Of Men, Running Water, Sheep, Lions, and Vultures in Five Political Parties
A Political Fable from a Surprising Source in an Earlier Time.
While all around we see election-related crisis
human rights violations, humanitarian crises
the appeal of a stable political institution rises
With it the immense capacity to calm society
psychologically increasing certainty about our future
imagine a stable political system prospering
with competition not among the political parties
as each party takes power in an orderly fashion
but among the individual candidates competing
to come to power within the party
No substantial conflicts between political parties
a democratic society flourishes
Imagine a country with five political parties
a nightmare for some with difficulty to choose
but not here in this country
where each party serves an eight-year term
before happily turning over governance to the next party
in a 40-year cycle of peace and prosperity.
All the parties abide by the laws of Waaqa
nature, and society both moral and ethical living
We believe in God’s law and the law of society
establish through the Gadaa system of democracy
to maintain nagaa Oromo (Oromo peace)
and safu (moral balance) in society
among Waaqa, society, and nature
to achieve their full human destiny (kao or kayo)
All the parties are not the same
but all follow Oromo concepts:
“Oromummaa, gootummaa” (bravery and patriotism)
“Walabummaa” (sovereignty)
“Bilisummaa” (liberation)
“Gadaa” (popular democracy)
“Nagaa” (peace), and
“Kao” or “Kayyo” (prosperity and peace)
The five Gadaa parties follow five world views
with five natural governments
1. of men (reason/elitism)
2. running water (progress/liberal)
3. sheep (tranquility/peace)
4. lion (power/patriotic)
5. vulture (resourcefulness/developmental)
The prevalence of orderly succession of Gadaa parties
avoids to a larger extent the pre-election and post-election crises
our country and regional state faces
while each focusing on a brighter future
in a different way.
An idea from the Oromo in the Horn of Africa based on the May 2012, Master’s dissertation, Ethiopia: When The Gadaa Democracy Rules In A Federal State Bridging Indigenous Institutions of Governance to Modern Democracy by Zelalem Tesfaye Sirna.
