Yonas Biru, PhD
In a rather twisted way, Abiy Ahmed has become the reincarnation of Miguel de Cervantes’ 16th century masterpiece Don Quixote. Don Quixote is the story of a man by the name of Alonso Quixano who has read so many books on the knights of the Middle Ages and eventually started to believe he is a real knight.
Convinced of his Knighthood, he christened himself with a new name (Don Quixote de la Mancha), wore a rusty suit of armor, and recruited a poor peasant (Sancho Panza) to be his arms bearer. Sancho Panza volunteered for the job hoping that his new master would reward him with an island of his own to rule. Together they started an expedition in search of an epic adventure to fulfill the Master’s rite of passage to Knighthood.
The Master’s quest of validation for Knighthood made him do things that are out of the ordinary, in the foolhardiest sense of the term. For example, he fought with a windmill believing it was a giant and married a poor peasant girl that he mistook for a princess. This, in a nutshell, is the story of Don Quixote.
The story of Sancho Panza is just as disheartening. One thing that most literary commentators agree on is that he is a delusional sidekick of his Master in the most authentic and down-to-earth sense of the term “useful idiot”. As much as Don Quixote wanted to be an absolute Knight, Sancho Panza wanted to assume the role of an absolute squire.
After following Don Quixote for some time, Sancho Panza started to realize his master’s foolishness. Eventually he came to grips with the fact that his master’s quest for Knighthood was leading them into a string of frivolous escapades. But by that time, he has become obsessed with his master and has reached a point of no return. He continued to serve him both to quench his curiosity and honor his misguided loyalty.
Abiy Ahmed believes he is anointed by God to guide Ethiopians navigate through a safe passage to the promised land. In his mind he is akin to Moses who stretched out his hand and ordered the waters of the Red Sea to divide into two parts to allow the Israelites to cross to the Holy Land.
As the French flagship newspaper Le Monde noted, Abiy is building an opulent palace glamoured up with a waterfall, three artificial lakes, a zoo, and luxury villas rivaling Dubai. It is “pharaonic taken by delusions of grandeur,” as Le Monde noted.
He is building a Naval force for a landlocked Ethiopia and delusionally claims seaports of neighboring nations. Ethiopia has neither legal grounds nor military power to annex a seaport from Eritrea or Somalia. His MOU with Somaliland was a testimony for his idiocy and ignorance of geopolitics. It is energized by a delusional conviction of quixotic proportion.
Just this week his Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a botched press release (botched in language and substance) that seems to threaten Egypt for providing weapons to Somalia.
The Boy King does not understand Ethiopia has neither the power nor the leverage to be a regional player. He has himself to blame. He has eroded the nation’s military capabilities appointing a Sancho Panza as a Field Marshal, used it as his personal imperial guard and alienated his government from the population. If he could not decisively win against TPLF or Fano or OLA (aka Oromo-Shene), he must be delusional to threaten Egypt.
His futile strategy is to win the support of Ethiopians. The way I see it, he is a far more existential threat to Ethiopia than Egypt or Somalia. Ethiopians will be stupid to play the role of Sancho Panza de la Mancha for the psychopathic Don Quixote wannabe. Let him get his coteries of Sancho Panzas, including the Field Marshal, the Muaz (the Ethiopian Mulah) and Professor Al of El Panza California.
“Abiy Ahmed believes he is anointed by God to guide Ethiopians navigate through a safe passage to the promised land. …”
Call for consistency.
This is the kind of confused thinking that forced Lij Tedla to name the late Dr. Dereje’s thinking bipolar or schizophrenic. Dr. Dereje claimed that the Amhara (along with their Tigrayan brethren) had oppressively ruled Ethiopia while at the same time claiming that there was no such thing as an Amhara people. He also claimed that Ethiopians of yesterday had higher ideals, a sophisticated value system and an ethical civilization and yet he also considered the Derg’s destructive overthrow of the same politico-religious system as the best thing that ever happened to Ethiopia (a giant leap forward). Self-contradictory, and conflicting views on the same topic by the same person.
Dr. Yonas had exposed in detail the underpinnings of the political Oromumma project that Abiy Ahmed subscribes to: a project to destroy/consume other identities in favor of forming a grand monolithic Oromo republic. When Abiy Ahmed is taking steps consistent with the destruction of non-Oromo (now including Somalis) to facilitate the Oromumma project, Dr. Yonas laments that this foolhardy step will hurt Ethiopia. Well, Oromumma did not set out to benefit Ethiopia. Its adherents clearly stated that they will disintegrate and dismantle Ethiopia. Which of Abiy Amhed’s actions is inconsistent with this objective of Oromumma?
Recognition of Somaliland?
The upcoming war to be fought on the Somali Killil (considered as home to an age-old rival of the Oromo) that would obliterate the Ogadeni people?
Invitation of Egypt and other Islamic states into the fray?
Using the war as excuse to silence his internal opposition?
Using the war as a convenient pretext to loot the nation (እናት ሀገርን ለማዳን mewacho)
Dr. Yonas said,
“Abiy Ahmed believes he is anointed by God to guide Ethiopians navigate through a safe passage to the promised land.”
He would have been more consistent with his own thinking and his Oromumma expose had he said instead,
“Abiy Ahmed believes he is anointed by Oromumma to guide the Oromo navigate through hell to the promised land.”
The truth is that Abiy Ahmed is on a Jihadist journey to be the first ruling Sultan of a giant Islamic State of Oromia.
His goal is to transport his Oromumma subjects into this dreamland and any unwilling neighbors into oblivion. His strategies and actions are consistent with this objective.
Now I want to say a word or two about those who are celebrating Egypt’s alleged move in Somalia and its thinly veiled declaration of war on the in the innocent black folks of Ethiopia. Shame on you! Some of you are home grown and certified bigots who are gripped with avowed hatred for Oromos, Amharas and Tigres. You throw around pejorative and profane words like candies. Some of you might have born in Ethiopia but now hold a different citizenship. What distinguish you from other bigots is you rest the blame on the leaders of the old country and tell us it deserves the reckless saber rattling by e-Sisi and his thugs. I don’t think you are doing this with the blessing from Brother Isaias. He knows the real motive of Egyptian leaders throughout their modern history. He knows very well that in their eyes he is just another abid(a nigger) just as how they see any other Ethiopian. If you doubt me you should watch this video of his past speech:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OrX2Px2EC1Y
He did not mince his words. So if you are dancing to the tune of el-Sisi and his death squad, you are dancing shamelessly alone. But you should know one fact etched in the stones of our glorious history. Those that raised their hands on the old country all meet their fate in the most humiliating ways. Crispi was dragged out of the office in 1896 like a disgraced thief. Mussolini did not meet his final fate posing up but hanging down like a pelt of an otter just hunted down in the fur trade. Siad Barre was beaten and chased out of his country as if he was caught robbing a bank in the Old West and died on a dirty sheet in a hospital built for the homeless in Lagos, Nigeria. Nasser in his final days used to look like that disheveled homeless wino from the streets of LA, Chicago or New York and suddenly suffocated to death of diabetes he got from gobbling down too much sugary carb. Not a different fate awaits that Halawa drunk rabid dog el-Sisi if he dares to do something ‘funny’ to the those innocent black folks whose only ‘crime’ is their working hard to take themselves out of darkness without taking away the share of water from the Blue Nile River of their historical neighbors near and afar.
Okay bigots and connivers! Keep on wiggling your hips because that may be your last chance dancing!!! Mark my word for it!!!
The Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs of Libya is from the UN and internationally recognized government based in the capital Tripoli. His government has the same problem Ethiopia now has with the sugar drunk el-Sisi. Egypt has been funding and arming the junta general based in Benghazi. The general has been laying siege on Tripoli for years now. Egypt’s motive is mainly economic in el-Sis’s grand plan to dip his sticky fingers in Libya’s vast oil wealth and his undying plan to be the leader of the Arab world and Africa he inherited from his predecessors. The democratically elected governance in Tripoli does not sit well with the junta that came to power in Cairo by a coup in 2013. The UN Human Rights Council’s rap sheet on el-Sisi and his gang is long. The is why el-Sisi found a perfect marriage with the Siad Barre wannabes at Villa Mogadishu.
Just imagine the pomposity that has been ravaging the Egyptian leadership since Nasser. You wanna be a field marshal? All you have to do is pick up the best looking army uniform dazzled with glittering embellishment and bingo, you are a field marshal. All what you know about battles is from watching The Bridge at Remagen and The Guns of Navarone. Now you know where he learned how to execute his own men. Then when you have the urge to be the president of the country, all you have to do is toss away your newly acquired field marshal uniform and in an instant you are a civilian and no one would dare to call you a field marshal anymore. If you do, a long knife or if you are lucky, a slammer is waiting for you. That is el-Sisi. Field Marshal! My foot!!!
There should not be celebrations, but unfortunately for the country any time this Dr. Abie clown has his complete ignorance of foreign relationships and diplomacy, his reckless, aggressive, unjustified delusions of grandeur and power tripping come crushing down on his face, it’s a victory for the people. He “manifested” a port in Somaliland, disregarding all global treaties by insinuating he could take this land by force…and then to his majore suprize he finds out that “oh Somalia got support from Egypt and Turkey, while I beg the IMF for a loan to buy mamy more war toys that kill civilians (an international war crime) to finally loose from Fano.
He is.been taking L’s left n right and anything that weakens his rule is a win for the people, but alhamdulilah we have Mr. Ittu Aba Farta to entertain is with his nonstop trolling.