O-Dispatch #8 - What Oromia Can Learn from Eritrea: A Hard Look at Two Struggles for Self-Determination

 By Bantii Qixxeessaa

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The fight for self-determination is rarely clean, never easy, and always political. Two places in the Horn of Africa - Eritrea and Oromia - have long fought for the right to define their own futures. One succeeded. The other is still deep in the struggle. What can Oromia learn from Eritrea's experience? Let’s cut through the noise and break down where these movements align, where they diverge, and what the Oromo movement must do differently if it wants to turn resistance into results.

Caveat: Eritrea’s path was brutal, and post-independence governance has been controversial. Oromia shouldn't copy Eritrea. But it can learn from what worked.

Different Histories, Same Demand: Freedom

Eritrea was an Italian colony, later federated (then annexed) by Ethiopia. That legal trail gave its independence bid legitimacy in the eyes of the world.

Oromia, on the other hand, was conquered and absorbed into the Ethiopian empire in the late 19th century. No international mandate. No referendum. No consent of the Oromo people. Just force.

Yet both Eritreans and Oromos developed strong national identities. Both resisted cultural erasure. Both fought back.

One Movement, Many Faces: Unity Was Key for Eritrea

Eritrea’s greatest strength? Coherence. The Eritrean People’s Liberation Front (EPLF) wasn’t perfect, but it was disciplined, secular, and unified in message and mission. It shut down infighting and focused on the goal: independence.

Now consider Oromia. The Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) was once a powerful symbol of resistance. However, years of factionalism, strategic drift, and leadership rivalries have severely weakened its influence. Today, the Oromo struggle is fragmented: the OLA militant wing operates in parts of Oromia; the so-called loyal Oromo opposition parties within Ethiopia are largely inactive, not even organizing peaceful protests; and the diaspora is often consumed by armchair activism, echo chambers, and circular debates that rarely translate into meaningful action on the ground.

Lesson #1: No movement succeeds without internal unity.

Guns, Grassroots, and Global Support

Eritrea committed fully to armed resistance—building guerrilla infrastructure, training disciplined fighters, and sustaining a 30-year war that ultimately ended in military victory in 1991.

Oromia’s approach, by contrast, has been mixed. Armed resistance is active and showing unprecedented promise, but it remains disconnected from broader peaceful movements and sporadic uprisings within the country. Coordination with the diaspora is weak, and the Ethiopian state has become adept at either co-opting or suppressing both armed and nonviolent efforts. Although there has been no meaningful diplomatic initiative to speak of, it is largely due to the OLA’s armed struggle that the Oromo cause has received even minimal recognition from third-party actors involved in mediation with the Ethiopian government.

Meanwhile, Eritrea’s diaspora played a crucial role on the global stage—lobbying, fundraising, and shaping international narratives. The Oromo diaspora, while passionate and sizable, remains too often divided and disorganized to wield comparable influence.

Lesson #2: Resistance works best when military, grassroots, and diplomatic fronts move in sync.

International Legitimacy: Eritrea Had It. Oromia Needs to Build It.

Eritrea had a legal framework - UN resolutions, federation history, and eventually a UN-backed referendum. That mattered.

Oromia doesn’t have those, yet. The Ethiopian constitution technically grants regions the right to secede. However, in practice, whether that door remains open or firmly bolted shut depends largely on the actions and resolve of Oromo political leaders and the movement they lead. While there’s no Eritrea-style precedent to lean on, there are still other legal tools: Article 1(2) of the UN Charter, the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, and the concept of internal colonialism.

Lesson #3: Oromia must get smart with international law - and louder in international diplomacy.

Geography and Geopolitics Matter

Eritrea sits on the Red Sea, making it strategically valuable to both superpowers and regional players. Its geographic location has long drawn global attention - everyone had an opinion on Eritrea.

Oromia, by contrast, is landlocked, surrounded by other regions, and traditionally portrayed as deeply integrated into Ethiopia’s central state. This perception may make its path to independence appear more challenging, both logistically and politically. Yet Oromia is rich in human capital, celebrated as the birthplace of coffee, blessed with fertile lands and abundant agricultural output, and endowed with vast reserves of precious minerals beneath its soil. After all, seaports only matter if there are goods to move. Oromia can be just as strategically important as Eritrea - if not more so - depending on how its political leaders present its value to international powers, superpowers, and regional actors.

Moreover, the OLA’s success in dismantling and discrediting the Ethiopian government’s authority in expanding liberated areas is steadily reshaping the political landscape. As this continues, the world will have no choice but to take notice and form positions, just as it did with Eritrea.

To realize its full potential, Oromia must think regionally, cultivate domestic alliances, and pursue innovative ways to generate strategic relevance on the world stage.

Lesson #4: If you're not naturally strategic, you have to make yourself indispensable.

Five Hard-Earned Lessons for Oromia

1. Unify or lose. Political fragmentation is a gift to your oppressor. Eritrea didn’t win because they had more fighters. They won because they moved as one.
2. Structure your struggle. Every movement needs infrastructure: leadership, communication, logistics, legal, and diplomatic. Oromia’s struggle needs to be a machine, not a moment.
3. Control the narrative. Eritreans documented war crimes, broadcast their case, and won sympathy. Oromos must do the same—consistently and professionally.
4. Elevate the diaspora. Turn online energy into offline power. Fundraising, lobbying, international advocacy—diaspora networks should be engines, not echo chambers.
5. Negotiate from strength. Don’t ask for freedom. Build the leverage that makes the world take you seriously. That means grassroots power, not just hashtags.

Final Thought: Inspiration Isn’t Imitation

Eritrea’s path was brutal, and post-independence governance has been controversial. Oromia shouldn't copy Eritrea. But it can learn from what worked.

The Oromo struggle is not hopeless. It’s just at a crossroads. And if the movement can learn to organize like the EPLF, advocate like the Eritrean diaspora, and resist like a state-in-the-making, not just a people under siege—it might not stay stuck in history’s waiting room forever.