Reflection on “ Eskinder Nega: A Victim of Blatant Lies and Political Deceit”

To the Editor,

By Tekeste Dinberu

Borkena.com

This is a brief reflection on a writer named Mekuria who, in his article on May 9, 2025 that was posted on Borkena.com with a title,  “ Eskinder Nega: A Victim of Blatant Lies and Political Deceit”, apparently refuted all criticisms that poured on Eskindir Nega, the person who has turned himself to be a Fano leader. First, the writer seems to be devoted to erasing all negative outlooks on Eskindir by magnifying his positive images. Although it is portrayed that Mekuria is the author of the article, it seems that Eskindir himself is writing it by using a different name. The fact that he reacted to all comments written about Eskinder that Eskinder is expected to know all of them than anybody else testifies this.  

There is no denying the fact that Eskinder has been a defender of human rights and democratic freedom, that he consistently suffered from imprisonment for exposing the oppressive and corrupt regimes of Woyane-EPRDF and Prosperity parties. After so many arduous struggles as a writer, he stepped up from journalism to form a party known as Balderas to defend sovereignty of the people of the capital city, Addis Ababa and the rights of any citizen thereon. Through Balderas, his leadership has exposed unfair demolishing of historically tied residents of the capital that dismantled the historically tied neighbors in the scheme of encircling it with a new Sheger city designed to swallow Addis Abeba in favor of the advancement of Oromuma. However, when Balderas could not make any effective change, Eskinder joined the Fano fighters who were trying to defend the Amhara people’s existential right, life, property, and lands from being stolen by Weyane in collaboration with the Prosperity party led by PM Abiy Ahmed. 

The writer also tried to paint Eskinder as a great militant who is fighting against a so-called “gang of eight” Fano leadership that wrongly follows an ethnic line instead of coordinating all the patriotic fighters for the unity of the nation. All these are flowery excuses that have apparently convinced some honest Fano militants to create a splinter group and rally behind Eskinder. However, the writer hides the fact that Eskinder’s role has become an anarchist, a person who created schism in the Fano movement instead of working for unity. Eskinder and the writer, if different, are ignorant that Fano is a grassroots movement that started from villages, larger localities like woredas and grew to provincial status. While Fano is fighting in a coordinated manner and coming to a central leadership, Eskinder has tried to reform it from the top by creating factions among the Fano militants. Eskinder’s power monger scheme has been overshadowed by his long-time sacrifices as a journalist. But now Eskinder has become untamed buffalo that is distracting the herd that is moving its natural path.  

Eskindier has proved to be a personality that wanted to exploit his own journalist fame to rise to a prominence, like Meles Zenawi or Abiy Ahmed. His dream might be incepted from a fancy statement by one of a former statesman, probably Major Dawit Woldegiorgis who at one time uttered that a personality like Eskinder can lead a transitional government power structure to replace the defunct Weyane regime. Nobody paid any attention after that; and many years of horror passed as Eskinder himself was eventually engulfed in a messy political game that he tried to meet his ambition by the support of some honest sycophants that he was able to breed as a long-time writer. 

It is not to undermine that the Fano militants must make organizational changes that determinately consolidate their organizational power internally and in policy matters and extension of their relations with the diaspora supporters as well as the foreign or international community. If Eskinder devoted himself to the causes of Fano, the victimized Amhara people and the Ethiopian people, he would not have dared to jump from nowhere and become their leader. He could have taken utmost care and devotion in dealing in a dialogue to iron out outlook differences. However, Eskinder and his cronies did not understand that writing without any censorship without having to provide evidence about a state leadership and making analysis to logical conclusions or without conclusions is not the same as taking a responsibility in public leadership especially in a state of war and distorted political environment. He rather tried to impose his will by alienating himself from the Fano militants to be their leader. He failed to be a selfless patriot as he had been manifested as a journalist. That is not all; as he turned his face against the Fano militants by seeking direct or indirect support from the very oppressive regime, he proved to play the role of a renegade where he became the cause of division and conflict that claimed the loss of Fano militants. 

Mekuria and other sycophants that rally behind Eskinder must see the existential struggle of the Amhara people that is the base of Fano. Eskinder or any other personality should stop one’s ambition of lust for power since patriotic and popular political struggle engenders sacrifices that any patriot should vow when one joins such a struggle.  Nobody should see oneself in a victory but should struggle for it so the victory the people can identify who is who.  

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

__

Subscribe  : https://borkena.com/subscribe-borkena/ 

Join our Telegram Channel : t.me/borkena

Like borkena on Facebook

Add your business to Ethiopian Business Listing / Ethiopian Business Directory  Business Listing Toronto 

Join the conversation. Follow us on X (Formerly Twitter)  @zborkena to get the latest Ethiopian News updates regularly.  Subscribe to YouTube channel To share information or for submission, send e-mail to info@borkena.com