Ethiopia: A Long Walk Back to Freedom.

The Colonial Era Levers in ruling Ethiopia through Regional And Ethnic Division.

Ethiopia used to be very well known as the beacon for anti-colonial hopes of the ‘Dark Continent’. From 1890 and beyond, it was the only standing independent African nation to have survived the ‘Colonial Rule’ by western powers.

As a result it represented the best of African guile, intellect, diplomacy and a talent for military strategy to resist the historic tide that overwhelmed a major continent for centuries. The devastating and acute consequences of the seismic exploits of Colonialism in Africa, vividly felt to this day, especilly in the way its modern rulers govern.

The period of history from the early 1800s progressively and systemically designated the black African person as ‘less-than’ or inferior to the colonialists within their own land and beyond. A fact that resulting in the collective economic enslavement of ‘barbarian’ Africa by ‘more sophisticated and civilised’, external rulers. Yet colonialism as a structural economic necessity has in itself, undeniably advanced modern industrialised European civilisations unrestrained, at the expense of the large African landmass, raw materials, resources and labour.

The systemic, structural impact and consequences of this wholesale, existential defeat of a continent continues unabated through debt slavery, underdevelopment, externally sponsored terrible governance and facilitation of regional and geo-strategic rivalries. Exploiting the sensitive ethnic, social and religious fault-lines has been the fulcrum and lever, an effective stranglehold, for maintaining this lasting existential collapse of an entire continent. This includes, by any old or new capable world or regional powers.

The unique Ethiopian / Abyssinian Anomaly

In regards to ‘independent Ethiopia’, the sense of pride and casual exceptionalism that arises from the fact that colonialism was entirely averted is a fact closer today, perhaps more to populist myth. It has been a nation under siege from artificial divisions which are akin to a proto-colonialism.

Yet, the successes of the early Ethiopia (known as the Abyssinian Empire at the time) in defeating the divisive forces of colonialism, being the only African nation to do so, was borne of its unique geo-strategic and active historical experiences. As a proactive force in exercising the interests of its own nationhood since the very dawn of time, there was already a practiced engagement with countless, dominant external powers.

This provided its rulers in the 1800s several strategic and diplomatic assets to escape most of the evils of colonial era domination. The awareness, experience, tools and strategies, including ‘a guidebook on effective hereditary monarchy’ (The Kibre Negest Manuscripts) that led to an escape of the devastating fate of the rest of Africa, was at its sharpest ever point.

The primary, outsize difference for the European Powers in this historical juncture, nonetheless, was the revolutionary social, technological and industrial advancement of European nations since the early 1800s, symbolised by the twin colonial icons of the “Bible and Maxim Gun”.

Abyssinian Victory: the formation of the Ethiopian Independent State in Colonial Africa.

Emperor Menelik II of Abyssinia was nonetheless able to effectively shore up his strategic defences since the 1880s against an unstoppable colonial tide by playing one colonial interested party against the other. This was by using the European arms purchased, gifted and acquired to unite his Empire in its defence as best he could, excluding his compromises, defeats and losses of territory in all directions — as opposed to oversee a complete fracture of the Ethiopian state.

At the outset of the colonial endeavours, Emperor Menelik II understood very clearly that he was at a grave disadvantage to any European colonial power. He also fundamentally grasped that unmanaged regional rivalry and ‘ethnic’ division equals defeat in the battlefield to the industrial and organised forces of any white European colonial power. But united and well armed, they may have a chance.

Menelik II used the guns, ammunition and canons secretly provided him in order to attack his own local rivals by three separate and competing colonial powers, to instead defend his collective, united Empire. He successfully rallied the archaic and ancient social structures and loyalties to realise a collective nation-wide Abyssinian draft.

In the face of more dangerous alien forces and practices this was extremely wise, as these were ‘forces and practices’ he correctly identified as much more sinister and dangerous than the socio-political differences with his fellow, local African chiefs, kings, rulers and even rivals. He correctly foresaw the European Powers as having undeclared interests attached to their overblown and extraordinary generosities vs their curious demands to alienate and attack some of his own subjects. As a result he was able to play the fool, first, up until the point of an inevitable attack on his positions by Europeans.

Menelik II eventually used the astounding array of Maxim Guns, rifles and canons he accumulated, against its inventors while wryly rejected the principle religious pretexts for colonial facilitation. By turning the other cheek to his identified kin, as opposed to the more sophisticated and industrialised European Powers, he guaranteed his own dignified survival.

These actions represent effective administrative genius, an exception to the rule in the face of extremely sophisticated manipulation of the entire continent of Africa.

As the primary ruler of the oldest Christian nation state in the world, he also understood the basic message of the Bible and was able to make strategic decisions in an objective fashion in accordance to authentic local interpretations to enforce a localised, collective good in the face of unimaginable dangers and prospects of complete humiliation. Although he was far from a perfect ruler, running a divided ancient empire; with plenty social and ethnic fault-lines amidst diverse and pronounced cultural differences: a sense of collective nationhood that was at least as strong as those of the European Powers was able to be mobilised, under his leadership.

His unique advantage is that by this point, he had amassed an incrementally compiled, versatile and credible national arsenal from the competing Western Powers to defend his territory. A naturally impenetrable mountainous highland kingdom.

The one desperate colonial power that did attempt to engage Menelik’s modernised African army and penetrate Abyssinian highlands was convincingly rebuffed. Itself internationally humiliated. A resultant truce, compromise and treaty of colonial co-existence finalised in 1902 after the epic Battle of Adwa. A shock native African battlefield victory against a 19th century European Power.

Traditionalist Solomonic Wisdom

Ultimately, it was the ancient collective psyche of the Abyssinian region, a liberal hub of Christianity, Judaism as well as Islam, along with experience of previous defeats by world powers that provided the strategic, military and the political capability to forge the most exceptional nation in Africa at the time. Keeping such narratives and experiences fresh, alive, contextually as well as strategically understood was what saved the Abyssinian Empire from the collective African experience. This was facilitated through traditional lore and written history that the entire empire, and beyond, could share, challenge and benefit from. That is, as opposed to being repressed or obscured…

To this end Menelik was successful in ensuring the survival of the longest uninterrupted collective empire in human history. He delivered spectacularly.

Ethiopia Since Menelik II

If it is not our brothers who are the enemy, it is those that tell us they are…

The Shakespearean tragedy of Ethiopia as the primary icon of African independence and unity has been the degradation of effective governance and successful compromise ruler-ship informed by local traditional.

The creation of a new, externally sponsored, outsize military prowess along with the ‘aid, support and investment’ of Western Powers created a locally lopsided and structurally repressive and unsustainable platform for autocratic government. It became an unstable system of traditional monarchy on steroids.

As one of the most prominent recipients of military aid since the ‘end’ of the colonial era in Africa, including being the principle recipient of military aid in Sub Saharan Africa to eye watering sums for over 60 years. This effectively turned a fluid and flexible traditional Empire into a gradually inflexible national entity, along with becoming a convoluted pan-African icon.

Locally it became a gaudy dominant force able to bring to heel its perceived rivals without providing reasonable political or economic space. Conflicts were resolved by reverting to an empty colonial-era nationalistic jingoism. Traditional social resources were immediately replaced with increasingly alien and non-traditional, modernist or unsustainably revolutionary administrative ideologies such as Marxism, Leninism, Capitalism, Federalism et-al.

Through the ages, this fact has fundamentally eroded the credibility of the Ethiopian state from its citizens, created and eventually exploded unmanageable ethnic differentiation, hate and rivalry that will take countless years to heal and address. Not to mention the impact of the cumulative economic and emotional consequences as well as tragic costs.

Furthermore, recent Ethiopian governments have been guilty of engaging in corrupt practice of appropriation of external aid, capital, state debt, regional mismanagement, economic negligence and suicidal levels of selfishness of government officials that puts its national sovereignty in jeopardy as a debt enslaved as well as acutely divided nation: at the very forefront of the African continent in this respect. If that isn’t the core definition of an enslaved nation.

By accepting the fools gold from the Global powers and bodies and by actively degrading their identified kin locally and regionally, Ethiopia could be at the most pricipitous and fragile junction in its history.

Recently, instated Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed as a reformer and healer has perhaps the toughest job of any Ethiopian leader since the dawn of time. His job is to save Ethiopia from a voluntarily induced modern day slavery and potential of unparalleled economic dispossession while building a new unity of purpose. The empty pride of dictatorial national jingoism, financed by external powers including the UK, America, Russia, Cuba, France etc. since the 1950s will not bear dividends for Ethiopia but for the ‘great powers’ that have keenly invested in it.

Ethiopia’s learning that the practice of sabotaging, degrading and turning its back on federal or national neighbours who are ethnically self-same (outside of colonially defined borders and cemented ethnicities) is at the cost of it’s own local and regional prominence, status and stability. External powers invest and consequently expect an outsize return on this investment — which is permanent mastery of the local and regional (geo-strategic) fate that is not free of debt or favour.

These sponsoring countries nonetheless have their own poor, their own societal problems, divisions and social abuses. They will never allow an alien government access to freely solve such problems through binding economic or social prescriptions, especially without any equitable collaboration.

Yet, since the 1950’s and through consecutive administrations, Ethiopia began to overvalue and obsess over its military prowess and status in the attempt to appear like a regional or world military power with all the gaudy trappings at the expense of equitable economic and technological development in any other sector. Even today, for example, its military power and pomp vs. farming practices and know-how represents a comical, if not depressing gulf. That is nonetheless despite many positive examples of somewhat objective but arguably ‘inequitable economic development’. With farming nonetheless representing the main business and source of livelihood of almost the entire non-urban population.

Despite having extremely arable farming resources Ethiopia consistently faces the prospect of importing the very basic food stuffs due to production capacity issues. Inequitable investment, land distribution, training and poor management of abundant resources creates avoidable shortages and conflicts.

Ethiopia, like the rest of Africa is very capable of living in harmony and taking care of its own (as was initially attempted in Eritrea since its shaky, uncertain independence) even extending support to others according to actual needs if it is allowed to do so. However, this is a precedent that will not be allowed to take root in the African continent, where brother is always happy and willing to kill another brother with little, subtle incitement.

An interesting counter-intuitive and ironic realization should nonetheless be that Africa already supplies the entire needs of the modern world (since the 1800s up until today). Its reward should no longer be more guns, more division and more unspeakable trauma. It is perhaps time for real freedom and meaningful inter-dependence. A new chapter of solution-led acquisition of sustainable, modern ‘African’ ideas for the political, technological and social challenges of the 21st Century.

Good luck to Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed in addressing unwise, inequitable and unsustainable capitalist oligarchy and dangerous, outsize military powers in the hand of the few, as opposed to the larger and greater good — that lies not at the ends of rifles or canons.

A greater good without limits — a genuine African social concept since the dawn of time… PM Dr Abiy Ahmed is certainly on the right track so far in pushing forward the true values and natural ideas of Ethiopia, and indeed Africa itself. The very best of luck and success to him in bringing forward a sensible, open and permanent reform of the Ethiopian state. All of Africa should be wishing him well too, and they do.

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This Article was written in tribute to my late father Mellese Woldeselassie, an Eritrean and Ethiopian published author and commentator who’s most recent work I hope will be available for many more Africans to read. Currently, his latest work has been temporarily collected by the Eritrean government since his recent passing and funeral in Mendefera Eritrea in 2016.

As an academic work of wisdom and positive advice on traditional governance and systems of African rule and judiciary through local elders councils, I think it deserves to be published soon.

His work has been published by many Ethiopian & Eritrean publishers, magazines and newspapers several times before his deportation in 1998 from Ethiopia at the commencement of the Ethiopian-Eritrean Border War.

His Works Include:

The Psychology of Winning (translation-Amharic), Work to Succeed (Amharic) The Deportation of Eritreans from Ethiopia (English), Health is On our Plate (Tigrigna), Origins of African and World Language (Incomplete).

© T Mellese 2018