Abiy Ahmed: A Leader Who Dashed Ethiopians’ Hopes for Democracy

Two years ago, Abiy Ahmed, the Ethiopian prime minster, was not where he is today. In a country that has been divided along ethnic, political, and religious fault-lines, he miraculously received the support of overwhelming majority of Ethiopians.

The world leaders didn’t take time to heep praises on Abiy. They gave him the money he badly needed to pay salaries. Some cancelled foreign debts the country owes, and others postponed them.

The reason behind the unconditional support for Prime Minster Abiy Ahmed was the hope that he would transform the country that has known nothing in history but dictatorship, civil war, and poverty into democracy. The hope, in Ethiopia and around the world alike, was that he would turn around the country that was on the verge of collapse and write a new chapter. The expectation was too high.

However, the hopes the world placed on Abiy two years ago do not exist today. Arbitrary arrests, killings, and disappearances of political leaders and journalists are common practices. Government’s unconstitutional postponement of the national elections under the pretext of COVID-19 pandemic dashed the hopes of Ethiopians who expected a real change.

Opposition parties and even many in his own political party suspect Abiy of trying to reincarnate the old feudal system that defines Ethiopian history, the system that prompted the student movement of the 1960s and rebel movements thereafter which succeeded in overthrowing the governments of King Hailesillasie and Mengistu Hailemariam respectively.

Abiy Ahmed’s biggest sin is not only that he admires past kings who embody all kinds of injustices. To many people’s surprise, he erected statues for them at the National Palace. Abiy Ahmed’s opponents also accuse him of promoting anti-multinational federal narratives in his speeches. More than once, he openly condemned the very nationalism that brought him to power.

Abiy is now facing the fiercest opposition in Oromia, the biggest federal state in the country. The protests that has erupted in Oromia and Addis Ababa following the assassination of Haacaaluu Hindeessaa, a singer and activist, has widened the crack between his government and the people. The protesters are pointing their fingers at the government for the killing of the singer who inspired millions of people in Ethiopia.

The protests are weakening the already weak economy. The prices of food items in Addis Ababa and other major cities have more than doubled following the “stay-home” and “market boycott” campaigns by the Qeerroos, the young people in Oromia. Fuel depots and storages are critically low.

Abiy has tried all his best to control the ever growing protests against his government. The country is already under state of emergency due to COVID-19. He deployed all security apparatuses including the military, federal and local police, and militias. But all these don’t seem to control the situation!

11 Comments

  1. Dd says:

    This post is not rational rather it is judgmental!

    Like

    1. Kalid says:

      There are more that could be Said about in ability og Abiy Ahmed to lead the country, but the author made his point. Every argument can be supported by further evidence. I thank the auther for his effort.

      Like

    2. Jamel says:

      The post is revealed a small part of FACT! Abiy Ahmed was a killer of old regime. He never give up his habit of killing and jailing innocent Oromo people like Hachalu Hundessa.

      He has to stand up in front of ICC. He’s the worst leader in the history of Ethiopia. Actually, he came to power with false promise and hidden his identity as Oromo but the truth is to hide his identity he killed his step father according some sources.

      His talk and action is very different! World has to stop this massacre of Oromo people and unjustified oppression against Oromo people and political leaders.

      Like

    3. Sal says:

      Yes, he did dash the hope. Its fact on the ground. Things are fairly judged by the reality on the ground.

      Like

  2. Robale says:

    Abiy Ahmed is a killer ever I seen in my life .Abiy must go Oromo shall be free.

    Like

  3. Yohannes Girma says:

    Abiy Ahimed is the man that betrayed the Oromo people that brought him to power and his forces began detaining, torturing, raping, killing, displacing and burning Oromos property so far
    .

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  4. Kiber says:

    Thank you for exposing the dictatorship of Abiy Ahmed & his betrayal of the Oromo people . Yes he came with false promise and hidden agenda to massacre more than 300 innocent Oromo youths just with in 3 days. Abiy Ahmed bleed the heart of the 50million Oromo people
    1st by killing their iconic singer and activist Hachalu Hundesa by one of his Republican guard called Yamirot Kemal.
    Abiy Ahmed doesn’t arrest Yamirot instead blame on Oromo people, which bleed Oromo for the 2nd time.
    3rd arrested thousands of prominent opposition political party leaders including #JawarMohamed &#BekeleGerba. Now millions of Oromos are burning inside and asking for justice
    Indeed #AbiyMustGo
    #JusticeforHachalu

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  5. Abel says:

    we thank you for exposing the dictator. He has killed a dozen of higher officials and arrested all other opposition political leaders in the pretext of death of Hachalu Hundessa. He killed Hacchalu untimely during this peak Covid_19 expansion, which inturn would add thousands of citizens. very sad . We only had such a dictator 29 years ago (Mengistu Hailemariam)

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  6. Jateni Gutema says:

    Abiy Ahmed is a killer ever I seen in my life .Abiy must go Oromo shall be free.

    Like

  7. Ka says:

    The thing you wrote on the article is totally false including the people died in the oromia region is because of their racism and killed each other other and people that belong to other places and they do this whole things by the command of the oromo activists not by dr abiy ahmed so check the reality before posting this article here.

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  8. Jafar says:

    Abiya Ahmad, a dishonest Ethiopian dictator, is experimenting with a failed ideology to destroy Oromos, who wants a federal system genocide to take place in the state of Oromia in Ethiopia. He kills Oromos, and he imprisoned them for asking freedom.

    Like

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