BY MENGISTEAB TESHOME
The role and responsibility every citizen can play in building a peaceful and stable nation is incalculable. Nation building is all about the engagements and efforts of every citizen regardless of any differences; be it ethnic, culture, religion, socioeconomic, geographic or any other backgrounds.
History is full of documents and behind every successful and great nation; there is the contribution of every citizen to it. Especially, the roles and responsibilities of the elites and the young generation are usually huge in strengthening social cohesion, reinforcing unity, influencing public opinion, accelerating economic prosperity and political stability.
According to Habtamu Girma, PhD student at the Department of Economics, University of Ibadan, Nigeria, Ethiopians should resolve their differences in a peaceful manner for the common good of all. In this regard, the role of the elites and youth in nation building is enormous.
In his e-mail response to The Ethiopian Herald regarding how Ethiopians should handle differences and the role of the elites and young people in nation building, he said Ethiopians should have to properly understand the challenges and create a path towards political dialogues and reconciliation which is instrumental to build a peaceful and stable nation.
“Let us not forget about our shared values. The United States (USA) is a great example. After taking their independence in the 18th century, the Americans needed a philosophy to bring all their diverse communities. Great American personalities, like Benjamin Franklin, were at the forefront of this great search. They came up with the idea of the genesis of the individual as the pillar of American political and economic order, a philosophy that endures to this day.”
In countries like Ethiopia with diverse linguistic, cultural and religious values, devising a commonly shared value presupposes all political and economic agendas. It will not only unite people as one; but also becomes the source of strong institutions that mold the economy and politics of the country.
Ethiopians can learn a lot from the genesis of the Western countries, which integrated those values that founded the type of democratic and healthy economic situations of today. This is a task for academicians, particularly social scientists and economists. Likewise, political groups have to contribute their part. But the biggest share will have to be played by the youth, without whom any change is impossible.
State building is all about geographic integration and a shared system of bureaucratic governance. Nation building on the other hand is integration of diverse interests, value systems, identities, cultures, religious and belief systems. In the Ethiopian context, the task of nation building has been either belittled or ignored altogether. Therefore, there has not been a shared value system among the wider populace. That is why polarized rhetoric dominates political discourses, risking the prospect of our togetherness under one flag, and establishing the Ethiopian state.
For Ethiopia, no way is as best as federal system. the nation building process should address diverse identities on virtues of ethno-linguistics, cultural, religious and belief systems, among others. Any attempt in the realm of nation building process should do away with tools of state building, which integrates coercive moves with elements of negotiation.
As to him, as the process of nation building should give due regard to represent our differences, so does respect our shared elements that we have developed in plus century years of our togetherness. is able and willing to entertain all voices and identities of communities across all corners. In the process of building a nation, this generation has a historic responsibility of devising a shared value system that subsequent generations would further enrich it.
In this regard, the elite groups were engaged in keeping on provoking the good hope of the ongoing political reform in the country. Those elites are misinforming people and communities in the periphery (of political participation in the past) of the country, referred as emerging regions, on the ‘dangers they would face following the merger of EPRDF.
“Look, this is the 21st century, and today it is not land; but it is idea the most valuable resource. Let’s cope up with our time. The limit of horizon is the limit of our civilization. Let’s think big; and achieve big” The Ethiopian youth has to learn how systematic some of the elite groups are in using them to serve their ends. This message especially goes to those who are actively using social media as a major source of information.
Essentially, people shape their outlooks. And it is their outlooks that control their stand on any aspect of life. The way people took a stand in turn determines the quality of their judgments. Hence, to shape the decision making behavior of people, what it takes is to manipulate their perception, he further added. In Ethiopia, some political elites have been implementing their vested agenda by distorting the perceptions of the people on the ventures of politics. They have used various means and tools to achieve that.
Nowadays, they are using ‘political activists’ as their means and the social media their tools. That is manifested in the way political activists behave on social media: disseminating fake news; distorting information; misinforming the public; distorting realities on political happenings; and/or how activists try to let the public wrongly understand the political personality of their political leaders/government officials. The way our elites distorted the fabric of decision making by the wider public is upsetting the peace and lives of ordinary Ethiopians.
“The dire consequence in distorting decision making behavior of the Ethiopian populace on political businesses is as Albert Einstein once said: “If you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid,” he said
The wider Ethiopian has to understand that whatever the actions by the elite group, they have to think twice before adhering to calls or taking agendas. Ethiopian people have to filter information from media groups owned by these elite groups lest it be divisive and harm their peace.
Finally, the Ethiopian elites have to remember (understand) that call for unity doesn’t mean call for unitary state. But, the elite group often mischief the populace to serve their own ego (in many instances to seize political power to satisfy not popular causes but own agenda). If that is the target, how can we build a prosperous Ethiopia, he enquired.
The political elites have to know that everyone reaps own harvest. There is no political agenda that would be resolved by causing harms. Preserving peace pays for all! Those who try to take political profit out of these obsolete, if not, satanic moves are paving their way for total extermination. The political satire would culminate and, in the end, Ethiopian state with diverse makeups of its people will thrive, he concluded.
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD THURSDAY 20 APRIL 2023
