By the time of his ascent to power, the new prime minister of Ethiopia Abiy Ahmed was perceived by many Ethiopians as the unifier of a fractured nation, by some even the savior of the country. His populist oratory mesmerized his base and innocent Ethiopians who were yearning for peace and stability. He took sweeping measures some transgressing the constitutional and legislative order with the blessing of global and regional powers notably the USA, UAE and Saudi Arabia that are bankrolling Abiy Ahmed’s populist agenda. There are several examples that showcase his transgressions including pardoning convicted murderers and allowing entities designated as terrorists by the Ethiopian parliament to freely roam in the country without the authorization of the parliament.
The populist group led by Abiy Ahmed found its constituency in a group of people and entities who hate the Tigrey and Somali peoples. The new prime minister is portraying them as the stumbling block to change and the people resisting his “medemer” rhetoric. He is aggressively campaigning to create a wedge between the diffrent ethnicities employing dirty tactics. He is bringing individuals from Tigrey and Somali regional States as Malcolm X would have called them “the house niggers”, to support his narrative of alienating the Tgrey and Somali leaderships. People who have no qualm of furthering Abiy Ahmed’s agenda of splitting the peoples of Ethiopia.
In summary, Abiy’s populist demagogic group is bringing together the worst parts of different views, ideologies and interests. This group will eventually implode from internal conflicts but in the process, it may cause irreversible and significant damages to our country. The events occurring in early August'18 And the EDF invasion of Jigjiga, the Somali regional state capital and the killings of innocent people in Dire Dawa may well prove to be the beginning of what's to come in cities throughout the country.
