It is business as usual. The euphoria and high pitched drum-beating of the much talked, but little written about, fifth national election has now subsided. Of course, this is except for some reverberating echoes that are slowly going to the books of history.
Global commentaries and reports have little or no effect in shaping the political discourse in our country, at least in the short run. The dogs keep on barking, while the camel moves ahead.
But it does not seem to know its destination. It will keep on moving anywhere unless it has a driver in front. That driver has a lot to learn from history.
The Japanese philosophers have a relevant saying about the fate of mankind: “The reason why people complain that not enough is being done for their country is because nobody is doing anything about it”. This old maxim seems to tally well with what the famous American President John. F. Kennedy once said; “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country “. Those oft-quoted words were said some 52 years ago but they transcend the barricades of time to settle deep down in our thoughts.
We are all transient. Rulers come and go. It is only good deeds and consequential names that gain respect, or vanity out of mistrust, that remain here forever. We learn from history of the past to draw the road map and blue print for the journey we make towards our destination. There is only one universal truth that we have to accept, and the sooner, the better.
That universal truth is nothing but realising that none of us is the making of somebody else. We are interdependent but all of us are equal as enshrined in the Human Rights Convention of the United Nations. We have to abide by the rules and conventions to which our nation subscribed, when we applied for membership as one of its founding members.
Our history reveals that we were among the small but free nations who had fallen prey to the weaknesses of the League of Nations in the face of the invading forces. But we have never abandoned its successor, the United Nations.
Time and again, we have played our share in keeping with the resolutions of the UN Security Council in the various peace keeping missions in which we have engaged. We have stood by our words and signatures even during hard times within our borders.
We do that not because we expect any special favour or reward, we rather do it for the sake of collective security of all member states. Ensuring the prevalence of human rights like the full freedom of the press, the right to fair trial before the law, the right of free mobility from one corner to another and the right of equal opportunity of employment are some of the most important ones we struggle for.
Following the scarcity of resources, it is imperative that we set priorities considering and comparing the cost and benefits in the short, medium and long run. In the process of setting priorities, the question of equitable distribution of investment, cannot be a priority consideration in choosing between the productive and service sectors.
Some projects can trigger actions in a multitude of others. Take the case of the Yayu fertilizer project as an example. Yayu, located in Wellega Zone, had been identified as the location of a potential coal resource by the Ministry of Mines (MoM) decades ago. But it was only a few weeks ago that the project was officially launched by the government.
Now, over 4,000 miners have been employed. We can stretch the figment of our collective imagination and visualise the rapid involvement of several sectors at the site. Town planners, water and sewerage experts, road project specialists, railway experts, utility providers, and hoteliers can be engaged immediately before matters get out of hand.
Of course, materials have to be transported to the factory site. The abandoned rail tracks and the old locomotives of the Ethio-Djibouti Railway line can be modified and refurbished to serve at the site. The higher institutes of learning can also be involved both in the research and development activities at the site.
Fast employment, saving of foreign exchange and providing fertilizers in the time and quantity required, are the immediate benefits for the critical problems of the country. There is so much hope that the project is expected to move the country forward. But there is also fear that the benefits might not be distributed equally.
Indeed, there are lessons to be learned from UK’s industrialisation history. But a better lesson would be one that is taken from our own.