Once a great nation that contributed a great deal to philosophy, political economy, medicine, theoretical physics including pioneering in the fundamentals of quantum mechanics among other great contributions to humanity, was reduced into a split nation where the two super-powers—the US and Soviet Union—exerted their intense influence for over forty years. It was precisely because a psychopath and a maniac—Adolf Hitler—under a grandeur delusion of becoming the “third reich”—the first two being Alexander the Great and Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte—invaded Poland in 1939 and later the rest of Europe which gave rise to one of the bloodiest wars the world had ever seen.
Abiy Ahmed’s recklessness will be seen with the same light as historians examine his role in the Ethiopian polity and his unique position with respect to the previous Ethiopian leaders as he ascended to the mantle of power through peaceful transition. The expectation was imbued with a sense of optimism as the new dawn was inaugurated with him receiving the Nobel Peace Prize. What followed was a complete reversal not only the hopes of the people were dashed but an emasculate deceit was set in motion when the man who won the highest prize made a war pact instead when he invaded Tigray under the guise of “enforcing law and order.”
In the early stages of the invasion, men with a sense of history tried to put some sense into him when they told him that, right before the start of World War One, the men and women in uniform were told they would be home by Christmas but before they knew it, the war dragged on for four years and costed millions of lives. Abiy Ahmed refused heed the advise, instead he insisted the “law and order” operation will last three weeks max. Not only the foreigners who lent him a sober advise were right but his reckless adventure is breaking his Ethiopia apart and losing Tigray all together as well.
The dire warning should be seen in light of what the late Ambassador Seyoum Mesfin had said in a rather clairvoyant and prophetic thread when he forewarned of the gloomy ramifications of an all out war that would not be limited to Tigray alone but the entire region would feel the epicenter as well. He also warned that, almost everyone in the region would drag-in its feet to take advantage of a weakened Ethiopia. Certainly, Ambassador Seyoum Mesfin didn’t have a crystal ball at his own disposal so to speak but he had a wealth of regional and diplomatic experience under his sleeves. Abiy Ahmed frowned the pro-bono advice with contempt and stepped on a road that had heralded the break-up of Ethiopia.
Incidentally, the other day, a YouTube channel with over one hundred thousand viewers daily, which was once Abiy’s fan base said just that, when it said, not only Tigray is a de facto state but what is left of Ethiopia would not hold either.
The invasion of Tigray on November 4, 2020 will also be remembered as the day that gave rise to a fierce sense of Tigrean nationalism where if there were similar voices prior to that, they were either in passing for they were eclipsed by a naively held belief in Ethiopianism. The new rising Tigrean nationalism however, is not abstract or rooted in a sense of idealism born not only out of rigorous historical reflection but a reaction to an extraordinary human rights violation, ethnic cleansing including genocide committed by Ethiopian soldiers in cahoots with savage Eritrean armies as well.
Albeit the colossal human, economic, and social cost, the invasion was a blessing in disguise [It pains me to say it] so to speak for not only Tigray would have it her way to independence with no baggage of responsibility to carry for the rest of Ethiopia as she did for the last three decades but Tigray will be built afresh in synch with the heartbeat of the developed world. But of course, first thing first, for they say, a single brick becomes a building and one can empty the entire ocean with a teaspoon. We need to be patient for patience is a virtue.