Knjit may have run into problems that may not make it live as it was before, but its powerful message must live on and ways must be found to make sure the message continues to fire the popular imagination even though the messenger may be distracted for one reason or another. There is thus a great stake in reenergising a strong post- knjit movement that aims at building citizenship at the core driving the freedom and development engine of the Ethiopian society, economy and politics by building social capital but not destroying it as it is happening now.
8. Fragmented Opposition Undermines Social Capital Development
One serious problem in Ethiopia is creating a political system where political society is organised by principles shared by those parties who govern and those who wish to mount opposition in order to govern. This system cannot be mimicked from outside. It must be home grown. The competition of political parties under norms, rules and procedures that permit legitimate debate and consultation amongst the parties to create a political process that is capable of generating lawful, legitimate and self- sustaining changes and transitions in government with the sole aim of building the infinite well being of the people and their wealth and happiness is a priority of priorities. Politics must start to create and improve the livelihood and well being of the people. All those who agree to do this and wish to devote their lives and sacrifice should enter into politics. If these noble minded people enter politics, there will be hardly any of the spectacles we see today in Ethiopia. There is no need to have all the ethnic entrepreneurs running amuck. There is no need to see all those who use ethnicity to oppose ethnicity. All the fragmented opposition should in principle converge. Those around the ruling party can evolve into a nation-wide unified cohesive party where the core of the party can collect other lesser parties as its allies. The party that emerged after the 2005 election with a popular mandate Knjit could have evolved as another nation-wide national party naturally with its allies. Major two parties that occupy centre stage could have emerged- and could potentially emerge for the 2010 election- clearing the ground for the novel emergence of a new politics that can deliver a predictable and sustainable national direction and transition in Ethiopia. This will provide a historical milestone in the nation’s age-old history. This would be indeed a real dream come true.
The worst scenario is the continuation of fragmented opposition, each seeking external ally to increase its own chances and decrease the chance of its real and perceived or ill-perceived opponents. In Ethiopia, the ethnic entrepreneurial project has multiplied many opportunists who wish to carve out a political niche or space by using an ethnic perspective to the country’s politics. This has fragmented both the concept and reality of doing politics in Ethiopia and created a situation where politicians appeal to their specific ethnic group and try to collect votes as ethnically certified leaders. The contestants become an ethnically validated political entrepreneur whose main platform is contaminated with the primordial politics of blood is thicker than water. This direction will embolden voting along ethnic lines and will undermine citizenship and the emergence of the best and most suitable person from being elected to public life. This is indeed a disease in Africa where multiparty elections imposed by donors in the belief that good government can come through such elections create a situation where such elections degenerate along ethnic voting lines and can even be violent. In Ethiopia the ethnic arrangement has made it a fact that people will vote not as citizens for the best candidate but for the person who belongs to their ethnic affiliation. This degrades citizenship and emboldens ethnic sectarian voting patterns. When this is entrenched it may lead to fostering a backward political culture.
There is a need to think long and hard to go over this ethnic trap and bring out a system of politics where at least for a country like Ethiopia two major parties are encouraged to compete with each other by also engaging with each other in a consultative process even when they compete against each other.
The parties from the ethnic groups should be allied to these major parties that are based on spreading a voting pattern on the basis of Ethiopian citizenship…