By Bantii Qixxeessaa
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At every turning point in the history of oppressed peoples, there comes a time when they must ask—not whether freedom is convenient—but whether it is just. For the Oromo people, that question has long been answered. The struggle for independence is not simply a political position. It is a moral imperative, born from historical injustice, sustained by lived experience, and guided by a vision of collective dignity. This article revisits the principled foundation of the Oromo struggle for independence. It challenges the idea that the demand for sovereignty is outdated or extreme and asserts that it remains a valid and necessary goal rooted in truth, justice, and the right to self-determination. |
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1.
A History of Conquest, Not Consent
The incorporation of Oromia into
the Ethiopian empire was not the result of a mutual compact—it was the outcome
of violent conquest. In the late 19th century, during the reign of Emperor
Menelik II, Oromo lands were annexed through military campaigns marked by
destruction, enslavement, forced assimilation, and cultural erasure.
This was not a unification—it was
colonization. The Oromo, once autonomous and self-governing through the Gadaa
system, were reduced to subjects in a centralized imperial order that denied
their language, their faiths, their governance structures, and their right to
exist as a distinct people.
This legacy is not ancient
history—it is a living memory, passed down through generations who still feel
the weight of that historical trauma.
2.
The Foundational Goals of the Oromo
Liberation Struggle
When the Oromo Liberation Front
(OLF) was founded in 1973, it did not emerge as a reformist movement
seeking cultural recognition. It was a liberation movement with a clear and
principled goal: the right of the Oromo people to exercise self-determination
up to and including independence.
In its founding documents, the OLF
declared:
“The fundamental objective of the
Oromo national movement is to exercise the right of self-determination and
terminate the existing colonial relationship.”
Other liberation bodies that
followed—armed, political, or civic—have consistently traced their legitimacy
to this original vision. Even when political calculations changed or tactical
ambiguity became necessary, the principle of terminating the colonial
relationship has remained the moral foundation of the Oromo national
question.
3.
Echoes of Oromo Leaders: Jarra Abba Gada
and Others
Leaders like Jarra Abba Gada,
a revered commander and Baro Tumsa, a renowned thinker and unifier, in the
Oromo liberation movement, spoke repeatedly and clearly about the centrality of
independence. To paraphrase Jarra Abba Gadaa, the question of independence is
not something we begged to inherit—it is something we must assert, because it
was taken from us without our consent.
Other Oromo voices, from elders
to students, have echoed this truth. Whether in the mountains of Oromia or the
streets of the diaspora, the call has remained constant: freedom is not a
favor. It is a right.
4.
Independence as a Moral, Not Merely
Political, Demand
Too often, independence is
debated purely in terms of practicality—"Is it achievable?" or
"Will it bring economic hardship?" These are valid concerns, but they
are secondary to the principle at stake.
Just as South Africans didn’t
wait to calculate GDP projections before fighting apartheid, and just as
Eritreans didn’t negotiate over federal autonomy while under occupation, the
Oromo people cannot surrender their right to determine their own future in
exchange for promised reforms that never arrive.
This is not about politics
alone—it is about dignity, agency, and justice.
5.
Frederick Douglass and the Nature of
Power
To understand why independence
must be demanded—not pleaded for—one need only recall the words of the great
African American abolitionist Frederick Douglass, who declared:
“Power concedes nothing
without a demand. It never did and it never will.”
These words ring true in Oromia
today. For too long, the Oromo movement has been asked to moderate its demands,
to be “realistic,” to wait for a more favorable time. But power has never
yielded to patience. It yields to clarity, courage, and pressure.
Independence Still Matters—Because Truth Still Matters
The demand for independence is not outdated. It is not
extreme. It is not divisive. It is a just and historically grounded response to
a century of dispossession and domination. To abandon it—not as a tactic, but
as a principle—is to forget the very reason the struggle began.
Whether independence is achieved in our lifetime or the
next, what matters now is that we reclaim it as our rightful aspiration—boldly,
unapologetically, and without shame.
Independence still matters because truth still matters. And
justice delayed does not mean justice denied—unless we allow ourselves to stop
demanding it.
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