Mr Prime Minister: Winners never quit, and quitters never win.
By: Dilwenberu Nega
1st March 2009
Ever since Prime Minister Meles Zenawi had made his intention of not leading the nation as Prime Minister after the 2010 General Election public, the Ethiopian blogosphere has been hotly pursued by pro and anti Meles Zenawi debaters. I hope to spare the reader the inconvenience of spending much time in finding out where I stand on the question “Should/must Meles go?” by not mincing my words. To put it simply, not only do I believe that resignation is the courage of the impotent – and Meles Zenawi is the very antitheses of impotent – but because I genuinely believe that he continues to be a great asset both to EPDRF and Ethiopia.
Having stated that, I, of course, share what a dispassionate observer thinks are Meles Zenawi’s concerns: that he has sacrificed his family life more than the demands of high office, as well as that he may entertain the intellectual man’s desire to conquer a yet more internationally challenging turf. That, at least, it can be argued, has been the case with the leaders of rich democracies. But as we all know, the circumstances between Ethiopia and the rich democracies are as different as chalk and cheese. This is not to infer that Ethiopia’s vintage political party, EPDRF, suffers from a dearth of leaders who can slip into Meles’ shoes; it is rather to warn of the inherent problems that exist in comparing our democracy - which is trying to shrug off its swaddling clothes - with matured democracies of the world.
The annals of history are redolent with instances of political parties accepting the premature resignation requests of their leaders only to find the party tobogganing itself into permanent opposition. Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has a proven track-record of delivering seasoned and effective leadership to EPDRF by making it not only electable, but most importantly win successive elections. However adamantly opposed EPDRF is to the slightest signs of a personality cult in its comradeship, and however much Meles himself is seen to eschew all forms of PR and spin as he goes about his daily routine, the fact of the matter is that he continues to enjoy great love and respect amongst the very section of Ethiopian society that the EPDRF is striving to bring to the 21st century – Ethiopian farmers. Today Ethiopian farmers find themselves at the cusp of a great socio-economic transformation and nearly all of them talk with pride of the immense contribution of workaholic Meles Zenawi. For kudos to, therefore, flow from 85% of Ethiopia’s population is no easy feat.
Much to the chagrin of the hallucinating, not to say loony, Diaspora Ethiopia today is on the verge of basking in a promising tomorrow where a poverty halved – if not a poverty-free – Ethiopia will be able to realise her millennium vision of showcasing the renaissance of Ethiopia to a world which only close to 18 years ago declared her another of Africa’s basket-case. All this is due, yes, to EPDRF, but to deny the vital role of its Leader here would only be to dwell in an exercise in futility.
Under the courageous and inspiring leadership of Meles Zenawi, EPDRF has been able to deliver on its promises to the Ethiopian people, save one vital promise. I hope we vividly remember the all too inspiring answer Meles gave to a foreign journalist a few years ago. “My mission will not be complete until every Ethiopian is able to have three meals a day.” Close to 18 years now we have been made to witness EPDRF delivering right away what many observers deemed as impossible, but delivering three meals a day to a fast growing Ethiopian population is - even by the standards of EPDRF - deemed a miracle and, therefore, would take a little bit longer.
Mr Prime Minister: If you give in, you give up!