Yonas Biru, PhD
Jawar Mohammed’s newly released book “አልፀፀትም” is crafted to herald his political transformation from a militant Oromo activist to a national political figure. The purpose of his transformation, he said, is to save Ethiopia from an imminent collapse. Be that as it may, the aggressive book release campaign embodies a public relations endeavor to traffic Jawar as a strong-willed freedom fighter who has navigated through the trenches and emerged on the other side as mellowed-down and seasoned leader. It is as much a political comeback publicity as it is a self-aggrandized political transformation.
For students of Ethiopian politics, his transformation is not a surprise. A year ago, I penned an article, suggesting: “Federalist forces are slowly and begrudgingly coming to the realization that Ethiopia’s tribal constitution is the root cause of the nation’s political ills. Adding oomph to the undercurrent, the Fano movement is bearing the seeds of hope …