The change drive that was tested at various times to suffer setbacks is gathering momentum , pulling down roots and pacing quietly along its envisaged long avenue in present day Ethiopia
The rockiness of the long march has rather become a source of strength and perseverance. A reform march is a march that is born out of renewal and rejuvenation. Reform is not something that starts and ends in personalities that underwent reform rather it is a process that presupposes marching forward fine-tuning oneself with the continuous thrust towards change. It marks a special chapter in social history.
Effectiveness is achieved through internalizing the need for change, active involvement in the change process and willingness to ever take lessons from the evolutionary strides of change. Also if it is possible to distance oneself from the conceit of taking oneself perfect and the repercussion the folly entails.
The mentality of change necessitates fully breaking away from outmoded and backward mindset imbued by new and forward looking views. It obligates the sinking in of the necessity of change. That is the deepening of awareness that emboldens the agents of change. It is making oneself ready to embrace outlooks and concepts of change. It is not overplaying the old songs of yesterday. Nor is it reenacting yesterday’s actions as if they were new. Today is a new chapter in all aspects. What ties today with yesterday is its inability not to stand by its own.
Against this backdrop, members of different generations did try to play a midwifery role to own proposal of change that squares with their respective era. Unfortunately, they had sacrificed their lives as the unsuccessful. Here, it is possible to see the change drive of citizens starting from the late fifties and sacrifices made in a bid to translate the change drive. These drives of change of different generations were boycotted by those tied by the apron strings of yesterdays and that did not have a true grasp of the idea of change. Such individuals lecture about change blind to their hangover to the past. Seizing troubled water being created they want to grab the rein of power to meet their gluttonous ends .As a nation, we could not draw a lesson from recurring yesterdays that forced us pay heavily .Armed with the knowledge of such yesterdays as we cannot surmount yesterday, we are still wallowing in the quagmire of yesterdays that cast a shadow of hopelessness on days down the road. Pinning for today yet tangibly stripped of today we trek forward remorsefully counting lost chances. Sadly, our political life and our politicians profile are circumscribed by such vicious cycles. This makes things worse.
As we can understand from world history and what practically took effect the virtue of politicians who afforded their society a leap from a historic chapter to a higher one resides in their caliber to fathom yesterday, and to shape tomorrow as per today’s drive of change. The act of liberating themselves from yesterday and allowing society to follow suit demonstrates their virtue. When we come to our politicians, locked in the doldrums of yesterday, they had been rendering opportune eras of reform futile.In the 21 century turning the clock of history back to the era that characterizes the rivalry of kings for central power they are seen hankering the citadel of power cannon foddering innocent citizens. They dream of unseating the federal government. They cannot exactly tell the discrepancy between the political outlooks of then and now. Still they cannot outgrow the mentality that power is the source of everything. They entertain a belief that power is alpha and omega. It is for no other reason that this they besot for power.
Though pretentious politicians are physically present they are mentally absent as their mentality is not in vogue. Nostalgic of the past they are seen continuously making a frantic bid to poison today chanting verses of by gone days. The heists of opportunities had been robbing many todays of generations on the time line. As such they have been making generation hopeless seekers of better tomorrow. They could not make citizens to lead a much-needed and freedom-packed political life even after huge sacrifices of lives.
At this juncture it is appropriate to mention the phony politicians that took refuge in Mekele soon after the reform shuddered by the retribution that awaits their heinous deeds.
With the spirit of “It is our turn to sponge on nation’s wealth and to run amok” they did make victories achieved through heavy sacrifices go off the track. In so doing they had made the sacrifices made for freedom fruitless at the same time stripping off combatants’ role of liberators.
Similarly, many are those who want to come to power creating a mess. Shamefully, imbuing the sentiment of hatred among credulous citizens is atop their strategy of political struggle. This tells how they have failed to emerge out of the past. But this strategy could serve them as a temporary fortress but not an everlasting palace as world history practically demonstrated. The time is due the finger counted phony and evil settle the bill and reap the wild oats they sowed.
Unrepentant and wily they are out yet for another political prank. The mentality of destruction that percolated down from the past mistakes cannot efface mistakes. It rather courts trouble. That is why they must be denied such a chance.
The Ethiopian Herald Sunday Edition 7 / 2020
