Tuesday, March 19, 2024
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ACTIVATING THE ACTIVISTS

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In this dying phase of the prevailing modern world system, the universally established administrative structures of nation-states are proving convincingly inadequate. The trinity (legislative, executive and judiciary) that obtains in each of the countries of the world has been effectively captured by the logic of capital! The human mass or what we affectionately call the sheeple, doesn’t seem to be at the helm of social reproduction anymore. The existing order has also become an avowed enemy of nature, rhetoric aside. This supremely alienated and alienating collective existence is the source of many current and impending catastrophes! All serious attempts to solve our major worldly problems are proving futile, mostly due to the old and failing governance structure. Activist intellectuals, all over the world, must rethink these serious shortcomings, with a view to come up with new humanly empowering socio-political structures that can effectively resist the ongoing destructive greed system!
Let us look at countries close to home that are being impacted by the failure of their governance structures. In Kenya and Ethiopia formally established institutions are failing to solve concrete problems their sheeple are facing. Today, the two countries are classified as ‘fragile states’, by the global power that be. In Kenya, the old institutions of political governance have failed to empower a large segment of society. As a result, arresting potential/actual disturbances on the ground has become a serious challenge to the ruling elites. By and large, the status quo, stuck in its old stifling conventions, seems unable to look at fresh approaches with a view to install empowering alternatives to all and sundry. Characteristically, the ruling politicos want to conveniently undermine the shortcoming of the existing order, which is fueling unrest. In Kenya, election outcomes are almost always predictable, as they are essentially based on ethnic affiliation. Those with the numbers always win, while a significant number of the population always loses. It is another case of ‘winner takes all.’ In highly diverse nations such a political arrangement might not secure the peace in the long run. In the case of Kenya, a little federalism might go a long way in securing a stable political arrangement between nationalities, if done right. In this regard, committed activist intellectuals are very much urged to lead initiatives for a more equitable governance structure that can potentially bring peace, harmony and sustainability to all! See the articles next column, on page 41 & 44.
The uprisings in Ethiopia seem to start from the regions, at least so far. It is only Addis and Dire Dawa that have chartered status, i.e., ultimately under the control of the federal government. The crux of the governance problem in Ethiopia seems to be; while the politicos try to assert the autonomy and relative independence of their regions, from which they derive their real power, the federal government is left without committed ownership, proper leadership and a participating populace. This paved the way for various myopic visions to dominate long term strategic planning of the country’s affairs. The corruption and abuse of power, particularly in ownership deprived Addis as well as federally run organizations like financial institutions, etc. became maliciously protracted! The trinity under the control of the ruling party/front, without much room for other alternative views, became complacent to the mal-governance taking place on the ground. This monopoly of the state by one entity resulted in gross abuse of power leading to massive and unprecedented corruption unheard and unseen in the country’s history! In the absence of check and balances, grievances were conveniently ignored by the power that be. As a result, the sheeple/country is paying bloody price for the excesses!
In a nutshell, the situation in Kenya is lack of sufficient empowerment to a number of nationalities. In Ethiopia, it is the neglect of nationhood, at the expense of increasingly centrifugal regionalism. In other words; in the case of the former, it is probably the absence of federalism, while in the case of the latter, it might well be too much of it, lying at the root of increased disturbances! Unlike Kenya, however, centralized administration in Ethiopia had undergone numerous internal revolutions going back centuries (Tewodros, etc.) In particular, the recent Great Ethiopian Revolution, which erupted in 1974 (G.C.) and abolished, amongst other things, the private ownership of land, remains a searing experience of the nation and the revolutionary generation. To simply allow criminality and mal-governance to take deep root, yet again, in this land of ‘justice warriors’ might not be possible, going forward. Don’t be fooled, the uprising in the regions can easily coalesce to bring down the reigning order, unless the ruling party convincingly tackles the overgrown decadence and degeneration unleashed by the monopolistic control of political power. Visibly unethical practices that have become the norm, compliment of the all-powerful ‘Mafiosi State’, must be stopped immediately and the culprits behind these operations must be brought to justice. Here, we are not talking about kangaroo courts instituted to facilitate and serve the ‘Mafiosi State’! To recall; we have defined the ‘Mafiosi State’ in the lingua of EPRD ‘Merih Alba Genegnunet’ as an entity operating behind the scene leveraging the infrastructure (institutional or otherwise) of the state/government for its own self-perpetuation, at the expense of the masses. It is abusive beyond imagination and operates with impunity!
Indigenous organic activist intellectuals must face the despicable reality that is once again upon us. “But there is suffering in life, and there are defeats. No one can avoid them. But it’s better to lose some of the battles in the struggles for your dreams than to be defeated without ever knowing what you’re fighting for”: Paulo Coelho. Good Day!

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