” … Tigrayans will not only ensure a better life, financial freedom, and dignity, but will also re-establish their significant majority effect and natural leadership role in Ethiopia’s political economy—far exceeding what mere population numbers would suggest in Ethiopia’s power structure”
By Tesfaye Kebede l Addis Ababa – Ethiopia l Opinion
The recent political shifts in Tigray have opened a critical window for reflection and restructuring. The discussion is now focusing on establishing a new interim administrations, crafting transitional roadmaps, managing Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration (DDR), and resetting the relations between Tigray and the federal government. While these recommendations are vital, they remain administrative tools rather than fundamental cures. Before technical implementation can bear fruit, Tigray and its upcoming leadership must navigate three deeper, foundational milestones to address primary psychological, moral, and existential questions.
- Reckoning with the TPLF’s Exploitation of Tigray and Abandoning Exceptionalism
The absolute prerequisite for any sustainable political renewal in Tigray is a profound, unvarnished intellectual and moral awakening among Tigrayans—particularly the elite:
- Unmasking TPLF’s Currency of Deception:
All Tigrayans must come to a collective realization that the TPLF weaponized the name, identity, and constituency of the Tigrayan people as a trading currency for decades. While the TPLF propagated a narrative of representing Tigray, its actual governance over Ethiopia was ruinous, tyrannical, and disastrous for the country as a whole.
- Acknowledging Unwitting Complicity:
Tigrayans must honestly confront the reality that the populace—knowingly or unknowingly—became the bedrock of support for a brutal regime. Owning up to this collective miscalculation is essential. It is time to accept that continuing to support, harbor, or tolerate any variation of TPLF ideology is fundamentally contrary to the best interests of the Tigrayan people themselves.
- Recognizing the Depth of National Suffering and Amhara Trauma:
The broader Ethiopian populace endured immense suffering under TPLF tyranny. Among all regions and communities, the Amhara people in particular bore an extraordinary and disproportionate brunt of this cruelty. Acknowledging this specific historical scar is a moral necessity.
- Rejecting Tigrayan Exceptionalism and Dangerous Nostalgia:
Consequently, any temptation to glorify the TPLF’s past rule, romanticize its militaristic history, or manifest any form of ‘Tigrayan exceptionalism’—the toxic belief that Tigrayans possess an inherent right to dominate or steer the Ethiopian polity—must be completely and permanently rejected. Entertaining even a fraction of these obsolete mindsets carries catastrophic consequences and will instantly alienate the rest of Ethiopia, plunging the region back into isolation, even if we could break the cycles of destructive conflict once and for all.
- Acknowledging Collective Miscalculation, Rejecting False Privilege, and Claiming Ultimate Victimhood for National Reconciliation
Once Tigrayans successfully reckon with the TPLF’s legacy of tyranny and abandon any notion of exceptionalism, a profound gateway to national reconciliation opens up:
- Separating the Vanguard from the Masses:
Tigrayans must transparently present themselves to history and to their fellow Ethiopians with absolute clarity: the vast majority of the Tigrayan people unknowingly served as the bedrock of support for a brutal rule, while the actual benefits and currency of power were hoarded by a self-serving elite. The Tigrayan populace at large never truly profited from the TPLF’s decades in power.
- The Ultimate Cost Paid by Tigray During the Conflict:
When the TPLF was eventually unseated and subsequently sought to fight its way back to power through the devastating 2020 conflict, the heaviest and most catastrophic toll was paid not by the architects of the war, but by the innocent people of Tigray. The war brought unimaginable destruction to infrastructure, properties, and human life. Most tragically, untrained and unwilling Tigrayan youth were deployed as ‘cannon fodder,’ resulting in a generational catastrophe that disproportionately shattered Tigrayan families.
- Shifting the Narrative from False Beneficiaries to Ultimate Victims:
By laying bare these facts, Tigrayans can rewrite their political narrative. Instead of being viewed—or viewing themselves—as uncritical beneficiaries or perpetrators of past cruelty, they must stand forth as the single most severely damaged and traumatized people among all Ethiopians.
- Unlocking National Empathy and Material Recovery:
This profound honesty changes the entire psychological landscape of the Ethiopian polity. When Tigrayans present their suffering with complete transparency and remorse for the past, it disarms suspicion across Ethiopia. It convinces citizens nationwide and the federal government to grant full emotional, moral, and material support, instantly mobilizing resources for the immediate recovery, rehabilitation, and full rebuilding of Tigray.
- Securing Tigray from TPLF Remnants and Contributing to Pan-Ethiopian Peace
Alongside their efforts for genuine reconciliation and rehabilitation processes to take place, the Tigrayan people must take decisive ownership of their security and regional stability:
- Eradicating TPLF Remnants and Asymmetric Threats:
Tigrayans must engage in a concerted, unified effort to dismantle and root out any remaining elements or factions of the TPLF. This is essential to prevent desperate remnants from regrouping, resorting to deception tactics, or operating as insurgent or guerrilla forces that could once again hijack the region’s future. True stability requires a complete break from these destabilizing armed factions.
- Contributing to Nationwide Law and Order:
Drawing upon their deep historical experience in statecraft and military organization, Tigray should actively partner in restoring peace and order across the wider Ethiopian federation. A practical pathway for this involves integrating qualified elements—such as former combatants or specialized regional security forces (rebranded or reorganized under a peace-building mandate)—into the Ethiopian Federal Police and National Defense Force.
- Building a Deception-Free Political Future:
By deploying these seasoned forces to help stabilize troubled regions across the country, Tigray can demonstrate a tangible commitment to a new democratic beginning for Ethiopia—one completely free of political manipulation, conspiracy, and deceit (ሸፍጥ እና ሴራ).
Conclusion: Reclaiming Leadership Through Renewal
The discussions on Tigray’s future—from DDR and interim governance to IDP resettlement—provide the vital engine and technical framework for post-conflict reconstruction. However, the three foundational milestones outlined above provide the necessary moral fuel and navigational chart. If the Tigrayan elite and the people of Tigray embrace these virtues in good faith, thoroughly reckon with the past, and commit to securing both their region and the wider federation from deceit and conspiracy, the doors will naturally open for a remarkable political and economic resurgence.
Driven by their inherent industriousness, resilience, and aptitude for statecraft, Tigrayans will be able to contribute meaningfully to the Ethiopian economy, security services, and national stability. By moving away from conspiracy and deception toward a transparent, modern, and truth-based political dawn, Tigrayans will not only ensure a better life, financial freedom, and dignity, but will also re-establish their significant majority effect and natural leadership role in Ethiopia’s political economy—far exceeding what mere population numbers would suggest in Ethiopia’s power structure.
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