Could the Youngest Political Leader In Africa, Abiy Ahmed be the saviour Ethiopia needs?

Ethiopia is Africa’s second-largest country (in terms of population), located in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north and northeast, Djibouti and Somalia to the east, Sudan and South Sudan to the west and Kenya to the south. Some of the oldest skeletal evidence for anatomically modern humans has been found in Ethiopia. Under the rule of previous Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn who recently resigned in response to the fallout from mass protests and unrest in 2016, the country has been in a terrible state, government killings of civilians, restricting access to the Internet, mass arrests, government land seizures, and political marginalization of opposition groups. Hailemariam is the first ruler in modern Ethiopian history to step down; previous leaders have died in office or been overthrown, saying he wants to clear the way for reforms.

Hailemariam confessed “I wanted to bring about reforms… But I was unable to convince other party leaders. We need a new face at the head of the country and new momentum. Discontent amongst Oromos, the largest ethnic group in the country, is very important. As is that of the Amharas. I don’t belong to either of these groups, and my resignation will let my successor calm the people and pursue reforms.

The ruling Ethiopian coalition EPRDF is composed of four political parties, mainly divided along ethnic lines namely, the Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front (TPLF); the Amhara National Democratic Movement (ANDM); the Oromo Peoples’ Democratic Organisation (OPDO); and the Southern Ethiopian People’s Democratic Movement (SEPDM). Hailemariam Desalegn’s successor, Dr. Abiy Ahmed is the new leader of Ethiopia’s Oromo Peoples’ Democratic Organisation (OPDO), OPDO’s 81-member central committee unanimously voted for Dr. Ahmed to replace the previous chairman, Megersa. The Oromo, who make up more than 34 percent of the population, have long complained about political and economic exclusion, they’re also behind nearly three years of anti-government protests that killed hundreds of people. After years of fighting, Dr. Ahmed became the country’s first Oromo Prime Minister.

The three days leading up to 8 August, 2016 at least 90 protesters had been shot and killed by Ethiopian security forces, marking the most violent crackdown against protesters in sub-Saharan Africa since at least 75 people were killed during protests in Ethiopia’s Oromia Region in November and December 2015. According to Human Rights Watch, at least 500 people are estimated to have been killed as of October 2016. – Reuters reported.

We all share the Nile. (The Egyptian Presidency/Handout via Reuters)

Who is Abiy Ahmed?

Dr. Abiy Ahmed is the 41-year-old Ethiopian Prime Minister, making him the youngest leader of a country in Africa in modern history, he was born in Agaro, Jimma Zone of Oromia state. In 2015, he met his wife during his service with the Ethiopian Defence Forces, with whom he has three young daughters. Ahmed received his first degree in Computer Engineering from Microlink Information Technology College in Addis Ababa in 2001, and holds an MA, Transformational Leadership and Change from Merit, Greenwich University, London, in collaboration with International Leadership Institute Addis Ababa in 2011. He founded the Ethiopian Information Network Security Agency (INSA) and served as a board member of Ethio Telecom, Ethiopian TV in 2007. He also briefly served as minister of science and technology in 2016. He holds an MBA (2013) from Ashland Leadstar University and completed his Ph.D. in 2017 from the Institute for Peace and Security Studies at Addis Ababa University.

We have only one option and that is to be united, not only cooperating and helping each other but uniting in order to live together. The other option is to kill each other. However, no sane person will opt for this. So, our option should be to trust one another, heal our wounds together and work together to develop our country. – Mr. Abiy is quoted as saying in October 2017/

What Has He Done Since He Was Elected?

  • Abiy’s administration announced it would loosen its monopoly on several key economic sectors, including aviation and telecoms.
  • He closed prisons, freed prominent opposition leaders and journalists, including Andargachew Tsege, a British citizen who was seized during a stopover in Yemen in 2014, and admitted that the government had tortured citizens. He lifted the state of emergency and bans on opposition media,
  • Abiy met with the president of Egypt Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to establish a relationship with the country who’ve fought over who controls the world’s longest river, Nile.
  • Abiy announced a peace deal to end decades-long border country with Eritrea.
  • Mr. Ahmed visited the Ethiopian diaspora community in Los Angeles and Minnesota (the largest settling Ethiopians outside Ethiopia) on Monday, July 30, after spending the weekend in Washington DC, where he met US Vice President Mike Pence.
  • He organized the first meeting in two years between South Sudanese President Salva Kiir and his bitter rival, Riek Machar, in an effort to end the five-year civil war that has killed thousands, displacing millions.
  • He’s secured foreign backing from countries like France & UAE.

Dr. Abiy Ahmed’s great start doesn’t mean he can do no wrong, going down the memory lane of African leaders we’ve had quite a few who had a lot of ginger to impact change at the early stage of their induction especially early on after the cold war when Africa was reborn, a few leaders like, Yoweri Museveni, he came to power in Uganda after helping overthrow two dictators, Meles Zenawi became Ethiopia’s president after toppling Mengistu Hailemariam’s military junta, Paul Kagame became the vice president and de-facto ruler of Rwanda after helping end the genocide, one thing they all have in common is they turned towards repression and authoritarianism.

Dr. Abiy Ahmed needs to stay focused on his goal and not his opposition nor the power that he holds, impacting the lives of Ethiopians, fixing the economy and building a stronger community within all the tribes of Ethiopia should be his major priorities.

Adedayo Laketu

Adedayo Laketu is a creative inventor who's interested in curating a New Age for Africa across all mediums.

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