By Arada Hibret
Arada Hibret is a political movement established by ‘Addis Abebeans’ with a mission to achieve a full and independent political autonomy and political representation for the residents of Addis Ababa. Arada Hibret has been active in organising its grassroot structure in Addis Ababa as well as creating awareness through implementing a wide range of activities on different platforms. As part of its political struggle strategy Arada Hibret recently conducted a public survey that is launched through different social media platforms. The public survey is designed to identify important political questions to the residents of Addis Ababa. Before launching the survey Arada Hibret organised different sessions through its structure in Addis Ababa in an attempt to find out the most appealing political issues in the eyes of the residentes of Addis Ababa.
These sessions whereby the residents of Addis Ababa brainstormed through indicate the most appealing political issues. These identified appealing issues were then designed to conduct a public survey. The public survey presents a questionnaire to residents, asking residents- “ what is the most worrying factor for you as a resident of Addis Ababa? “ with four options to answer. The options being 1-the current displacement and destructuíon of the city, 2–lack of freedom and injustice, 3–high cost of living and the fourth option is 4–all of the above.
More than 20,000 residents in Addis Ababa actively participated in the public survey. The public survey was launched on X, Facebook and Twitter. The public survey managed to reach out more than 200,000 residents and out of the 200,000 residents 20,000 residents of Addis Ababa participated actively through simultaneously answering the question and commenting their point of view. The active participant number exceeds 20,000 however those who are in Addis and actively participated in the survey are 20,000 residents.
As the result shows the distraction and displacement carried out by the mayor’s office and the prime minister , the lack of freedom and injustice which has become a day to day reality in the lives of the residents as well as the extremely high cost of living is equally worrying for the residents of Addis Ababa. Furthermore the residents comment vividly stipulates that the combined effect of these issues is pushing the residents beyond their limit.
The one common thing residents commented and expressed was the ongoing displacement and distraction of the city camouflage as “ development” is a pure ethno-centeric gentrification process through which the regime solidifies its power through benefiting ethnically Oromo people. The amount of money taken from the taxpayers is ridiculous and what is called “development” has zero economic benefit to the residents of Addis Ababa. This sinister ethno-centeric gentrification process is meant to eradicate and abolish the history and essence of Addis Ababa as a city with an attempt to create a new ‘oromized ‘city with a new narrative.
The survey clearly shows that the young population of Addis Ababa residents are the ones that are affected gravely by these unfortunate developments. Former U.S. President Barack Obama, during his 2015 speech at the African Union in Addis Ababa, warned African leaders about the dangers of a youthful population facing chronic unemployment. He emphasized that while Africa’s young demographic holds immense potential for growth, without adequate job opportunities, it risks becoming a driver of instability. Obama drew comparisons with the Arab Spring uprisings of 2011, where widespread youth unemployment and economic stagnation were among the primary catalysts for revolts that swept across the Middle East and North Africa. His words are proving prophetic for Ethiopia, where a similar demographic trend is exacerbating tensions in Addis Ababa. In recent years, U.S. Ambassador to Ethiopia, Ervin Massinga, echoed similar concerns.
Addressing Ethiopia’s economic challenges, he highlighted that the unemployment crisis, particularly among the youth, is central to the country’s future stability. Massinga noted that Ethiopia’s young population faces significant hurdles, with limited economic opportunities fueling social unrest. His statements reinforce Obama’s warnings from nearly a decade ago, underscoring the urgent need for creative solutions to these pressing problems
The other aspect that stands out from this public survey is the courage of the residents to express their point of view despite the imminent danger of being prosecuted. Some of the participants courageously expressed that there is literally no difference between illegally prosecuted and the current state of their living as one resident expressed it in his comment “a slow motion suicide”.
The residents of Addis Ababa and the current tyranny regime have parted ways, As the regime aspires to hold on to political power through deception and extreme violence. The only thing that holds the regime to its power is the military, police and intelligence institutions. Not to mention the paid “propaganda battalion “ of cadres the regime relies on spreading the ridiculously ill propaganda of prosperity, while the whole country is in a turmoil of political instability, conflicts, civil war and a worsening economic crisis. However the residents of Addis Ababa are now distinctly annoyed and fatigued by this regime. The comments observed in this public survey reflect severe irritation. The irritation magnitude is so immense, indicating the scenes we have seen in the streets of Nairobi will definitely happen in Addis.
Opinions/ comments published here are those of the author(s) and do not reflect the views of the magazine
