules, principles, logic has little say in the political market. Therefore, Ethiopians needs to work on a national agenda of constructing a shared values, hence make it the pillar of their political system.

How better Remedy Ethiopians from Risks of evils of ‘Mass Confusion’?

To take themselves out of the political impasse and consequent woes, what is expected from all Ethiopians, particularly the current generation is two: one, understand the essence of time concept; two, devise a uniting philosophy and/or values of all diversities characterizing the Ethiopian people, diversities in language, ethnicities, culture,religion or any.

The Need to Understand the Time Concept

As one manifestations of Ethiopians living in mass confusions is inability to understand the time concept properly. Time showing us the present via the image of yesterday, it endow us that wisdom to understand why and how history matters.
With historical narratives taken for granted in the Ethiopian political tradition, differences in interpretations of history is not only source of differences among political groups, but also depict the political landscape being at heart of polarized politics. Therefore, what remedies Ethiopians out of those woes is for them to understand time concept. Doing so is not only shades light on the political landscape of Ethiopia, but also gives a lot helpful of promoting political stability, better political system and national consensus.

So what it takes for ordinary Ethiopians then?

As I consider nation building is the foremost task of our generation, Ethiopians has properly understanding time concept. As one reflection of ill understanding of time concept is its toll in their decision makings over key political issues, which is all biased due to stereotype and/or personal cult. As Ethiopians properly understand time concept, that would mean healings from being biased in their looks on political matters.
Most important of all, time concept endows Ethiopians with ingredients of fair judgment on historical incidents – an issue that has given the path towards political dialogue and reconciliation rocky.

The Need to Erect Shared Value System

In countries like Ethiopia with diverse ethnic, language, religious and cultures, devising a commonly shared values presupposes for any political and economic interventions. The essence of a commonly shared value system is not only its power to unite people as one country, but also the source of strong institutional system that molds the economy and the politics. Hence, the pillar of national project of envisioning economically strong and united Ethiopia shall be modeling commonly shared value by all Ethiopians to be taken for granted a source of passion in their lives of wider levels and affairs.
Ethiopians can fetch a lot from the good practices of the genesis and functioning of shared value system in major Western countries, which integrated those values the foundations of their political and economic governance.
The task of constructing shared philosophy among Ethiopians requires the participation of the populace at large, with academicians and/or scholars are expected to be up front. Political circle too has to understand the essence of a shared value system, without which molding the course of politics would be next to impossible.

The Need for a Grown up Leadership

The essence of leadership in all ventures of people’s lives (be it economic, political, social, religious or any) is to reconcile competing or opposing interests. Leaders of different interest groups should be humble enough to shoulder this heavy responsibility.
What differentiates leaders from ordinary people is nothing but virtues of leadership personality. True leaders are calm enough not to rush to follow the emotions or urges of their subjects before passing decisions. Leaders are those at fore front capable of seeing the bigger picture, and in a way that best meets the strategic interests of their subjects. Leaders who presides personal pride over public causes would not be different from ordinary people for better.
Circumstantial evidences from the workings of today’s Ethiopia locate that the country is getting starved of a grown-up leadership on the side of those steering the wheel and set to decide fate of the larger populace. At this particular moment, Ethiopians are desperate about a grown up leadership, which is capable of rescuing from the tide of mass confusion.

So, what it takes from our political leaders?

First of all, our political leaders has to find themselves out of the box of hatred, hostility and revenge, the three nemesis of Ethiopian political tradition. Then it takes them to genuinely devise ways and mediums that widens the spectrum for peaceful political struggle, where all opposition groups fairly treated and freely display their political agenda. Furthermore, it takes to re-engineering the political, economic and bureaucratic governances with ideals of democracy and Good Governance Government (3Gs) given due accord.

Editor`s Note: Habtamu Girma is assistant professor of Economics at Jigjiga University. He can be reached at ruhe215@gmail.com or hab200517@yahoo.com