Abiy Ahmed (PhD) became the third person to occupy the Office of the Prime Minister in the twenty-three years since the founding of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia following his appointment to the post by parliament this Monday.

The much-anticipated election of the chairman of the ruling Ethiopian Peoples’ Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) culminated this week when Abiy Ahmed (PhD) was picked to fill the vacant post, paving the way for him to be sworn in as the next Prime Minister of Ethiopia.

Ethiopia is at one of if not the gravest juncture in its entire history. The deadly protests that have been taking across large swathes of the country for close to three years now have led to the death as well as physical and psychological injury of thousands of innocents, the displacement of hundreds of thousands and the destruction of property of incalculable worth.

The appalling death and injury visited on innocent citizens exactly a week ago today in Moyale, a town in southern Ethiopia bordering Kenya, should never have occurred.

Ethiopia has been mired in a vicious cycle of violence and destruction for the past two-and-half years. Inasmuch as many are worried sick by the turmoil rocking the country there are those who see a light beyond the darkness.

A hundred twenty-two years ago to the day yesterday Ethiopians displayed unrivaled heroism at Adwa to register an epoch-making victory that dealt a humiliating blow to European colonialists and inspired black people all over the world to hold their heads high.

The ruling Ethiopian Peoples’ Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) is confronted with a plethora of grave challenges as it goes through the motion of appointing a new chair and Prime Minister.

The loss of lives in vain continues apace in Ethiopia putting the nation’s very survival on a knife’s edge. In the past week alone scores of citizens were killed in conflicts across various parts of the country adding to the death of thousands in the past three years.

Trudging along at a tortoise’s pace in a constantly changing world exacts a steep price. The dividends of the blinding speed at which the technology-driven change of the 21st century is taking place can be enjoyed only insofar as one is able to keep pace. 

Presently the rank of elements working hard at destabilizing Ethiopia and subjecting its people to an inextricable political crisis is swelling.