I condemn all acts of extremism and terrorism no matter where they occur. I went to school in the USA decades ago and I have lived and worked in Uganda from 1991 to 1996. I hold pleasant memories of my experience in both countries. That is why the despicable act of terrorism aimed at these two countries saddened me, more so for there are fellow Ethiopians and close relatives living in both countries. The act of terrorism of 11 September 2001 (9/11) in the USA and 11 July 2010 (711) in Uganda is briefly included in this piece as a mark of respect for the victims.
How I came to know Uganda
The first time I came to know about “The Pearl of Africa” – a famous description of Uganda coined by Sir Winston Churchill – was in the aftermath of the Ethiopian revolution of 1974. Incidentally, it is a fitting description for a lush green country endowed with enviable variety of fauna and flora, abundant water and rainfall, and natural resources including oil in a country naturally as neat as a meticulously kept garden.
I recall the arrival of Idi Amin in Addis Ababa to attend the now defunct OAU meeting. As soon he disembarked from his airplane, the dictator remarked to the media that Mengistu Hailemariam will find it hard to govern Ethiopia while so many senior officers are still in prison. This remark – coming as it did nearly one year after about 60 high officials of the Imperial regime were slaughtered by the Derg regime in cold blood – sent a shiver down the spine of senior officers (military and civilians alike) still languishing in prison. He meant he should get rid of these officers one way or the other. I was terrified for I was locked up in high security prison at the time accused of mobilizing Oromo dissidents to bring down the Derg regime. The regime released later with apology due to the relentless demand for my freedom. That remark by Idi Amin also terrorized others in high positions scared of their unknown fate.
I found refuge in Uganda in 1990 long after Amin was evicted from power. In four years of my service in Uganda I witnessed an exodus of Ethiopian and Somali refugees after the fall of Mengistu and Siade Bare from power. Coming back for a short visit recently I witnessed a huge number of Eritrean refugees beyond my belief.
Witnessing celebrate H.I.M’s Birthday in Uganda
One Sunday morning I was having coffee at the Fassika Ethiopian restaurant located on Kabalagala road on the outskirt of Kampala. I was surprised seeing a procession streaming on the road towards the Restaurant. I noticed a large banner with the photograph of the late Emperor Haile Selassie I carried by a tall Ugandan followed by a long line of disciplined citizens. I could not resist joining the crowd out of curiosity at first. The procession soon came to the Pan African Secretariat (about 300 meters away from where I joined it) where the celebration was to take placed.
The compound was filled to capacity. The Guest of Honor, one of the Princes of the Buganda Kingdom representing the Kabbaka, arrived to a tumultuous welcome and took His place. After a formal introduction of the purpose of the occasion and recognition of prominent personalities there present, the Master of Ceremonies invited the keynote speaker to the podium. She was a senior student at the famous Makarere University. She made a moving speech about the history of relations between Uganda and Ethiopia spanning several centuries. I was amazed by the depth of knowledge of the obviously bright and inspiring young lady about the history of Ethiopia and the role our forebears played in preserving their country’s independence paying a heavy sacrifice fighting repeated foreign aggressions, citing in particular the naked invasion of Fascist Italy and the victory in the famous Battle of Adwa that became the beacon of hope to all black people in the Diaspora.
The speech by Prince in His capacity as the Guest of Honor was in consonance with that of the keynote speaker. It was interesting to me that the Prince throughout his speech often referred to the royal rulers of Ethiopia as his ancestors – underscoring that relations were bound by blood.
The people of Uganda, old and young, hold Ethiopia in high esteem. I recall once at an official dinner prominent Ugandans were discussing why Emperor Menilik II did not go far down south up to the Cape of Good Hope where the Monarch would have been welcomed all along the way to claim the land of his forebears as a black leader. I understood that the argument was evoked by the secession of Eritrea. But I kept quite choosing not to bother about explaining the multiple difficulties faced by the Immye Menilik at the time.
President Yoweri Kagutta Museveni often in his public statements mentioned Ethiopia and Liberia as two countries in Africa that were never colonized.
Therefore, I hold enduring memory of the hospitality, open-mindedness and entrepreneurial spirit of the Ugandan people. Surely, all the refugees from Ethiopia, Somalia and Eritrea are witnesses for these qualities of the people of Uganda. Indeed Uganda is one exceptional country in Africa where xenophobia against Africans is conspicuous by its absence – and as such an asset for the African Union in the realization of its aspirations.
It is sorely painful that such a tragedy unleashed by terrorists hit a hospitable country like Uganda, which holds the promise of fostering regional cooperation leading eventually to the United States of Africa envisioned by Kwame Nkrumah and Emperor Haile Selassie.
The 9th Anniversary of 9/11
For the first time in the history of civil aviation al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four commercial jet airplanes and turned them into flying bombs in a series of coordinated suicide attacks upon the United States on 11 September 2001. The hijackers intentionally crashed two of the airliners into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York, killing everyone on board and many others working in the buildings. The hijackers crashed a third airliner into the Pentagon. The fourth plane crashed into a field near in rural Pennsylvania after some of its passengers and flight crew attempted to retake control of the plane, which the hijackers had redirected toward Washington, D.C. There were no survivors from any of the flights.
The death toll of the attacks was 2,996, including the 19 hijackers. The overwhelming majority of casualties were civilians, including nationals of over 70 countries.
In the aftermath of 9/11, the UK and Spain in Europe were also victims of al Qaeda attacks due to their partnership in “The war on Terror” declared by the Bush Administration. Bin Laden and his organization are still at large posing threat to democracy due to grave policy mistake in invading Iraq instead of going after and catching the main culprits in Afghanistan.
Misguided policy as source of chaos in the Horn of Africa
The prime source of political chaos in the Horn of Africa is a combination of complex set of circumstances intertwined with global issues in the sphere of ideology, politico-economic interests and basic values of global powers. Therefore only a cursory attempt is made to point out the misguided policy behind the despicable twin bomb explosions of 7/11 in Kampala, Uganda.
The root cause for political turmoil in the Horn of Africa is abject poverty perpetrated by corruption due to bad governance. The deteriorating level of joblessness, health, education and other social services all add up to contribute to utter despair of mostly young people in the system of governance in their countries where few are undeservedly wealthy and the rest live in misery. And yet resources are spent on building military institutions and some public sector infrastructures like roads and high rise buildings of little significance to the overall growth of the national economy.
The second scramble for Africa is in full swing being increasingly facilitated by tyrant Meles. The main players among others in the immoral scramble for the continent are: the former colonial masters with their new strategy of neo-colonialism; China with its insatiable appetite for natural resources while vying non-interference in internal political affairs of host countries but in practice aiding and abetting the brutal TPLF regime of Ethiopia in denying Ethiopians access to independent media by jamming the VOA, Radio Deutche Welle and ESAT; India greedily seeking markets and raw materials for its fast growing manufactured goods and input for its giant factories respectively; Saudi Arabia greedily and assiduously looking for vast agricultural land while unleashing its traditional ambition of spreading radical Islam.
The 2nd scramble for Africa is facilitated by lack of appropriate policy to protect the interests of the African continent first and foremost. The AU and some despotic leaders are to blame for lack of such policy.
Now Ugandan soldiers are dying and suffering bodily injuries in Somalia due to misguided policy of IGAD putting political solution to the two to the lingering debacle in Somalia in the backburner. God save Uganda from any adverse effect that the present policy may entail.
Admittedly, the USA and the Western powers have legitimate security interests on the continent, especially in the Horn of Africa due to the abhorrent criminal acts of Al Shabab which is linked to Al Qaeda. But what is disturbing and contradictory is the misguided policy of these powers working hand in glove with dictator Meles who: is terrorizing the Ethiopian people, commits rampant breach of his own constitution; incarcerates political prisoners including the popular leader Birtukan Mideksa; is hell-bent on narrowing the political space in order to implement his hidden agenda of creating a single party in Ethiopia and govern with Stalin-like grip on power.
Lack of Leadership
In one of my previous articles regarding the deteriorating situation in the region of the Horn of Africa I put the blame squarely on the threesome despots Meles, Isaias and the leader of Al Shabab as the main culprits in a reckless political game that is detrimental to the people in the region.
“Lance H.K. Secretan, an author, independent management consultant, and coach and keynote speaker describes Leadership as not so much about technique and methods as it is about opening the heart”. This description supports my argument that tyrant Meles lacks compassion.
Mr. Secretan says: “Leadership is about inspiration — of oneself and of others. Great leadership is about human experiences, not processes. Leadership is not a formula or a program, it is a human activity that comes from the heart and considers the hearts of others. It is an attitude, not a routine.” This supports my argument that Meles lacks these qualities.
He continues to say: “More than anything else today, followers believe they are part of a system, a process that lacks heart. If there is one thing a leader can do to connect with followers at a human, or better still a spiritual level, it is to become engaged with them fully, to share experiences and emotions, and to set aside the processes of leadership we have learned by rote.” I have no doubt democrats will agree that Meles is devoid of these attributes; that the Ethiopian people under his brinkmanship part of a system, a process that lacks heart.
Finally I would like to leave readers with the following passage I took from the article entitled “The hazards of doing good” posted on Ethiomedia.com website by William Easterly on 08 September 2010.
“If it were possible to sum up in one sentence Ethiopia’s struggles with famine over the past quarter-century, I’d suggest this: It’s not the rains, it’s the rulers”.
Mr. Easterly brings to the attention of readers Amartya Sen’s dictum that : “famines don’t occur in democracies, only under tyrannies”.
I hope Meles gets the message.
LONG LIVE ETHIOPIA!!!
Free Birtukan Mideksa and all political prisoners in Ethiopia! [email protected]
