Imagine Nazi sympathizers ramping up their propaganda efforts to falsely claim credit for the victory achieved by the Allied Powers, all in a bid to maintain their grip on power. Their narrative spins a tale of liberation and freedom, attempting to convince the masses that they were the ones responsible for the victory. However, this twisted portrayal only serves to highlight the depths of their depravity, showcasing their shameless willingness to distort the truth for their own gain.
The stark reality is that those clinging to power are directly responsible for the slaughter of innocent masses, mercilessly torching villages with oblivious inhabitants inside their homes and perpetrating genocides. Even in the face of imminent defeat, they exhibit no remorse as they hastily switch allegiances to evade accountability for their heinous deeds and grasp onto authority. Their current rhetoric stands in stark contrast to their past actions, which were characterized by betrayal and facilitation of mass murder and genocide. Their audacious claims of being freedom fighters serve as a sickening distortion of the truth, further underscoring their complete lack of shame or moral integrity.
The scenario above serves as a poignant depiction of the depths to which individuals stoop when they falsely claim credit for accomplishments or expertise they lack. In today’s era of spin-driven politics, where the propagation of “alternative realities” has become disturbingly common, politicians resort to making exaggerated or false claims about their achievements or abilities. Assertiveness is often equated with credibility, leading to a dangerous trend where what one emphatically states is accepted as truth. This behavior stems from a cocktail of ego, insecurity, and a thirst for validation, with devastating consequences that erode trust and credibility.
Such behavior is not merely immoral; it’s exceedingly perilous. The willingness of these politicians to switch sides in a bipolar manner only exacerbates their primary agenda: clinging to power at any cost. Their tactics, rooted in deception and manipulation, perpetuate a cycle of violence and suffering, as they prioritize their own interests over the well-being of the masses.
Nowhere is the aforementioned portrayal more vividly exemplified than in the recent address delivered by the ruthless autocrats PM Abiy Ahmed and President Shimelis Abdisaa, in front of a press-ganged audience in their thousands in the stadium of Naqamte city in west Oromia.
With audacious fervor, they purport to champion the cause of liberation for “their people”, conveniently omitting their own complicity on the opposing side, driven solely by self-preservation and trying to evade accountability. They brazenly declare themselves the guardians of hard-won freedoms, conveniently ignoring the stark reality of their tyrannical regime, whose sole mission was and is to suppress, obliterate, and snuff out the flickering flame of liberty at the end of the tunnel. Do they really know shame for their brazen claims?
In the realm of Oromo wisdom, a proverb resonates: “kan na afuufan, na liqimsuufi, jette marqaan.”
In the simmering heat of life’s challenges, echoes the piping-hot porridge’s lament: “Why they blow at me is to swallow me.”
This cautionary tale urges vigilance against the seductive allure of honeyed words of Oromo freedom concealing the predator’s intentions beneath a veneer of the instant and unreal image of kindness towards the Oromo and Oromia.