One can not expect a bike to function like a car precisely because it is not a car. Tigray is not Eritrea neither is she Oromia. It only shows one’s paucity in the socio-political and historiography of Tigray when one draws a parallel between Oromia’s aspirations for independence including Eritrea’s shattered dreams with Tigray’s a foregone conclusion about independence. Jawar’s yardstick to measure Tigray’s aspiration for independence is misplaced for Eritrea and Oromia can not be utilized as such. Tigray’s trajectory is unique so much so that not only the moral imperatives are strong cases in point to press for independence but the political and intellectual capital Tigreans have thus far garnered including the Constitution accommodates secession should any region opts for it so long as all legal procedures are followed through including referendum.
Perhaps Eritrea’s road to independence including Oromia’s unrealized dream for independence can be tersely pinpointed in an attempt to underline the reason both can not be used as an index to discount Tigray’s aspirations for independence as Jawa seems to insinuate. Eritrea’s split-screen vision for independence was further blurred when in the summer of 1981, ELF [Eritrean Liberation Front] was pushed out of Eritrea by EPLF [Eritrean People Liberation Front] and the former was rendered defunct ever since. EPLF not only monopolized the protracted struggle but turned itself into a chimera of sorts when it institutionalized fear, total submission, suspicion to one another among the people and it tore down not only the social fabric but destroyed civic and religious institutions not to mention political institutions as well. Eritreans achieved independence but never gained freedom. To be more precise, the abject lack of freedom was not the result of independence but a reflection of EPLF whose nature was totalitarian, opportunistic, parasitic and highly secretive.
Oromia’s unrealized dream for independence is certainly a different ball game so to speak and it would be preaching to the choir when Jawar is well versed [I assume] about the reason why it has taken almost two generations for OLF [Oromo Liberation Front] to achieve its objectives. The point is however, one can fault Jawar when he assumes that Tigray would be dragged in a long haul if she chooses the road to independence as much as that has been the case for Oromia, but again, it would be tantamount to using thermometer to calibrate atmospheric pressure. The political including historical trajectories of Tigray and Oromia are strikingly different not to mention their respective geography.
Oromia could has well been a “victim” of its own geography and a variegated historical experience when for instance, the west, particularly Wellega was influenced by Protestant teachings when it was a boon not only in spreading literacy but was a fertile ground for breeding first rate intellectuals, academics, professionals and technocrats. On the other hand, the other part of Oromia was not only influenced by its proximity to the east, north and further south of Ethiopia but was assimilated to the extent of the Oromo identity was “diluted.” The kaleidoscope so to speak became a serious hurdle for Oromia to speak in one voice much less for OLF to be a unifying force. And as it was expected, consecutive regimes in Ethiopia used the “Achilles heel” to their respective advantage when they polarized the Oromo people along divergent and at times antagonistic political lines.
What of Tigray? Perhaps, one of the undeniable legacy of TPLF is that, it created a politically conscious society where the idea of the right to autonomy is the six sense of the Tigrean people. And that is a bedrock no amount of Tsunami can shake off including the declared genocide. The political consciousness is seamless and throughout where the best interest for Tigray comes first and foremost when political differences are accommodated in the background. The political theorist Francis Fukuyama is fond of talking about “The Road to Denmark” when Denmark pushed the bar so high as it became a model of not only a stellar in standard of living and quality of living but a nation that has been able to calibrate and balance political institutions [Transparency, Accountability, Rule of Law] as they check the power of the State. The secret for Denmark’s success goes back five centuries ago when it was the first nation to have embraced Calvinism so much so that the clergy had to teach the people on how to read and write so that they can read the Holy Bible on their own. Fukuyama argues that, the pervasiveness of the literacy made the people aware of their political rights as well. The people became politically conscious. They had a five century advantage ahead of practically most of the nations in the West and hence their stellar standing in world stage. Jawar would be well placed to compare the future of Tigray with Denmark. No joke.