Getahun Assefa
Ethiopians have not yet grown tired of the habitual and pathological lies of their source of prime misery, suffering, and protracted conflicts: Abiy Ahmed Ali (hence Abiy). Nor have they been mesmerized. Instead, they took the craziness, hallucinations, and daydreams of their leader to a political satire and “fun zone” on social media. The most recent Tantrum of Abiy on party-controlled national television has not escaped this reality. A puzzled social media user wonders whether Abiy was referring to another Ethiopia, which is unknown to him and the rest of the world, but only to the primary sources and the driver of misery in the country —the prime minister himself. Another one questions whether Abiy was normal and whether he needed urgent medical attention. The funniest of all, which appeared on TikTok, is the one that demands “an urgent brain scan” of Abiy.
The clearest sign of the man’s insanity was revealed when he complained about the nonstop sirens of ambulances or firefighting vehicles (fir trucks) during his recent undeclared, unreported and lowkey visit to Pariis and Rome. He said that he suffered constant headaches due to the noises of ambulances, police vehicles, and fire trucks. However, the most disturbing and agonizing reality is that this is the man who invests borrowed foreign currency and scarce financial resources of the country in acquiring armaments, fighter jets, and drones to bombard own citizens including women, children and the elderly. The man who killed more than 2 million of his population in Tigray, Amhara, and Oromia regions and internally displaced more than 10 million, leaving 11 million children out of school, dared to complain about noise pollution from healthcare and safety services in European cities. Should anyone doubt if the population at large are concerned about the status of his mental health?
Economics does not lie but Abiy lies more than any politician does
Abiy does not appear on the national television unless he is sure that the environment is politically orchestrated; journalists preselected, indoctrinated or intimidated; and interview questions pre-prepared and carefully studied. Speaking about non-existing economic growth and prosperity, he described Ethiopia’s socio economic performance since April 2018 (the year he assumed political power) as a “miracle”. Abiy continues with his habitual diatribes and pathological lies, after international organizations widely published about the deepening political and socio economic crises in the country. The World Bank’s Ethiopia office issued a comprehensive report detailing the wider development crisis and disasters of the country since Abiy’s rise to power. The 2024 report of the Bank titled “Welfare at Crossroads Turning Tides: Ethiopia Poverty and Equity Assessment” had to articulate the following stylized facts:
- GDP per capita growth has decelerated—to 4.6 percent during 2016-2022 compared to nearly 7.4 percent during 2010-2016—not least because of multiple crises, including a global pandemic, droughts, locust infestation, conflict, and market shocks.
- The poverty rate increased significantly to around 33 percent in 2021, due to a combination of many factors that led to declining incomes across the entire socio-economic spectrum.
- Unemployment remains rampant with the economy creating less than 1.2 million jobs during 2016-2022 when the out-of-school, working-age population expanded by more than 5 million (15 million if unskilled labour included), signaling a huge deficit of job creation.
- The national poverty rate was 33 percent in 2021, compared to 24 percent in 2015/16 and 31 percent in 2010, with rural poverty where 88% of the poor lives reach 37 % in 2021. The multidimensional poverty rate in Ethiopia is the highest in the developing world, affecting 78% of the population (of the estimated 130 million).
- Droughts, locust invasions, floods, and conflict were localized, but taken together, covered much of the country. Consequently, 91 percent of the population in Ethiopia experienced at least one of these shocks during 2017-2021 (Map 1). Close to half of the population (48 percent) experienced multiple shocks in this time.
- With food inflation running at more than 30 % (conservative estimates), households typically face shocks in the form of increased food costs, which can severely impact their ability to meet basic needs. These shocks disproportionately affect poor households, who depend heavily on subsistence agriculture, more than their non-poor counterparts.
- Ethiopia has grappled with internal conflict and ethnic tensions in the past. In the years leading up to the recent conflict in Northern Ethiopia, various disputes caused death and displacement in various regions across the country.
- Data from the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) shows the prevalence of conflict events (which include battles, explosions, and violence against civilians), as well as the sharp increase in violence after November 2020. Across the country, 3,153 conflict events were recorded, resulting in 19,113 civilian fatalities between November 2020 and the end of 2022 (conservative estimates).
In conclusion, Abiy and his political elites must know that an avalanche of sheer lies, hallucinations and daydream will not produce a loaf of bread for the hungry and the destitute. Nor will civil strife and continuous bombardment of citizens. Instead, fighting poverty, marginalization and massive deprivation of citizens requires hard work, genuine commitment and effective mobilization of scarce resources for development. It also needs sustained peace, political stability and realistic development agenda under unified political discourses. Deliberate ethnicization of Ethiopian politics, rampant corruption and exploitation of the country’s meagre resources through party politics and ethnic entrepreneurship will not sole one single problem of the country. In fact, it will backfire and eventually decimate such a voracious and gluttonous regime as the current Ethiopian government.
Editor’s Note : Views in the article do not necessarily reflect the views of borkena.com
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