Years of Downward Spiral: Ethiopia under Abiy Ahmed’s rule

By RITADE

I remember my dad’s hysteria and ecstasy when Abiy Ahmed, the current prime minister of Ethiopia, came into power in 2018. My dad was not alone. Millions of people aspiring democracy and development for Ethiopia assumed that Ethiopia’s future could be bright under Abiy’s leadership. For the first in his life, my dad participated in a massive political rally in support of Abiy Ahmed, which was organized at Meskel Square in 2019. I, as it was the case for hundreds of thousands of Addis Ababa residents, participated in the rally upon my dad’s request although I had extremely limited political awareness. In fact, my dad and I could have lost our lives because of the explosion of a grenade, which occurred at the rally site/Meskel Square. This terrorist attack led to the death and injuries of hundreds of the rally participants.

Millions of Ethiopians cheerfully supported Abiy Ahmed without considering his ethnicity, religion, education, etc. In these good old days, Abiy’s persuasive rhetoric about equity, fairness, fighting corruption, and detest ethnocentrism garnered considerable support from a wide range of Ethiopians. Abiy did skillfully deceive not only Ethiopians but also the international community, as he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

However, there were few knowledgeable political skeptics who did not lend their support to Abiy Ahmed even back in 2019. Their skepticism has partly originated from one of Abiy’s books where he openly stated his admiration to Machiavellianism. Now we all have witnessed that Abiy has been deceptive and manipulative in line with what he has written in his book, which states that “Machiavellianism should be manipulative a basis for political success’ ‘. Yes, skeptics were right. Abiy’s real political persona started to emerge two years after his election.

Both conventional and non-conventional wars are taking place in almost every part of the country leading to displacement of millions of Ethiopians. My parents, as is the case for millions of Ethiopians who trusted Abiy’s rhetoric, have now been ethnically profiled; and the property that they have constructed by spending their lifetime saving have been destroyed. About hundred thousand unsuspecting residents faced destruction of property and displacement from the suburb of Addis Ababa, which is known as Sheger City.

Tragically, a mixed-use building which was the property of one of our neighbors who lost his legs because of a terrorist attack at the political rally [in support of Abiy Ahmed at Meskel Square] four years ago, was destroyed because of the ethnic profiling. Yes, Abiy’s regime is so cruel even to those who have lost their body parts at his own rally. Can’t we say this betrayal of the century? He has betrayed the people who trusted him most. The country is in a downward spiral in every aspect. The international community is not well aware of the gravity of the political turmoil in Ethiopia.

Editor’s note : Views in the article do not necessarily reflect the views of borkena.com

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