Oromo definitely do not want the toxic Addis Ababa to expand anymore, rather must struggle to turn Addis Ababa into Finfinne

February 20, 2015 | Gadaa.com Editorial

There is a difference between “Addis Ababa” and “Finfinne.” The Oromo do not own Addis Ababa, and they must not own Addis Ababa, but they must struggle to turn Addis Ababa into Finfinne.

Oftentimes, people use “Addis Ababa” and “Finfinne” interchangeably. This is wrong on many accounts. “Addis Ababa is not Finfinne” – and “Finfinne is not Addis Ababa.”

Addis Ababa, by design, has been made to hate Oromo … from its inception, it’s Oromo-phobic. The struggle of the Oromo is to bury this Oromo-phobic Addis Ababa, and on its grave, build Finfinne – a city that is accommodating to all — a city that is based on the Oromo culture of tolerance and acceptance.

The current Addis Ababa is a sore spot on the map of Oromia; Addis Ababa has toxic societal values which the ruling oppressive elites have passed down to the general public over the last 125 years since its annexation from the Oromo. Addis Ababa is unwelcoming to its own Oromo and Southern residents, but has five-star hotels to welcome African and world diplomats; this does not add up, and it must not be allowed to continue with this status quo anymore.

The toxicity of Addis Ababa (i.e. its Oromo-phobia — and also, in general, South-phobia) must be healed, and it must be turned into Finfinne. The struggle must start by Oromos in Finfinne – they must speak first and foremost Afan Oromo, and boycott businesses which are Oromo-phobic (and South-phobic).

Administratively, both Finfinne and the federal government in Finfinne must be bilingual, and the State of Oromia must start to assert its fiscal, cultural, linguistic and political interests in Finfinne as per Article-49 of the Constitution.

Definitely, Oromo do not want this toxic and cancerous Addis Ababa to expand anymore into the State of Oromia, and that Oromian land already taken over by force by “Addis Ababa” must be turned over to the State of Oromia. Oromo must #StopAbayTsehaye – the TigreanNeftegna – who wants to expand the toxic “Addis Ababa” by killing Oromos, Oromo language and Oromo culture in the region, and by giving the Oromo land to Tigrean Neftegnas.

In short,

Already, under this Tigrean Neftegna Ethiopian government, hundreds and thousands of Oromo farmers have been evicted from their homelands and “resettled” into lives of begging and streets in Finfinne and elsewhere over the last 24 years. Look at the areal map that shows the quadrupling Addis Ababa swallowing the Oromo around it into oblivion. How did this happen and the Oromo didn’t know about it?

    Look at the map here:

             

The Oromian areas, which have already been swallowed into the Addis Ababa City limits, were rural hinterlands with medium to high density of population — and above all, they were not on the five major highways leading from Addis Ababa to the State of Oromia surrounding it. With no major town, they were invisible to the world. LAFTO, GURD-SHOLA, CMC, AYAT, AYER-TENA, KOLFE, etc. … all of these were ones farmland areas of Oromos over the last 2 to 4 decades. Today, there’s no trace of Oromo in these areas.

Some struggles await us:

(first) turn the Oromo-phobic Addis Ababa into the Oromo homeland that Oromo affectionately call Finfinne — this needs a cultural and social revolution to rid Addis Ababa of its racist government & society enforced outlooks about Oromo – and turn it to FINFINNE;

(second) bring back the State of Oromia to fully benefit fiscally (taxes) from Finfinne;

(third) all of Finfinne (including the Federal government) must be bilingual to start with. If a business does not speak Afan Oromo, it must be boycotted by Oromo residents of Finfinne. Oromos in Finfinne must first and foremost speak Afan Oromo — and be proud enough to be served in Afan Oromo also at the business establishments.

(fourth) the expansion of Addis Ababa through the “Addis Ababa Master Plan” must be stopped by all means necessary. When the State of Oromia decides to urbanize the areas surrounding Finfinne, then the urbanization will be from bottom-up, and not top-down. The “Addis Ababa Master Plan” is inherently a genocidal document – it is seeking Tigrean investors (i.e. Neftegnas) to come and take over the Oromo land to “urbanize” it. Dispossessing and evicting Oromo farmers, and turning the Oromo-land into an Oromo-phobic region, is the “Master Plan” of Abay Tsehaye. This is not “urbanization” for Oromo farmers – but genocide; it’s also the plan of Tigrean Neftegna to steal Oromo land in the name of “development” and “urbanization.”

Naming Is Important

Naming is important. We must name something with clear connotations and implications it gives to the reader and the listener. Abay Tsehaye and Tigrean Neftegna cohorts never have a “Finfinne Master Plan” – but an “Addis Ababa Master Plan.”

The difference between the “Finfinne Master Plan” and the “Addis Ababa Master Plan” is like the difference between day and night.

The “Finfinne Master Plan” must be the plan of the Oromo people to turn the toxic Addis Ababa into a compassionate and accommodative Finfinne with no Oromo-phobia in particular, and no Southern-phobia in general. The “Finfinne Master Plan” is the plan of the Oromo people to bring fiscal, cultural and linguistic benefits to the State of Oromia from Finfinne as per Article-49 of the Constitution. The “Finfinne Master Plan” is the plan to bring back the banned Afan-Oromo into Finfinne’s regional and federal government offices as a second language (mind you, the Oromo youth is saying – make Afan-Oromo a ‘SECOND’ working language). The Oromo of Finfinne conducted business and affairs some 125 years ago using Afan-Oromo, and when Finfinne was annexed by Menelik and turned into “Addis Ababa,” Afan-Oromo was banned. That 125-year-old ban on Afan-Oromo in Finfinne must be lifted.

The “Addis Ababa Master Plan” is the plan of the Tigrean Neftegna to expand the Oromo-phobic Addis Ababa at the expense of Oromo farmers and Oromia. The “Addis Ababa Master Plan” is the plan of Abay Tsehaye and his Tigrean Neftegna cohorts to “urbanize” regions of Oromia surrounding “Addis Ababa” by killing Oromos, Oromo language and Oromo culture, and by turning the regions into Oromo-phobic extensions of the current “Addis Ababa.” The “Addis Ababa Master Plan” is the plan of Abay Tsehaye and TPLF to take Oromo land and give it to Tigrean Neftegnas (who are being called “investors” these days), thereby dividing Oromia into East and West.

In short, the “Addis Ababa Master Plan” is a document of genocide for the Oromo; and the “Finfinne Master Plan” is a set of ideals compatible to collective co-existence and benefits – it’s about fairness.

We must name the plan for what it is – and use words very carefully.