The Horn primarily consists of Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti and Somalia. Current attempt by these countries to establish a more coherent strategy of peace and stability in the region is to be welcomed. Realistically speaking however, the project of meaningful consolidation, with binding political and economic ties, might well require ‘political will’ of unprecedented scale, at least by the measure of past experience!
The project of consolidation, most likely, will end up being more protracted and rife with thorny issues than anticipated. Nonetheless, the very exercise towards the objective is bound to build confidence amongst member states and their peoples. The movement of peoples, at least in the nearby border areas, remains critical in bringing harmonious existence to the innately affiliated communities residing in the various neighboring states. In this regard, what transpired between Eritrea and Ethiopia is a very positive steppingstone. Be that as it may, the most important questions remain: What are the critical shared values that can serve as reliable building blocks of the Horn’s project of a consolidated edifice? Also, how are these values to be transmitted and maintained across these lands of diversity? First and foremost, critical values that have effectively served as gluing bonds elsewhere, need to be carefully studied by all concerned, most of all, by aspiring political parties and politicos. We can mention the revered values of justice and equity as starting points. We do not want to emphasis the particular vehicles on which these lofty ideas are loaded. For example, EPRDF’s very reason to wage war against the previous government was to fight ‘injustice and inequity’. This rationale gradually faded away as absolute power was absolutely secured by the front. What came as a result of this absolute, hence abusive power was; nepotism, grand political corruption, Mafiosi State and its ‘daylight hyenas’, distortion of justice, etc., etc.!
Democratic dispensations and their attendant institutions can go a long way in thwarting off the above criminality and illegality. Unfortunately, EPRDF was not seriously interested in ushering entities and collectives that were ready to democratically challenge its power. Being on top might have led it to believe that it was the only one ordained to bring ‘justice and equity’ to the Ethiopian sheeple! But the fact is; EPRDF has been decaying from the inside for years. The organization didn’t want to initiate serious reforms until it was too late. By the time the sheeple started its rebellion the credibility of the party was lost, almost completely. It is another sad episode of modern Ethiopian history borne of greed and malfeasance! As a result of such phenomena potentially repeating themselves, we do not want to emphasis or dwell on the formal political agents (parties, political actors and actresses) who continuously advocate for justice and equity, only to undermine these same values once in power! Therefore, to bring genuine consolidation to the Horn, we need to look at new institutions outside of the state, per force, to deliberate, discuss, debate, and even decide on important issues emanating from interactions of various groupings that inhabit the Horn! Don’t forget, we also have the problems of outside interference. By and large, many of our states are weak and compromised, hence do not have the guts to say ‘no’ to the wicked maneuverings of the global power that be!
On the economic front, there has to be clear and measurable (tangible) activities to gauge the development of the Horn. The useless GDP, which has given rise to the superficial growth of the ‘Africa Rising’ genre must be deconstructed and openly discarded! Digging a hole, the size of Addis and filling it up with the same excavated soil add tremendously to the GDP nonsense, even though not an iota of wellbeing and wealth to the sheeple is accrued! In fact, many of our so-called development projects are nothing more than sinks of precious material and human resources! Agriculture (including animal husbandry) which remains the backbone of Africa must be looked at, not only as a source of surplus accumulation, but as a desirable way of life that is realistically available to the large majority of the sheeple. Obviously, making it a desirable way of life will remain a serious challenge, but it is worth pursuing. Unmanageable Megacities and the resultant outcomes (social ills, environmental degradation, etc.) are not appetizing in many fronts, to say the least! Moreover, the industrialization of old, might well have exhausted its stay. In addition, we should realize that it is not possible to have a life like that of a Westerners for all Africa. For that to happen, we need to have the resources of another seven earth-like planets. This is simply an impossibility to all rational thinkers. This can only be achievable in the la la land of ‘Alice in Wonderland’!
Neoliberalism is an ideology where the market takes precedent over everything, including life itself. Hence, might not be compatible with many of the organic human values traditional societies still uphold. In this regard, it is important to emphasize the ideological differences of parties or even aspiring political leaders that want to be active within the horn. For instance and by and large, the horn’s Diaspora hail from the west and tends to lack visible balance when it comes to economic analysis. This must be countered by critical thoughts capable of deciphering the actual operations of the globally dominant economic system, particularly as it operates on the grounds of Africa, Asia and South America. Here we should give due credence to Samir Amin, Africa’s preeminent son, who fully dedicated his life to the task of elaborating the workings, as well as maliciousness of the existing economic order, as it imposes itself on the global South. Unequal exchange, dependency and underdevelopment are all the manifestation of the existing world system. Samir’s theory of ‘Eurocentrism’ has become mainstream now. We are grateful to Samir Amin and colleagues for their lucid expose of the above crucial elements of the world system. We will devote our next editorial to the life of this African giant of heart and mind! In light of the above prognosis, the gullibility and naiveté that comes with the territory of the Diaspora must be interrogated and debated openly! Hiding behind useless learning with plenty of phony credentials will not do (‘Ivy Idiots’ in our parlance and ‘Intellectuals yet Idiots’, in the words of Nassim Nicholas Taleb, of ‘Black Swan’ fame) especially in the twilight of the modern word system, which has yet to bring wholesome emancipation to the African sheeple! Here is an observation and also a statement of fact by an American critic. ‘Almost all of the world is capitalist, and almost all of the world’s people are poor.’ Michael Parenti.
The Horn needs its own organic intellectuals to articulate these and other issues of interest. Not only do we want our elites to relearn about global reality, but we also need them to be enlightened about all and sundry! Green and sustainable development should not be taken lightly or as a mere gimmick, as is the case in the so-called developed countries. We should remind ourselves that it is the result of undermining of our own history that gave us the useless and absolutely stupid war between the same people who just happened to be in two different superficial jurisdictions. Have we had meaningful conflict resolution mechanisms between the two peoples, outside of the state, we could have, most likely, avoided the atrocious war instigated by the states. The Horn should learn that narrow mindedness and obsessing with identity politics only encourage a hateful and belligerent mind set, as witnessed during those days of lunacy (Ethio-Eritrea war). Jingoism is another malice to avoid.

This was first published in August 2018