(Mohamed Olad)
Jamar Mohamed et al constantly makes bizarre statements about the current political system and the enduring federal system in which all nations, nationalities and peoples coexist peacefully and are in journey to transform this country collectively. But he has got an outsized media attention for his dangerous, divisive and bigoted political rhetoric that has no substance and detached from reality.
A good example of his out of touch sensibilities about the current political environment is his declaration that Ethiopia will implode ‘of conflict, popular uprising and something that looks like the Syrian situation’ right after the death of the late premier, Meles Zenawi. Though he cannot be far from reality, it is not a surprise for people like him in the Diaspora opposition activists. He was consciously wishing for the Ethiopian people to live in misery just like that of the Syrians. To be honest, I don’t any darker place one can go from there.
Even though he constantly brags about his Ivy League education, it seems that he didn’t pick up the sensibilities that a modern, civilized society believes in terms dialogue and dignity for human life. However, advanced education can never give you a conscience if you have some other heinous agenda rather than genuine political activism.
During this overexposure to media and political activism he has shown a form of ethnic-centric nationalism that went awry with some creepy religious twist. He became a media mania to fuel his ambition for power and sees the millions of Oromo youngsters as merely his weapons by mobilizing them in social media and other platforms. He has no problem in sacrificing these innocent youngsters for his political agenda.
This fella uses media outlets like the hate spewing Oromo Media Network (OMN) as a tool to advance his Machiavellian tactics. As revealed by all accounts of his writings, media appearances as well as public engagements, he is just a new voice for the obsolete agenda of the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) that has been overwhelmingly rejected by the Oromo people. He espouses ideas that are in line with that of the OLF. He embraces ideas that have been long debunked the last of which was twenty five years ago.
Advocating for political and socioeconomic reforms that will help and uplift millions of Ethiopians regardless of ethnicity is one thing; fomenting chauvinistic and hatful propaganda against others is another. We have seen a microcosm of what he is championing in the recent deaths of countless young countrymen from clashes with security forces and the recent displacement of innocent people from their homes form ethnic violence in North West Amhara Regional state.
Jawar Mohammed is a hate spewing delusional megalomaniac that doesn’t care about Oromos. Don’t get fooled my friends! No one can sell a platform of ethnic dominance under the pretext of correcting historic grievances like that of the so-called OLF. In contrast, the current system ensures the diversity and autonomy for everyone’s culture, language and self-governance. Any different system is unacceptable to the different Nations, Nationalities and Peoples of Ethiopia.
More importantly, no other nation has benefited more from the current regime than the Oromo nation in terms of infrastructure, economic and social development. Just look at the sprawling urban centers in Oromia including Addis, or the mega projects like factories, universities, hospitals not to mention the enormous human capital as a result of the hundreds of thousands who are either enrolled or graduated from the higher education system or may be look at the sprawling civil service across the region busy on delivering basic social services right up to this minute.
With regards to me, I have nothing against the Oromo people. I have many Oromo friends that I love and respect. I also support any legitimate reforms that will not only help Oromo people but all people. But what people like Jawar Mohammed stands for is something different. He calls and wishes for more death and distraction in which nothing good can come off.
All he has to say is just cry fool and say Oromo is the largest ethnic group, the largest state and so forth. He has no substance beyond that ethnic politics. But the question I will like to ask him and everybody who stands with him is how do you define minority and majority? Do you just take the nominal ethnic numbers? Do you just advocate that someone of ethnic Oromo should rule just because they are the majority ethnic group?
Unfortunately, if somebody thinks that only someone from a certain ethnic group is entitled to rule, they really need democracy 101! You rule by bringing on the table a political program that will appeal to the majority of the people as a nation no matter what ethnic group they are. Just make sure you have a flawless political agenda that builds big enough tent to be a majority.
Stanford educated Jawar of all people should know that. These kinds of arguments just sound chauvinistic and racist. It is like saying President Obama should not be a president because he is black and whites should rule because they are the majority. It is the majority view that should rule in a democracy, not the identity.
For that matter, whether we like it or not, EPRDF has got a political program that appealed enough Oromo, Amhara, Somali and so forth to claim majority opinion.
To set the record, the public discourse has got so poisoned that you cannot pass an opinion without being casted an agent of the state or called names. So, for those of you, I am self-sustaining entrepreneur in the based in the United States and it will be better if we just try to focus on the merits of the argument rather than making it personal.
It is also hardly surprising that people who see Jawar Mohammed as a savior have no much to offer rather than mudslinging, insult and racial hatred. After all he is the guy who viciously insulted the Ethiopian Somali Regional State President Abdi Mohamud Omar for his showing of solidarity with the people displaced in the latest ethnic violence in North Western Amhara State with the donation of ten million Br.
But, what I am trying here is to talk to and reason with the patriot Ethiopian who is trying to make sense of things amid all the craziness going around at this crucial juncture as its incumbent on all of us to be vigilant of any force that will result in regression and lead us to dark places.
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Editor’s Note; Mohamed Olad is the Managing Editor of Jigjigaherald.com. He is a Commentator and Writer whose works have appeared on different media publications. He was a former Faculty Fellow at Jig-Jiga University. Now he as an entrepreneur based in the United States. He can be reached at [email protected]
መግደል ሃጥያት ባይሆን ኖሮ መግደል አንተን ነበር እኛ በክርስቶስ ክርስቲያን ስለሆንን በመሞት ይቅር የማለት ልብ ተሰጥቶናል ያልበሰልክ እንጭጭ እንደሆንክ ፍርጋጤክ በደንብ ይናገራል ተፈራገጥ የተሻለ ታሪክ የሰሩ ኦሮሞ በተወለደበት መሀፀን መወለድህ ግን ያሳፍራል አንተ የታሪክ ደሃ ሺ ጊዜ ቢሊየነር ብት ብትሆን ዓለምን እየተመላለስክ አትኖርባትም ታሪክ አጥና የሚኒሊክ ሚስት ማን እንደሆነች ጮማ ራስ ሞትህ ያፋጥነው መድሃኒያለም አንተንና መሰሎችህን ጅው ያድርጋቸሁ በአንድ ጀንበር አንተ ደደብ ለካ ትምህርት ቤት አገቡ ልክ መሃይምነትን መላቀቅ የለምና አንተ የተማረ መሃይም
Ethiopia is resilient state that cannot be undone by Jawar or anybody else.
Harold G. Marcus in his book “A history of Ethiopia” says the following:
“As I watched the intellectual mayhem and continued an analytical truth validating my decision to consider Ethiopia’s wider geographic limits as my canvas fro time to time, the nation had disintegrated into component parts, but it never disappeared as an idea and always reappeared in fact.”
Wherever it comes from, from a tiny states like Eritrea or bigger force like Egypt or any state across the Red Sea, Ethiopia will never disintegrate and disappear. Whatever is happening right now will give way to renewed national unity provided it is handled with a vision free from selfish motives.
Pesrsonally, I do not agree with some of the points suggested in the article above. Instead, I suggest that we UPHOLD THE CONSTITUTION. The constitution, no matter how it was drafted and approved, it is a document on which all parties claiming to have stake in the future of the country can agree on to use as a working document for the future. Amending it to deal with emerging problems of the country can be delayed for now.
Most people who reject the constitution have not read it or only know about specific provisions they do not approve. My suggestion is to READ it and re-READ it looking for all its positive elements such as respect of democratic and human rights. If an agreement can be reached to use it by all who claim to be stake holders (including the opposition and the government) as a working document, there will be no need for a transitional government which will be filled by ethnic groups or even a transition.
If ther constitution is upheld by all parties, a new government can successfully take office from the exisitng government via election. The exisiting government should continue until the next election which is three years from now while talking to different stake holders and giving assurance both to the international community and the opposition that the next election will be truly free and fair. If that is done, the good works that were done by the exisitng government can be continued on and people will not lose their livelihood to irrisponsible acts of protesters. Governments – both federal and regional – will have to stay in office until the next election and enforce law and order including the state of emergencey. Without keeping the existing governments, there will be no law and order and the future usurped by armed gangs.
If movements like the OLF that declared an all out war on regional and federal governments in general and the non-Oromo people in particular with intent to separate Oromia from Ethiopia persists, then the governments – both regioanl and federal – are justified to protect the territorial integrity of the country. Self-determination is a right guaranteed by the constitution which can only be pursued by constitutional means.
Eliminating movements working to dismember an exisitng state under the guise of self-determination is legal under international law including UN and AU charters. The right to self-determination is still secondary to ensuring territorial integrity of a state which international law considers sacrosanct. Long pracitices of the international community show that a state that fails to keep their constitutent parts (district, province, region, state, etc.) are not upto expectations of the community. It is something the community disapproves of – though without openly stating it.
Here is an example. The recent defeat of Tamil Tigers who fought for decades to separate Tamil from Sri Lanka was not condemned by the international community. The only concern raised by some states relates to violation of Geneva conventions relating the conduct of war and lack of respect of fundamental rights during the war. Simply said, use of force to stamp out separatisits war is a regular state duty supported by the international community which no one should be afraid to talk about. The message is to OLF (Jawar and co. too) who lately talks about going it alone by marshalling their own army and introducing charter. What’s surprising is the talk about Oromia being a colony hoping that rules pertaining to keeping territorial integrity does not apply to Oromia. OLF (Jawar too) cannot convince anyone on this issue.
If, by some miracle OLF (with Jawar and co.) separate Oromia from Ethiopia, it does not mean Oromia will be a state in the real sense of the term. It simply means one chapter is closed and another opened. Once Oromia is separate Ethiopia will be cut into its regions to the west, north, north-east, east-east on one side and its regions to the South on the other. After the separation, the west, north, north-east and east-east regions will be successors of the present Ethiopian state that includes Oromia. These regions are Binshagul- Gumuz, Tigray, Amara, Harar, Afar and Somali regions. Gambella and the South will be cut by Oromia to the south to form part of the new Ethiopian successor state to the north. With this fact on the ground, a new struggle begins.
Without the recogntion of thenew successor Ethiopian state Oromia will not stand as an indepenedent state among the family of nations. Ethiopia and Sudan recognized Eritrea and South Sudan respectively to let them emerge as new states without which the latter would have remained as Puntland in Somalia. Despite de facto independence for over twenty years, the international community has denied de jure existence of puntland simply because recognition has to come from a state in Somalia. In fact, even if weak, lack of recognition of Puntland as an independent state by the exisiting governemnt in Somalia has effectively stopped Somalia’s disintegration.
Like the government in Somalia, the new government in the Ethiopian state that succeeds after the separation of Oromia will stop Oromia from emerging as a state. This is for OLF (and Jawar) who claim to lead the Oromo to indepnendence. The future is rough than you might think.
You guys are high on something!
Jawar, indeed, is a hate mongering fanatic who at the same time wages war though his thugs at the same time claims their are killed. I hope those involved int he unimaginable destruction of life and property will get their due. For sure, peace will resurface on your faces.
I think everywhere in the world people can exist only being relying on facts. Ethiopia nation, & nationalities is not only Oromo, the oromos anti-peace groups have no clear objective of their aspiration and the way they what is absolutely irrational and unacceptable. Oromo has long term expansion strategies to the territories of Ethio-somali region to get root with international borders and seaport, oromo people is known racist that no one else can live them. They don’t have political agenda & long term vision, simple Oromism based hate, chauvinism and terrorist. Oromo are displacing everyday people of Ethio-Somali origin who are hundreds of years in oromo region around majara, Bel-belay, Galamso. We are resettling every day in Ethio-somali region, oromo rejected this people to bring their livestock’s to Somali region and to sell their fixed assists and to move their original place Somali region, oromo people is not considering humanity as human being. Oromo is known people who has no heart to resist hardship, look its today when the Ethiopian government declared state of emergency across the country, you will see everything will be stabilized with 2-3 days because this people has no heart to resist, this step is too late for the government. No one will never accept Oromo and Ahmara rule. We know Jawhar Mohamed is receiving millions of US dollors from Egypt and enemy countries to sensitize, advocate, and Mobilize young people of oromo to destabilize the country and promote destructive violence. Nothing beyond this. When number of death of oromo young people increase proportionally the dollar he is receiving from Egypt will also increase. So for him is advantageous the death of poor oromo people.
Mohamed Olad did good job and we have to thank for him
Yes this stupid chicken head Jawar Mohammed is realy empty mind and has no good analysis of politics just power monger and highly immature.
It is not a matter of major or minority to lead the nation it is the talent and courage of its leadership that matters.
The northerners have created kept Ethiopia to exist as a nation
Jawar & OLF on the other hand want to dismantle and sell Ethiopia to others
Jawar this is Ethiopia for the Ethiopians this is not your concern and try to find the origin of your anscestors.
Find your way if someone has to to go you must go back to??? Where you were before migration
People who dine and wine with the regime often talk this trash, even in the somali region where he comes from,they are out of touch with Ethiopia so backward and ignorant,the leaders who manage the somali region have created fear and terror in the people that daily killings happen in Liban region and other parts of kilil 5
Mohammed Olad. It sounds like a Somali name. But the holder of this name does not sound one of the glorious Somali, brothers of the Oromo people. His writings are nothing other than the OPDO, SPDO, etc. who are servants of the Tigre and live on leftovers the Tigre collected from the Somali people he says he is a member of.The Somali, Oromo and other nations in the Ethiopian Empire will soon lynch his masters and I wonder if he bought a house in Mekele for the future. Even if he does that the Oromo people will occupy Tigray soon until they get a pay back with interest of what is looted and destroyed by the Tigryans. Please note the Amharas and all other nationalities are welcome in future Oromiya and Ogadenia. The Tigre leadership and their people plus the surrogates like Mohammed Olad will face justice.
Don’t fool yourself! Jawar is voice of equality and freedom.Systematic repression and fake federalism should come to an end sooner or later.
Bidatam! You got big ineffective mouth and wicked coward heart, and ill oriented, simple and neglible mind. Do you think your trash talk will keep people together? Tel(worm)