The condition of Ethiopia now four years into the leadership of Abiy Ahmed and the Prosperity Party may be compared to a sick patient. The body of the country has various organs just as a human body. When these organs are diseased the survival of the body, the country, is in doubt. Everyday these illnesses are getting worse.
There is the leadership which leads and communicates with itself and messages intent to other countries. To many this leaderships seems to suffer schizophrenia. It has hallucinations about what to do from religious leaders. Communications to other nations indicate a wanting of peace but actions domestically are clearly aimed to incite more violence and not to pursue peace.
Instead of encouraging peace and prosperity the government has carried out a program of hatred against many groups not just the Tigray and Oromo. Like what happened in Yugoslavia everyday brings new confrontations between different groups such Muslims, Christians, Amhara vs others, Prosperity Party vs opposition, etcetera.
There is the military which is supposed to protect from outside intrusion like the immune system against viruses and bacteria. Instead of protecting from invaders it invited an invader, Eritrea, to come and into the country. Ransacking, killing, stealing, and raping by this invader weakened the country. What kind of immune system would do that?
The education system is supposed to keep providing new cells to keep the body alive. Because of military spending perhaps in excess of the equivalent $6 billion educators and staff have been often without pay. Many less school days were allowed. The high moral caliber expected of some universities has been compromised by calls to lie about scientific expertise in forensic analysis to hide genocide. Scandals have arisen about cheating in placement exams. Ethiopia’s development quotient, a measure of each new generation’s chance to get an education and be more productive then their parents, is one of the worst in the world.
There is agricultural system which provides the nourishment. The feeding system to keep the country alive has been ignored except for a few projects to grow wheat. While the country this year has import a greater amount then ever. While falsely claiming it produces food in excess the reality is that upwards of 20% of food need will need to be met by imports. The war in Ukraine which the Ethiopian government supports has caused the world prices of wheat to soar at the same time that the birr has dropped by 50% in value.
When Abiy Ahmed came to power 25% of all Ethiopians required food aid. Due to ignoring numerous suggestions by many international authorities, several years of the worst drought in a generation, sieges on Tigray and less so but still present in Oromo, price hikes of 150% on fertilizer, and many farmers being displaced by ongoing conflict the prognosis for famine not just in Tigray but in the whole country is growing by the day.
The healthcare system which is supposed to keep the population healthy lies about creating traditional medicine remedies for COVID, about the incidence of COVID, and resisted giving supplies or even care to Tigrayans now fomenting not only the suffering in Tigray but increasing the risk of the spread of HIV, tuberculosis, childhood disease, and COVID into the rest of Ethiopia.
The transportation system like the blood stream is paralyzed not just in Tigray but even in the rest of the country by rapidly rising fuel prices with people waiting many hours for fuel at 300% or more the normal price. Even rides on the minibus or baja are becoming too expensive.
There can be little doubt that Ethiopia as a patient is in critical condition while its leaders think it is healthy.
