Following the political reform of the nation, several political activists have come to Ethiopia to contribute their share in building the new Ethiopia. Obang Metho who is the founder and Executive Director of Solidarity Movement for a New Ethiopia is the one among those human right activists.
Humanity before ethnicity is one of the core values of Obang.
Lately, The Ethiopian Herald had a chance to spend some minutes with Obang to have his reflection on the current political issues of Ethiopia.
Ethiopian problem is not a one way problem. It is a systemic problem that needs a systematic approach, says Obang.
All the problems that had Obang Metho, the founder and Executive Director of Solidarity Movement for a New Ethiopiabeen observed in the nation are resulted from lack of critical thinking. “To tackle those systematic problems, we should apply systematic approach.”
Concerning dialogue, Obang said: “We are found in the 21st century. Barrel of guns are not solution for differences. What we need is a dialogue. We should use our knowledge to convince others. Lack of dialogue has costs us a lot. We are harvesting what we saw within the last two decades. The concept of prioritizing ethnic based issues has created a problem.”
Ethnio-Nationalism has grown to its maximum point. Failure to address the problem will cost the country a lot. The killing of senior government officials and internal displacement are part of the problem. The nation has lost its chief of Army. It is a great loss.
Humanity before ethnicity should be the core value of every citizen. No single ethnic group will be free until all are free.
Most animals can walk immediately after they were born. But it is not possible to human kinds. Humans take time till they get strong. That is a good indication for Ethiopians to respect and love among each other.
Concerning unity, Obang said, what unified Ethiopia is not skin color. It is not language, religion or region. “But the land- what we call Ethiopia. Eating, drinking coffee together and other cultural practices are the manifestations of our unity.”
Ethnic identity was not a problem for long. But some politicians have used it for their own agenda. Ethiopians have accustomed to live in tolerance. When it is said unity, one should not forget those millions of Ethiopians who live with intermixed culture. What is more, the 1960s students’ movement was not for the sake of particular tribal group but for one Ethiopia. They were fighting for ‘Land to the Tiller’ not land for a particular group.
For more than two decades the concept of unity had been used as a tool to create enmity instead of unity. So, this kind of critical problem needs critical and radical solution. Ethiopianism is the core value of our identity.
“We Ethiopians may have different religion or culture but, we share same blood and same destiny.”
Reconciliation within the nation, as to him, is one important factor to build strong democratic system. Human kinds are born in a way to depend on each other.
“I see Ethiopia like a vehicle. The car is made up of different parts. Without those engine parts the car cannot perform its function properly. For a car to run properly it needs the proper functioning of those independent parts. All the systems have to work in coherence. Likewise, Ethiopia is composed of different peoples. Those one hundred million people are Ethiopia and these peoples have to work in coherence.”
For the last several years, Ethiopia had good car but bad drivers. When the first driver passed away, the second driver took the steering wheel. And now, Dr. Abiy has come into scene. Having good car cannot guarantee arriving to the destination. “We need to have common goal.”
Dr. Abiy, is a good driver. But, the nation needs a radical measure. Institutional, the constitutional reform, ethnic based political system needs solution.
“The nation needs independent institution. It needs independent media, army, education system, security and others.”
In his conclusion, Obang has stressed that Ethiopians should learn a lot from the Syrians, the Libyans, and the Yemeni people or from the experience of Rwanda. We should develop the culture of tolerance and dialogue.
The Ethiopian Herald July 10/2019
BY LEULSEGED WORKU
