By Gezahegn Engda
First off, I say kudos to the writer for his courage to embark on what seems a solitary path in search of the root causes and hence the truth for our failure to mobilize and organize behind Fano and deliver the Amhara from a half century long concerted attack by ethno-nationalists of all hues and stripes.
Given our current intellectual culture that does not encourage reflection, introspection or self examination both at individual and group levels, the path the writer has chosen is the only one left. Our current intellectual culture encourages externalization and blaming. Ultimately, we find ourselves now at a place where there are glaring consequences but no human agency. In adopting a self-examination and autobiographical approach the writer is breaking a path we should emulate. After all, who knows better about what is going on within us than ourselves? Granted, even when we are meticulously honest, one could argue, self-understanding is not that easy or obvious or error-free. It is also possible that we could end up blaming ourselves for the wrong reasons! One could even argue that the professor is too reductionist and psychologizes complex social phenomena. All the same, even with all these risks and possible objections, we have to start somewhere at self-examination. And Prof. Girma Berhanu has started it well. Even though the writer, in describing our affliction, is focused on Fano and the Amhara, I believe some of the problems he identified (such as “unpredictable mindset”, “lack of commitment”, “delusional thinking”, social, deficits in emotional and cognitive maturity) are not limited to the Amhara Fano/ supporters. I would even claim they are [proto]typical of ALL ETHIOPIANS, irrespective of ethnic identities. One could even claim that externalization and blaming to avoid responsibility and accountability is, perhaps, the only common trait and an overarching cultural ethos the Ethiopian elite, across the board, has succeeded to build. These are difficult to measure, difficult to quantify variables. But even then, failure to measure and quantify does not prevent me from identifying and naming, i.e. qualitatively describing the ailment that causes my sickness!! And we are all sick.
I can give one glaring evidence about our “delusional thinking”, our “cognitive” immaturity. That is, we Ethiopians are good at mobilizing and organizing when it is fighting AGAINST some perceived enemy or adversary or demolishing a system. That is, we easily mobilize for NEGATIVE goals (i.e. against something or someone). But when it comes to organizing FOR something, to do something POSITIVE, to build something (say to build an organization, a project, an institution, a country) we fail miserably. Mobilizing against a perceived ENEMY requires only triggering our primordial emotions which can be spontaneously launched with little thought or foreplaning. Mobilizing to achieve a positive goal, i.e. to build something enduring, on the other hand, requires planning, deliberating, and hard thinking coupled with an ethos of honesty and integrity. In other words, it requires commitment, discipline and endurance and sacrifice. In the absence of what the writer calls “cognitive maturity” achieving a positive goal is not imaginable. On the other hand, absence of social and emotional maturity favors mobilization against something, to destroy or demolish a perceived enemy and his or her institutions. I think these two assertions hold true for Ethiopia. What more proof do we need? We demolished the monarchy in 1974. We were successful in this project. However, half a century and counting, as of 2024, what else success do we have to show?! We have not succeeded to put in place anything better to even provide decent food and housing
to any of our peoples!! We have led our people to descend into interminable “liberation” wars while the rest of the world, including in our own continent, is forging ahead in terms of every parameter of development. This proves Prof. Girma right. We are not yet mature socially, emotionally and cognitively. As they say, the proof of the pudding is in the eating. And we have no pudding to show at all!!
Editor’s Note : Views in the article do not necessarily reflect the views of borkena.com
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