Hangaasuu Bilisummaa Journal Volume 1 - ULFO

Contributions by 

Idries Jemal 

Tajii Bokkuu 

Taammanaa Bitimaa 

Dirribaa Ejere 

Dhugaasaa D. Goobanaa 

Volume 1 Spring 2010

Hangaasuu Bilisummaa Journal Volume 1 Spring 2010 

Raayyaa Caalaa, Editor 

Tamanaa Bitimaa, Assistant Editor 

Hangaasuu Bilisummaa I


In this issue of Hangaasu Bilisummaa, six papers have been presented. The papers address two principal 

themes: 1) the voids or missing ingredients in the Oromo national liberation struggle and 2) the TPLF landgrab 

and its implications on the political, economic, and social well-being of the Oromo. 

Three of the papers tackle core problems of the Oromo national struggle: organizational behavioral or 

cultural challenges, the abysmal state of unity (tokkummaa) of liberation forces, and the ever escalating 

fragmentation of liberation forces. These interrelated or interlocked issues have been dealt with from 

different vantage points how they impact on the quest for bilisummaa of the Oromo nation. 

Edries identifies issues related to organizational culture of the Oromo liberation forces that impede the 

progress of the Oromo national struggle. He states an immediate need to overhaul or introduce changes in 

the way such forces presently run the business of their respective organizations. In this respect, he suggests 

some best practices that could shape desired organizational behaviors that help advance the liberation goal. 

Tajii attempts to highlight how the essence of tokkummaa of the Oromo people and the various Oromo 

liberation forces has been debased over the years. Within historical context of the race for uniting the people 

of Oromiyaa and Oromo liberation forces, he shades some lights on successes achieved and failures 

encountered. At the end, he provides suggested remedies for recurrent problems that have remained 

bottlenecks for tokkummaa. 

In a different paper, Diribaa pin points the primary causes of fragmentation of Oromo liberation forces and 

why tokkummaa is so difficult to evolve among such forces. 

A paper on Saamicha Lafa by Taamanaa Bitimaa discusses the most cardinal and timely issue of the TPLFled 

Ethiopian regime land-grab campaign camouflaged as ‘Land Lease” to international investors. It 

exposes sinister motives of the regime behind its land expropriation campaign. It calls for struggle to 

continue until the Oromo nation reasserts its property right and the right to a country. On a related topic, 

Diribaa also presents his argument against the so called large-scale land lease. He states the far-reaching 

implications of uprooting indigenous people on their socio-economic well-being. 

In such eloquence, Dhugaasaa portrays the beauty of Oromiyaa in his poem titled “Biyya Oromoo 

Laalistuu”. 

Hangaasuu Bilisummaa II


The organizational behavior of Oromo Liberation 

Forces 

By Idries Jemal 

The Essence of Tokkummaa Defiled 

what are the remedies? 

By Tajii Bokkuu 

Saamicha Lafa oromoo 

By Taammanaa Bitimaa 

The basis of Mushrooming Factions within Oromo 

Liberation Forces. Lack of Understanding the Value of 

Freedom and Ingredients to Get It 

By Dirribaa Ejere 

Biyya Oromoo Laalistuu 

By Dhugaasaa D. Goobanaa 

Rooting out the Oromos and exposing them to 

hunger 


Hangaasuu Bilisummaa III


Table Contents 

1. The organizational behavior of Oromo Liberation Forces 1 

Steps in Oromo organizational behavior and culture change. ............................................................................ 1 

2. The Essence of Tokkummaa Defiled 3 

1. Tokkummaa Oromo ............................................................................................................................................. 3 

2. Tokkummaa of Liberation Forces .......................................................................................................................... 6 

3. The Remedies ...................................................................................................................................................... 11 

3. Saamichalafa Oromoo 14 

Duraandursa ............................................................................................................................................................. 14 

Duradubbii ................................................................................................................................................................ 15 

Seensa ......................................................................................................................................................................... 16 

Sirna gadaa keessatti qabiinsa lafaa ....................................................................................................................... 19 

Sirna gabrummaa habashaa jalatti qabiinsa lafaa ................................................................................................ 20 

4. The basis of Mushrooming Factions within Oromo Liberation Forces 22 

Lack of understanding ............................................................................................................................................. 22 

Power struggle .......................................................................................................................................................... 23 

Regionalism ............................................................................................................................................................... 24 

Ideology ..................................................................................................................................................................... 24 

5. Biyya Oromoo Laalistuu 25 

Hangaasuu Bilisummaa IV


6. Rooting out the Oromos and exposing them to hunger 31 

Food insecurity ......................................................................................................................................................... 31 

Rooting out the indigenous population ................................................................................................................ 32 

Environmental disaster ............................................................................................................................................ 33 

Hangaasuu Bilisummaa V

Hangaasuu Bilisummaa VI

The organizational behavior of Oromo Liberation Forces VOLUME 1 SPRING 2010 

The organizational behavior of Oromo Liberation Forces 

The organizational behavior of Oromo Liberation Forces 

By Idries Jemal 

The persistent and deeply 

entrenched behavioral 

factors of the Oromo 

Liberation Forces were 

formed by leaders who have an 

ulterior motive not related or 

consistent with the overriding 

goals, objectives and aspirations 

of the Oromo liberation. The 

quintessential purpose of the 

Oromo liberation forces is to 

liberate and unite the Oromo 

people. Unfortunately, the 

leadership of Oromo liberation 

forces acts contrary to this goal. 

Sadly, they are resistant to 

change and committed to 

maintaining a status quo which 

benefits their personal wellbeing. 

Today, the behavior of the Oromo 

Liberation Forces is to follow the 

leadership blindly for whom the 

bottom line is to give lip service 

to the liberation of Orommiyya 

and jack for position by any 

means necessary. A negative and 

self-willed organizational cultural 

has led to the Oromo Liberation 

Forces to a political stalemate. 

Organizational cultures form for 

many reasons. The 

organizational culture matches 

the styles and comfort zone of the 

leaders of these organizations. 

Culture frequently echoes the 

prevailing leadership style. Since 

the leaders tend to recruit people 

like themselves, the established 

organizational culture is further 

reinforced by new recruits. 

In order to advance the cause of 

the Oromo liberation cultural 

changes must take place. 

Organizational culture grows 

overtime. People are comfortable 

with the current organizational 

culture. For people to consider 

culture change, usually a 

significant event must occur. An 

event that rocks their world must 

take place. 

Even then, to recognize that the 

organizational cultural behavior 

is the culprit and to take steps to 

change it is a tough journey. For 

many what is suggested in here 

could be a poison pill to 

swallow, however, it is critical 

for the advancement of our 

purpose. This critical assessment 

and chastisement is earnestly 

warranted and necessary to 

achieve the Oromo Liberation 

Forces’ goal of transforming and 

growing into a dynamic 

organization true to our mission. 

When people in an organization 

realize and recognize that their 

current organizational culture 

needs to transform to support the 

organization’s success and 

progress, change can occur. I do 

not suggest that this document 

within itself will bring about the 

type of change we desire, 

however, it does highlights what 

is necessary to be done to reach 

our mutual goal. The following 

are suggested best practices in 

this regard: 

Steps in Oromo organizational 

behavior and culture change. 

There are four major steps 

involved in changing Oromo 

organizational culture. 

1. Before the Oromo Liberation 

Forces can change their 

culture, they must 

understand the current 

culture, or the way things are 

now. Do take time to pursue 

the activities before moving 

on to next steps. 

2. Once you understand your 

current organizational 

culture, your organization 

must decide what 

organizational culture should 

look like to support success 

and overall mission of the 

Hangaasuu Bilisummaa 1

The organizational behavior of Oromo Liberation Forces VOLUME 1 SPRING 2010 

organization. What vision 

does the Oromo Liberation 

Forces have for their future 

and how must the culture 

change to support the 

accomplishment of that 

vision? 

3. The individuals in the Oromo 

Liberation Forces must decide 

to change their behavior to 

create the desired 

organizational culture. This 

is the hardest step in culture 

change. 

4. The Oromo public in whose 

name these groups propagate 

must rise and reject the false 

pretense and demand 

organizational cultural 

change. Additionally, here 

forward they must refuse 

financial contributions to 

those “Liberation Forces” 

who are not advancing the 

cause of the Oromo liberation. 

Finally, you cannot change the 

organizational culture without 

knowing where your 

organization wants to be or what 

elements of the current 

organizational culture needs to 

change. Ask yourself, what 

cultural elements truly support 

the success of Oromo liberation. 

Categorically, reject cultural ideas 

and misnomers that are divergent 

from Oromo liberation forces. As 

it’s evident, the Oromo Liberation 

Force members spend too much 

time agreeing with each other 

rather than challenging their 

organization leadership, political 

trend and culture. 

You can change your 

organizational culture to support 

the accomplishment of liberation 

of Oromiyya’s goals. Changing 

your organizational culture 

requires time, commitment, 

planning and proper execution- 

but it can be done. 


The The Essence of of Tokkummaa Defiled 

what are the remedies? 

By Tajii Bokkuu 

The notion that the Oromo 

unity and the unity of 

liberation forces of 

Oromiyaa is the cornerstone for 

the success of the Oromo national 

liberation struggle resonates well 

within the Oromo society. It has 

been specially so pervasively 

embraced since the beginning of 

the Oromo freedom movement. 

Likewise, without being 

circumscribed to the Oromo, it is 

a de facto shared idea amid 

friends and foes of the Oromo 

revolutionary struggle: the latter 

ones are harboring it for the 

purpose of strategically negating 

the unity of the Oromo nation 

and its liberation forces. 

Tokkummaa is often 

interchangeably used to mean 

both the unity of the Oromo 

people and the unity of 

independent Oromo political 

forces. In this piece, I will attempt 

to discuss both aspects of 

The Essence of Tokkummaa Defiled VOLUME 1 SPRING 2010 

tokkummaa and how the essence 

of each version of tokkummaa has 

been defiled. 

1. Tokkummaa Oromo 

Tokkummaa as it pertains to the 

people – the Oromo people - is 

inviolable. According to the 

Oromo cultural value it is 

sacrosanct. Violation of such a 

value is considered a curse. 

Sowing discord, driving wedge to 

cause division, and inciting 

conflict among the Oromo people 

are proscribed acts (hooda). So 

much so, tradition has it, that 

culprits of any of such acts within 

the Oromo society face social 

sanction. Such individuals who 

violate the quintessence of 

tokkummaa Oromo are made to 

repent and then integrate back 

into the society. It is with such a 

safety net that tokkummaa Oromo 

had been maintained until the 

dawn of colonization of 

Oromiyaa. 

Prior to Euro-Abyssinian 

colonization of Oromiyaa, history 

attests that the unity of the 

Oromo people from corner to 

corner was solid. Fully 

recognizing the merit of 

tokkummaa, the Oromo people 

kept their unity intact. By 

instituting social and cultural 

values, they sustained their unity 

and by extension superbly 

defended their collective interest 

and lived as a glorious nation. 

External Assualt on 

Tokkummaa Oromo 

The assault on tokkummaa came 

about first with expansionist 

Abyssinians encroachment on 

Oromiyaa. For long, however, 

Abyssinians were intrigued by 

the strength of the Oromo force 

that rebuffed their repeated 

attempts of southerly incursion. 

They grudgingly admired the 

well launched Oromo military 

might and organizational 

capacity and efficiency that 

sustained it through mobilization 

of every sector of the Oromo 

society that readily lined up for 

the defense of the Oromo country 

against all alien forces. Such are 

facts that their own Abyssinian 

clergies (debteras) documented in 

various historical chronicles 

clearly attesting the solid unity of 

the Oromo people before 

conquest. 

Overly ambitious and 

determined to conquer 

Oromiyaa, Abyssinians along 

with their allies devised a twopronged 

strategy. Firstly, as they 

fully realized the unyielding 

Oromo unity is a stumbling block 

for their expansionist venture, 

they embarked on their primary 

strategic goal of launching an 

attack on tokkummaa Oromo. For 


this goal to succeed, they put in 

place various mechanisms. 

Secondly, since they fully figured 

that they could not conquer 

Oromiyaa without securing 

external political and military 

support, they appealed to the 

great European powers of the 20 th 

century for help. They garnered 

the help they desperately needed 

to the extent that they have 

remained parasitically latching 

on to them to this date. This 

strategic move on the part of the 

Abyssinian ruling elites has 

helped fulfill their dream and 

kept it alive to this date. 

It is a common knowledge that 

the full implementation of the 

divide and conquer policy on the 

Oromo began with the rise of 

Emperor Minilik of Abyssinia. 

While the emperor unified and 

rallied behind his throne the once 

divided Abyssinians fiefdoms, he 

coaxed powerful Oromo leaders 

of the time like Goobanaa Daacii 

to ally with him in the Ethiopian 

empire building enterprise. The 

cooperation of Goobanaa with 

Minilik on the conquest of the 

Oromo for the first time violated 

in a significant way the basic 

cultural tenets of upholding 

tokkummaa Oromo. It tore apart 

the longstanding cohesive social 

fabric of the Oromo people. This 

turned out to be a grand historic 

opportunity for the Abyssinians 

who have been long yearning for 

a schism of some sort within the 

Oromo society. Minilik 

capitalized on this opportunity 

and kept the Oromos in various 

geographic enclaves apart and 

foiled their reunification 

attempts. 


With fully garnered political and 

military advice and support of 

armament from European allies, 

Minilik consolidated his power 

and securely incorporated 

Oromiyaa in the Ethiopian 

empire and further more created 

a situation that dashed the hope 

of Oromo re-unification. The 

scope of the challenge for the 

Oromo to resurface as a united 

national force became 

monumental. 

Despite the colossal challenge, 

however, the Oromos who 

survived the extermination 

campaign of Minilik never 

succumbed to total submission. 

They have kept struggling to 

regroup and assert their 

inalienable rights at every 

opportune moment and at 

various corners of Oromiyaa. 

Overtime, the Oromo 

reunification process has ensued. 

It took well over a century before 

the fractured tokkummaa Oromo 

began healing. Surmounting all 

odds during this long span of 

time, visionary Oromo 

nationalists finally managed to 

come together and frame a 

unifying idea on how tokkummaa 

Oromo could be restored. 

Convinced that the freedom 

(bilisummaa) of the Oromo 

people heavily hinges only on the 

restoration of tokkummaa, the 

Oromo nationalists using various 

pretexts embarked on 

campaigning to rally the Oromo 

mass behind a cause that draw 

them together. It was this 

incipient movement that led to 

the conception of Maccaa - 

Tulama Association. The birth of 

this association and its outreach 

activities mended severed bonds 

of the Oromo matrix across 

Oromiya. For the fist time since 

the colonization of Oromiya, the 

Oromos beyond religious, 

regional, class, and ideological 

divides euphorically reunited 

under the banner of Maccaa- 

Tulama Association. Far beyond 

Oromiyaa, the association 

reached and mobilized other 

nations and nationalities of the 

south who shared the same fate 

of oppressive political system 

with the Oromo to rise and unite. 

The emerging Oromo unification 

under Macca-Tulama appeared 

quite promising at the time. True 

enough, Macca-Tulama was a 

source of hope for the recrystallization 

of tokkummaa 

Oromo. It revived the sociocultural 

Oromo values that did 

help cement the foundation of 

tokkummaa Oromo. This was 

considered a watershed in the 

resurgence of tokkummaa. By 

extension, it was felt the 

beginning of the end of the 

Abyssinian rulers’ grand strategy 

of the Oromo containment by 

way of balkanization. However, 

the ruling Abyssinian elites 

countered the Oromo 

tokkummaa movement with a 

hefty retribution – a vengeance 

that emasculated the cream 

leadership of the movement. 

Despite such an attack on its 

leadership, the Maccaa-Tulama 

Association never remained 

ephemeral. It has survived a 

barrage of trial and tribulations 

over the years. To this date, true 

to its commitment, it has 


emained serving as a guardian 

of Oromo unity and a harbor for 

the growth and development of 

Oromummaa. 

For the Abyssinian rulers, such 

an attractive platform of the 

association was a potential threat. 

It was a threat then for the feudal 

Abyssinian ruling class during its 

incipient stage. It is equally 

menacing now for the current 

Wayane regime. It is realizing 

this threat that Wayane has 

presently banned the legal 

operation of the association. 

Again for such a desperate action 

of Wayane, there was no other 

reason but the fear of the 

symbolic institutional power and 

the moral authority on tokkummaa 

that Macca-Tulama Association 

exudes. 

The external assault on 

tokkummaa has continued 

unabated. It has actually gotten 

progressively worse with every 

passing regime of Ethiopia. The 

Wayane regime is one that has 

taken the most draconian 

measures in balkanizing the 

Oromo people by region and 

religion. Today, its survival 

hinges on its refined state of art in 

dividing the Oromo and other 

peoples in Ethiopia. 

Internal Assault on 

Tokkummaa Oromo 

It is safe to state that the internal 

attack on tokkummaa Oromo fist 

surfaced following the initial 

internal crisis of the Oromo 

Liberation Front (OLF). The OLF, 

born out of the womb of the 

Maccaa-Tulama Association, had 


a pan-Oromo face at birth. 

However, with the unfortunate 

incident that took the lives of its 

leaders in the late 70s, the OLF 

has begun tacitly ‘defining and 

refining’ its leaders on the basis 

of Oromo regional settings. As a 

result, over time its original make 

up has faded away. This 

evolution of the OLF has had a 

ramification of wider scope on 

tokkummaa Oromo. 

It has been alleged that instead of 

rigorously employing ideological 

leaning or conviction and 

dedication to the cause of 

bilisummaa as solemn criteria, 

following the setback it internally 

encountered, the OLF used the 

birth place as a marker of trust 

for individual Oromos wishing to 

join the front. That is, while it 

allegedly considered Oromos of 

certain regions trustworthy and 

accepted their membership it 

shunned and discriminated 

against others, more so when 

drawing members to its 

leadership rank. Although the 

OLF has emphatically denied this 

practice and dismissed it all 

together, anecdotal evidences 

presented by many could prove it 

otherwise. Nonetheless, for the 

sake of argument assuming the 

OLF claim was right then, the 

mere perception itself that it had 

used a parochial card for 

screening members spread a 

wave of sense of division within 

the Oromo society. Solely as a 

result of this perception, Oromos 

of certain regions labeled the OLF 

as a regional front and remained 

aloof. On the other had, the OLF 

countered by calling others 

Gobanas, Ethiopianist, renegades, 

etc. The floating of such labels 

with subtle regional connotation 

became sources of great divides 

within our society; among other 

things it shook the refortified 

tokkummaa Oromo to a 

considerable degree, especially 

within the learned or well 

informed sector of our society. 

Politics is about managing 

perceptions. The OLF should and 

could have managed the 

perception that was spreading 

wildly. Contemplating that such 

a perception is damaging to 

tokkummaa Oromo, the OLF 

should have taken a hasty 

measure to dispel it. It could have 

flashed it out by revamping itself 

and exhibiting its pan-Oromo 

image and, moreover, by 

practically reaching and 

involving Oromos from all 

corners Oromiya in the struggle. 

It should have rather instituted a 

political culture of noticeable 

inclusiveness to cope with the 

situation. This could have been a 

remedy – a remedy for the front 

to heal for good and prevent 

politics to get in the way and rock 

tokkummaa Oromo. 

I say this with the benefit of 

hindsight. The current 

plummeting state Oromo politics 

within the camp of the Oromo 

liberation struggle can be 

attributed to the same deeply 

harbored perception of the OLF 

make up and its failure to 

properly manage that perception. 

No doubt there are many other 

problems that have shackled the 

struggle. To a large degree, 

however, the offshoot of the old 

problem within the OLF and its 


incessant simmering that is 

debilitating the struggle. The spill 

over effect of the crisis within the 

organization is now ripping apart 

the tokkummaa of the Diaspora 

Oromo communities, and it could 

potentially impact on people at 

home. 

Tokkummaa Oromo is the most 

vital treasure we can’t afford to 

squander. It is our last defense 

shield against the enemy that is 

ever more determined to 

obliterate the Oromo from the 

face of the earth. Problems 

emanating from mismanagement 

of our internal politics should not 

be allowed to creep into 

tokkummaa Oromo and water it 

down. Tokkummaa Oromo that we 

all so much cherish must be kept 

intact at any cost. Let our cultural 

treasure be fully utilized 

exquisitely to help mend and 

sustain tokkummaa. Let us not at 

the expense of tokkummaa haggle 

for petty political gains. We have 

to fight external intruders and 

internal chameleons who use 

region and religion as currencies 

to ascend to political power and 

in the process trample upon the 

tokkummaa of our people. 

2. Tokkummaa of 

Liberation Forces 

The growing number of Oromo 

political organizations or forces is 

also a matter of serious concern 

for the Oromo public. In essence, 

it is not so much the sheer 

statistics of the liberation forces 

that is bothersome, but what they 

actually do contrary to what they 

proclaim is one that does not sit 


well with the Oromo people. The 

aspiration of our people is to see 

not fragmented but unified forces 

with a common purpose. 

It is not unusual to see multiple 

political organizations catering to 

diverse political interests 

emerging from within a fairly 

populace nation like the Oromo. 

Proliferation of political 

organizations is a sign of political 

activism and mature democracy. 

As long as actions of such 

organizations complement one 

another and effect substantial 

transformation in all facets of life 

in a given society, the number 

factor is inconsequential. It is, 

however, counterproductive 

when political organizations litter 

a political landscape and go at 

logger-head with each other to 

the detriment of the society they 

claim to serve. 

This latter situation better 

describes the prevailing situation 

in the Oromo political arena. 

Prior to the birth of the OLF in 

the early 1970s, let alone many, 

not a single front or political 

organization of national stature 

existed in Oromiyaa. Few 

political entities did emerge, raise 

the grievance of the Oromo 

people, and spark the Oromo 

movement at different corners of 

Oromiyaa. It is the movement led 

by such entities that eventually 

culminated in the formation of 

the OLF. Hence, for all practical 

purposes, one could say the OLF 

was the sole political voice of the 

Oromo nation at the time. By late 

1970s, however, this situation had 

completely changed. Crisis in the 

OLF resulted in fragmentation. 

What unfolded then continued in 

several fold to the extent that 

today numerous fronts claim to 

struggle for the same cause – for 

liberation – but in pathetically 

unsynchronized fashion. 

The cause of the initial crisis 

within the OLF could be several. 

On the surface, it could be 

attributed to organizational and 

leadership inexperience. As a 

newly formed front, the issue of 

lack of experience in both 

organization and leadership areas 

is a plausible cause. For a young 

organization, it could be 

challenging to manage a setback 

and remain on course. However, 

what contributed the most to the 

first faction is the difference in 

ideological inclination amongst 

the earlier members of the OLF 

leadership coupled with the 

parochial card they later used to 

ascend to power. 

In subsequent years, up until 

presently, beside the OLF 

factions, we have witnessed a 

growing number of other Oromo 

political forces. The root cause for 

further division within the OLF 

could be ascribed to its failure to 

manage the perception about its 

lack of inclusiveness, reach and 

involve Oromos across all divides 

(region, religion, sex, age, etc.), 

accommodate dissenting political 

views, and uphold a consistent 

ideological line. Other Oromo 

liberation fronts came into being 

in reaction to the OLF ineptness 

to handle its internal 

organizational challenges, 

mobilize the Oromo nation from 

corner to corner, rally and lead 

the mass around the core 


objective of the national 

liberation struggle. 

The escalating number of the 

Oromo liberation forces has 

become a grave concern for our 

people for sometime. Specially, 

the lack of coordinated efforts on 

the part of such forces has been 

quite disturbing for all 

concerned. To remedy this 

situation, in the eve of and during 

the Charter era of 1991, Oromo 

elders have made a call to all 

forces to come together and work 

in unison for the Oromo national 

interest. This first call of 

“tokkummaa”, despite diligent 

effort of elders, never came to 

fruition. Opportunities presented 

to them to come together and 

work to heal old wounds, iron 

out differences, and collectively 

advance the Oromo cause were 

totally aborted. Regrettably, with 

incessant in-fighting and without 

directing their collective muscle 

against the enemy, just as divided 

all left the political scene in 

Finifine without making any 

contribution in derailing the 

refined colonial agenda of the 

Wayane regime. This 

circumstance has exacerbated the 

concern of our people and further 

more elevated their frustration. 

For nearly a decade, from the 

time they all vacated from Finfine 

up until year 2000, literally no 

one front had made a meaningful 

call for tokkummaa. Because the 

Oromo general public was 

pressing so hard on the issue of 

tokkummaa of forces, just few 

started making a nominal call 

merely for the purpose of 

political conception. Not anyone 


of the fronts but a mass 

organization first extended a 

genuine call for unity. That 

organization was the Union of 

Oromos in North America 

(UONA). Not only just a call but 

it also organized a conference - 

‘The Conference on Selfdetermination 

and National 

Unity” - and invited all Oromo 

liberation forces to participate in 

the conference and deliberate on 

such grand issues of national 

concern. With the exception of 

the OLF, all the rest positively 

responded to the call by sending 

their delegates and participating 

in the conference. A very positive 

development emerged out of this 

conference. Participants agreed 

on and committed to further 

advancing the agenda of unity to 

a higher level. The conference 

had served as a launching pad for 

other similar conferences to be 

held in the subsequent years. 

Eventually, constant dialogue 

and constructive engagement 

between the liberation forces 

resulted in the historic formation 

of the United Liberation Forces of 

Oromiyaa (ULFO) in September 

2000. 

The formation of ULFO was a 

major milestone in the race for 

unity of all Oromo political forces 

in particular and the 

advancement of the Oromo 

liberation struggle at large. 

Realizing that the strength of the 

Wayane regime is the function of 

the fragmentation within the 

Oromo liberation camp, all forces 

made a groundbreaking pact on 

unity – the pact enshrined in a 

document referred to as the 

Consensus 2000. 

This pact was ecstatically 

received by the Oromo public, 

both at home and abroad. The 

overly agonizing issue of unity of 

purpose that so much dominated 

the Oromo political discourse, in 

private setting in millions of 

households and in various public 

fora, appeared to have been 

settled. All liberation forces 

brought past conflicts and 

misunderstandings to a table and 

sincerely and exhaustively 

discussed and put them to rest 

according to the Oromo cultural 

value. At the end, all declared ‘let 

the bygones be bygones’ and 

concluded with solemn oath 

(Kakuu) that they will desist and 

resist actions that promote 

fragmentation and uphold unity 

at all cost. This unprecedented 

spirit and sentiment of unity of 

forces elated the Oromo mass 

that had been yearning for such a 

culmination. 

So the formation of ULFO created 

a fertile ground for the seed of 

unity to germinate, blossom, and 

mature. The Oromo political 

forces seemed to have captured 

the moment to advance the cause 

of the nation. The Oromo mass 

fully rallied behind them. All 

factors that satisfy the Oromo 

political equation hinging on 

unity converged. Oromo as a 

political force appeared to have 

reached a pinnacle – a pinnacle 

that by any measure had hitherto 

never been seen. The storm 

seemed to have gathered to 

shorten the days of the tyrant 

TPLF rulers of Ethiopia. Hence, 

the creation of ULFO and its 

political potential appeared to 

have unnerved the TPLF. 


The organizational framework of 

ULFO was well laid down. Its 

pressing tasks were prioritized. 

The tasks were assigned to 

appropriate organs. All 

organizations, under ULFO, were 

made to embark on the mission of 

discharging their collective 

responsibilities. All well and 

ULFO was off to a good start to 

achieve the goals set for itself. 

To help meet its goals, the 

backing that ULFO enjoyed from 

the Diaspora Oromos was 

exceptionally solid. With such a 

high degree of commitment, they 

flocked en masse to ULFO and 

displayed their unconditional 

political support and pledged to 

help financially and in expertise it 

might need. With the emergence 

of ULFO, the bickering and feud 

that consumed the energy and 

time of the Diaspora Oromos in 

various organizations subsided. 

Those on the sideline with no 

allegiance to any of the political 

forces felt to join this unified 

camp of the Oromo liberation 

struggle and pitch in their share 

for the struggle. What a better 

construct the Oromo nation 

would have asked for its 

struggle? 

The struggle was put on the right 

course with such a profound 

paradigm shift. However, it is 

very unfortunate that it was short 

lived. As initially intended, ULFO 

couldn’t carry out its tasks. At the 

early stage, power struggle 

within the OLF arrested the 

trajectory of ULFO. As wrangling 

ensued within the OLF members 

serving as executive officers 

within the office of ULFO, the 


coordination task that this office 

was supposed to undertake was 

rendered inactive. Right from the 

outset ULFO ran into a major 

setback. 

Despite this initial setback, ULFO 

somehow ran just rudimentary 

activities and created a climate of 

tranquility among its member 

organizations for sometime. 

Within all its limitation, it could 

have taken up a more grandiose 

task. However, purposefully it 

was reduced to engage only in 

such marginalized roles. Again 

the blame for the erosion of its 

role squarely rests on the OLF. 

Lest my intension here is 

construed as just a pure blame 

game, please rest assured that is 

not the case at all. I just wanted to 

state the fact. One anecdotal fact 

that I could present here that 

clearly testifies that the OLF 

intentionally degraded the role of 

ULFO is a statement one of its 

high ranking officials made at 

one ULFO’s public meetings in 

2005. The statement crudely 

translated reads: “ULFO was 

created merely to muzzle the 

voice of those who make noise 

about tokkummaa.” While this 

statement clearly trivialized the 

well intentioned and spelled out 

objectives of ULFO, the OLF 

never came out to rescind the 

statement of its official. This in 

effect led me to believe that the 

official never spoke his mind but 

stated the stance that the front all 

along had regarding the role of 

ULFO. Hence the OLF remains 

the culprit for the degenerative 

role of ULFO. 

Later, reneging the solemn kakuu 

it took with ULFO members, the 

OLF politically wedded with 

Abyssinian organizations by 

forming an alliance – The 

Alliance for Freedom and 

Democracy (AFD). This reckless 

political move has outraged 

member organizations of ULFO 

and the Oromo public at large. 

The rage was exceedingly 

debilitating. The OLF must have 

undoubtedly anticipated such a 

backlash. However, it obviously 

never cared at all for what its 

move could precipitate - be it the 

public outcry or otherwise. 

The fallout of the OLF political 

marriage with Abyssinian 

organizations that led to the 

formation of the AFD was farreaching. 

As forming alliance 

with political forces standing 

against the aspiration of the 

Oromo nation constituted a 

violation of the constitution of 

ULFO, the OLF got suspended 

and later dismissed from the 

membership of ULFO. As a 

result, the unity of Oromo 

political forces that was 

painstakingly built sustained a 

major crack. This situation has 

substantially arrested the 

progress on unity of liberation 

forces. 

The whole essence of bringing all 

Oromo political forces under the 

umbrella of ULFO was to create a 

conducive environment for 

forging a solid unity that could 

radically transform the liberation 

struggle. While this was the case, 

the OLF departure from ULFO 

left a significant void in the 

union. Of all the organizations, 


the OLF was the most ideally 

positioned to catalyze the 

unification process to a full 

merger of all member 

organizations of ULFO. It had the 

most manpower, the expertise, 

the organizational capacity, and 

the experience in the struggle to 

expedite the process of unifying 

all forces to one political entity. 

However, the OLF miserably 

failed to use these attributes to 

the advantage of uniting the 

forces and giving the struggle an 

edge. 

For the OLF, failing to help 

solidify its base by coalescing all 

forces within the liberation camp 

and hooping onto the Abyssinian 

political bandwagon meant a 

costly political miscalculation. 

First thing is first. In politics, one 

must first muster the support of 

its own base (immediate 

constituency) and then endeavors 

to reach for others. The OLF, 

however, put the cart before the 

horse. When it should have first 

put as much effort to fuse all 

ULFO member organizations and 

operate as one national political 

force, galvanize the Oromo mass 

behind it, and build consensus for 

its tactical political moves, it 

dropped the pressing issue of 

unity of Oromo forces like a hot 

potato and began dealing with 

non-Oromo political 

organizations. The end result 

happened to be a complete 

derailment from what ULFO 

envisioned at the outset. Worse 

off, the erroneous course the OLF 

took led to its fragmentation that 

is now exacting a heavy toll on 

the Oromo national liberation 

struggle. 


With the OLF gone from ULFO, 

the rest of member organizations 

have attempted to salvage the 

spirit of tokkummaa. In the wake 

of the OLF departure, they all 

convened and discussed the fate 

of the union. All agreed to 

maintain ULFO and work 

towards achieving its grand 

objectives. In due course, after 

assessing the state of the Oromo 

liberation struggle and realizing 

the dire need for expediting the 

unity process, they reached an 

understanding of readily merging 

all member organizations. In 

December 2006, a formal merger 

agreement was adopted. A newly 

accepted ULFO member 

organization, Adda 

Walabummaa Oromiyaa (AWO), 

also enthusiastically accepted the 

agreement upon joining the 

union. 

At the time, the agreement was 

well received. It was heralded as 

the most constructive and timely 

direction that ULFO members 

could take. That piece of 

agreement did console the Oromo 

public that was taken aback by 

the OLF gravitation towards the 

Abyssinian political camp. 

Unfortunately the agreement 

remained on paper. AWO 

retracted its agreement to merge. 

Its excuse was nothing but lame 

when seen in light of the ever 

more escalating challenges of our 

liberation struggle. It raised petty 

procedural and mostly trivial 

issues merely to renege its 

agreement. Had it been sincere in 

advancing the much needed 

unification, it could and should 

have worked out any problem, 

not cause one, to hasten and 

conclude the merger process. 

All member organizations of 

ULFO made concerted efforts and 

addressed AWO’s concerns, but 

to no avail. Despite all out 

attempts made to keep it on 

board, it chose not to go along 

with its initial agreement. 

As a result, the merger agreement 

that was to take effect in the 

summer of 2007 got aborted. A 

whole new negotiation had to 

then resume among the 

remaining ULFO members. This 

in itself was not an easy exercise. 

The derailment of the agreement 

took a heavy toll on most 

organizations. It dashed their 

hopes for unity. It brought the 

whole idea of forming one 

organization through merger 

under question. It forced all 

organization to take time to 

reflect on what had transpired 

during the merger process. 

Hence, apart from OPLF and 

GBO who engaged in a bilateral 

work right away, they remained 

in their secluded corner for over a 

year before reconvening for 

another round of negotiation. 

In summer of 2008, ULFO called 

the assembly of delegates to 

conduct its usual organizational 

business. During this assembly 

the issue of revisiting the merger 

of all organization came up. 

Given what had happened in the 

in December 2006 agreement, 

most organizations had 

misgivings about the seriousness 

of organizations that 

reintroduced the merger agenda. 

However, all agreed to revisit the 


agenda only after an exhaustive 

debrief on the last negotiation 

and agreement. 

Hence, somber and yet frank 

debrief on the last round of 

agreement took place. No flaws 

in the merger process have been 

identified. AWO was found 

categorically responsible for the 

derailment of the agreement. 

Stern criticism has been leveled at 

AWO for failing to honor the 

agreement. AWO’s delegates 

admitted the mistakes of their 

organization, and they 

apologized on behalf of their 

organization and pledged to 

move forward and positively and 

constructively contribute in 

building tokkummaa of all forces. 

For the interest of ultimately 

forging a solid unity, without any 

lingering hard feelings, delegates 

of all organizations accepted 

AWO’s apology and moved on to 

discussing the agenda of merger. 

Again after thorough deliberation 

on the agenda, a unanimous 

understanding has been reached 

to the effect that the Oromo 

liberation struggle desperately 

needs a unified national 

organization and leadership. For 

the realization of such an 

organization and leadership, they 

all agreed to pave the 

groundwork and scheduled the 

next Assembly of Delegates to 

take place at the beginning of 

year 2009 to further look at and 

conclude the merger as they see 

fit. In the interim period, they 

named a working group that 

would help facilitate in all aspects 

of the unification process. 


With so much hope to finalize the 

merger agreement, the working 

group diligently created amicable 

environment for all parties to 

ease into merger, planned and 

organized venues and logistical 

needs, and prepared and got all 

necessary documents ready for 

the Assembly of Delegates held in 

January 2009. In a two-day 

session that took place at the end 

of January, delegates of all 

organizations including that of a 

newly accepted member of 

ULFO, the OLF-Transition (T), 

participated with such a 

heightened expectation. 

At the end of the session, all but 

the OLF(T) fully endorsed an 

agreement of merger to take 

effect immediately. The OLF(T), 

rightly so, had a reservation on 

the immediate merger. It clearly 

stated that it would need 

sometime to work with and get 

confidence on ULFO member 

organizations before agreeing to 

merge with them. Accepting in 

principle the idea of uniting all 

Oromo forces under one strong 

national organization and 

leadership and commending the 

efforts of other organizations to 

unite soon, the OLF(T) 

unequivocally expressed its wish 

to temporarily work on bilateral 

or multilateral basis under ULFO 

on common national initiatives or 

projects until such time that there 

is a natural need and confidence 

to fully integrate and form one 

national front. 

Fully understanding and 

respecting the reservation of the 

OLF(T), the remaining ULFO 

member organizations embarked 

on the merger process. They left 

the door open for any Oromo 

liberation force wishing to join 

them at any given time. 

At the background of such a 

positive move of ULFO members, 

the whirlwind of ‘change’ that 

had ripped apart the OLF- 

Shanee(S) and created a third 

faction [the OLF- Change (C)] 

was at work in dislodging the 

painstakingly framed unity of 

Oromo political forces. The 

disintegration of the OLF into 

three different entities in and by 

itself is a profound political 

drawback for our national 

struggle. It is an abhorrent 

political fiasco that genuine 

Oromo nationalists hardly 

fathom and come to term with. 

That as it may, to add insult to 

injury, other organizations were 

targeted to sustain a similar 

havoc of split the OLF(C) created 

within the OLF circle. For no 

intelligent political reason, the 

OLF(C) was bent on working on 

all other organizations to become 

faction ridden. This mission of 

the OLF(C) did severely hamper 

the crystallization of the merger 

of ULFO members. 

At its inception, the OLF(C) 

looked and sounded as an agent 

of change that would profoundly 

transform the Oromo national 

liberation struggle in various 

aspects. One of the aspects that it 

claimed it would primarily deal 

with was tokkummaa of liberation 

forces. In this front, sure enough, 

it launched a vigorous and 

relentless campaign. However, it 

was all done in haste without 

assimilating the challenges of 


internal dynamics hinging on 

unity, without due process of 

consultation with all parties, 

without giving due consideration 

to the essence of tokkummaa as 

articulated by founding fathers of 

ULFO, and without giving due 

regard to an already existing 

institution (venue) - ULFO- 

where tokkummaa should be 

cultivated. By categorically 

rejecting and by-passing ULFO, 

the OLF(C) essentially embarked 

on what amounts to re-inventing 

the wheel – “building tokkummaa 

of liberation forces”. At the 

outset, this move of the OLF(C) 

was rebuked. Given the 

unprecedented effort and time 

spent on creating ULFO, the 

Oromo public had hardly any 

appetite for another cycle of 

recreating a united front. 

Nonetheless, in a grandstanding 

approach and crude method, the 

OLF(C) patched together few 

rouge and weakest link elements 

from all Oromo political forces 

and proudly called it a historic 

unity in October 2009. In effect it 

poked in the affairs of every 

organization in an attempt to 

render them dysfunctional and 

eventually put them out of the 

political scene. This ain’t unity 

but a like of Demolition Derby. 

All this not so much to bring 

about a genuine and lasting unity 

but to get a bit of an edge in the 

political skirmish in the home 

turf, particularly within the circle 

of the OLF spin-offs. By 

employing such a self-serving 

approach for unity, the OLFC(C) 

has defiled the essence of 

tokkummaa – one that ought to be 

forged on a level plain field of 


inclusiveness, respect, equality, 

open and transparent democratic 

process to truly advance the 

cause of the Oromo nation. 

Nearly two decades have elapsed 

since the effort of uniting Oromo 

political forces first began. 

Opportunities to unite our forces 

have come and gone untapped. 

Consequently, the Oromo public 

has repeatedly experienced hope 

followed by despair during this 

long and arduous struggle to 

unite nationalist forces. With no 

integration but disintegration of 

forces creeping from time to time, 

frustration, growing apathy, and 

helplessness have hit the Oromo 

public; so much so that the public 

now thinks that uniting the 

Oromo forces is a farfetched and 

futile exercise. 

It requires no brainer that unity 

of the Oromo liberation forces is 

one of the key factors for the 

success of the liberation of 

Oromiyaa. It is also pretty 

apparent that what gave strength 

to the colonizing forces of the 

Wayane regime is the fractured 

state of the Oromo forces. By any 

stretch, the inherent strength of 

Wayne is not at all capable of 

containing a united Oromo 

liberation forces backed by its 

people. While this is the case, the 

failure of Oromo forces to put 

their acts together for so long and 

challenge the Wayane in unison 

is quite abhorrent and 

exceedingly irresponsible. 

3. The Remedies 

What are the remedies? 

To build the quintessential 

tokkummaa of the Oromo 

political forces, to emerge from 

the current state of disunity, and 

to embark on fully engaging the 

enemy forces in all fronts, it is 

highly expected of Oromo 

organizations and nationalists at 

large a change in attitude and 

approach and a profound leap in 

ingenuity and commitment for 

unity that would help 

expeditiously achieve the 

ultimate goal of the Oromo 

national liberation struggle – 

bilisummaa /walabummaa. In 

this respect, the following are 

critical points for consideration: 

1. All Oromo political forces 

must sincerely believe that 

their tokkummaa has hefty 

political weight. They must 

cease giving just a lip service 

to unity because the Oromo 

public demands it. 

2. A difference of ideological 

leaning remains a grave 

problem to forge tokkummaa 

of political forces. More so, 

ideological dualism has 

caused factions and become a 

bottleneck for unity. First and 

foremost, Oromo political 

organizations must 

unequivocally state the 

political objective of their 

respective organizations: that 

is, whether they are 

struggling to decolonize 

Oromiyaa or “democratize 

Ethiopia”. Ambiguity on this 

issue has so far precluded 

tokkummaa of Oromo political 

forces to evolve. It is hence 

imperative that each 

organization be up front with 

the Oromo public regarding 


its ultimate political goals. It 

is only on a common 

ideological base that a lasting 

unity could be anchored. 

3. Where tokkummaa is not 

possible because of difference 

in ideological persuasions, 

Oromo organizations must 

not engage in slash and burn 

politics. Instead they have to 

make every endeavor to form 

some sort of political alliance 

(tumsa) and work on common 

programs that could help 

advance the cause of the 

Oromo nation. 

4. Oromo political organizations 

should build on existing 

frameworks of unity. ULFO is 

one such frame. Much has 

been sacrificed in terms of 

resource and time to create 

ULFO. It ought to have been 

revamped and not relegated 

merely to reinvent others. 

Creating institution is one 

thing building it is another. 

Oromo political forces must 

not just create but dwell on 

cultivating a common existing 

institution such as ULFO. 

5. The role and commitment of 

Oromo intellectuals need to 

improve. Intellectuals ought 

to study and assess objective 

conditions of our national 

liberation struggle and 

recommend solutions for real 

or potential problems it 

encounters / could encounter. 

They must give critical 

support for political 

organizations and not become 

cadres who regurgitate petty 

political messages. They must 

labor hard to come up with 

visionary ideas on tokkummaa 

and set examples in helping 


to implement them. As 

learned individuals, they 

should not be on the sideline 

passively watching when 

tokkummaa of our people and 

political organizations is at 

stake. With heightened 

commitment, they must be in 

the forefront dealing with 

such a political issue that is 

threatening the very existence 

of our society. This critical 

mass owes Oromiyaa so 

much and they are expected 

to disproportionately pay 

back in terms of their 

intellectual power and 

resource that could uplift 

Oromiyaa from its present 

misery. 

6. The political landscape of the 

Oromo liberation struggle is 

littered with (a) internal 

enemy functionaries who eke 

out their living stabbing the 

cause of the nation, (b) 

egotistic personalities who 

think that the struggle will be 

in tatter should they retract 

their involvement from it for 

a minute and literally see the 

struggle within themselves 

not them within the struggle, 

(c) floaters completely devoid 

of ethics, unwavering political 

stand, and disciple who like 

herds flock to everywhere 

they spot green pastures, and 

(d) mediocre individuals who 

with I-know-it-all approach 

delve into the political affairs 

of the nation and do more 

harm than good. These 

elements are dangerous for 

our struggle and shackle its 

progress tremendously. The 

Oromo public must guard 

against such social ills. It 

must treat them or cleanse 

them from the field of the 

struggle. 

7. The Diaspora Gorillas, out of 

the Oromiyaa wilderness, are 

roaring and groaning in Paltalk 

rooms dissipating their 

energy in a totally 

misdirected fashion. The 

Oromo youth, the future 

leadership hopefuls of our 

nation, is a victim of the Paltalk 

Syndrome. Tied up 24-7 

in front of a computer screen, 

the Oromiya this 

demographic group attempts 

to build through rhetoric in a 

Pal-talk room is not only an 

illusion but it is a disorder 

that our society has to grabble 

with. Our youth must tap on 

to the latent energy of the 

young generation and 

redirect it for the welfare of 

the nation- to enhance 

tokkummaa and to give a 

major leap to the progress of 

our national struggle. The 

Oromo youth must step back 

and reflect on how their 

forefathers against all odds 

maintained the unity of the 

Oromo nation. It must seize 

the opportunity of access to 

various communication 

media to further build and 

NOT dismantle tokkummaa 

Oromo by misusing Pal-talk 

rooms and engaging in 

parochial matches. 

8. Above all, if every Oromo 

soul thinks of what a nearly 

40 million strong people 

could do and pitch in his/her 

fair share in mending our 

unity, the current state of 

affairs of Oromiyaa in all 

aspects would radically 


change for the better. It will 

be a win-win situation – both 

individuals and the nation as 

a whole will win. We must 

cultivate such a mind-set 

across Oromiyaa and in the 

Diaspora. 


In conclusion, the fate of our 

nation is in our hands. With this 

hand we either make it or break 

it. The choice is ours. If we in 

unison work industriously, 

skillfully, and expeditiously at 

well articulated goals of the 

Oromo nation, we can 

undoubtedly surmount any 

obstacle and fulfill the wish and 

aspiration of the people of 

Oromiyaa. It is unseen and 

unheard of a united and resilient 

people that failed to capture its 

destiny. A solidly prepared 

Oromo nation can’t be an 

exception. 


Saamichalafa Oromoo 

Saamicha Lafa Oromoo 

By Taammanaa Bitimaa 

Duraandursa 

Barreeffanni harra isiniif 

dhiyaate kun, gaafa 12. 12. 

07 irraa kaasee kutaa 

kutaan qoqqoodamee 

mandhee "Akkaadamii Uummata 

Oromoo - ONA" irratti 

dubbiftootaaf dhiyaatee ture. 

Barreeffatichi kutaa 15-initti 

qoodamuun hamma gaafa 04. 03. 

08-tti dhiyaateyyu. Waan 

dubbiftoonni hedduun, 

qoppheessitoonni sarara 

(mandhee) "Gumii Adda 

Bilisummaa Uummata 

Oromiyaa" fi kurfeessitoonni 

"HANGAASUU" akka 

uummataaf ifatti gadi bawu na 

gaafataniif, kunoo gulaaltiin 

barbaachisaa tahe godhamuun 

harra irraa kaasee kutaa kutaan 

isinii dhiyeeffama. 

Erga waraqaan kun barreeffamee 

asii, waayee lafaa irratti wanni 

hedduun muldhateeti jira. Amma 

kan lafa lafee uummata Oromoo 

Saamicha Lafa Oromoo VOLUME 1 SPRING 2010 

tahe, qutee-bulaa Oromoo 

buqqisee qircatee saammatu, 

nafxanyoota moofeyyii fi 

nafxanyoota haareyyii qofaa miti. 

Amma warri Wayyaanee isaanii 

humna qawweetiin 

qaqawweessanii uummataa fi 

saba keenya jilbeeffachiisanii 

bitaa jiran, lafa Oromoo fi kan 

uummatoota Anyuwaak, Afaari 

kanneen biroo saammattoota 

addunyaa kan biyyoota: Arabaa, 

Biyya Hindii, Biyya Shaayinaa fi 

dureewwan Afrikaa keessaa kan 

Jibuutii fi Naajeriyaatti 

gurgurachaa jiru. Harra 

Wayyaanonni safuu fi 

safeeffannaan tokkollee qeyee 

isaanitti hin argamne kun, quteebulaa 

Oromoo fi kan warra kaanii 

buqqisanii, manneeni fi gandeen 

Oromoo onsanii, awwaala fi 

tolcha Oromoo mancaasanii 

araddaa biyyaa fudhatanii, kan 

isaanii fi jaleewwan isaanii irra 

hafe immoo gurguratanii 

gurgursiifachaa jiru. 

Harra bara durii oggaa abbootiin 

isaanii Minilikii fi Yohaannis faa 

Biyya Oromootti duulanii 

uummata gorra'anii, 

gorraasisanii, namaa-sa'a hamma 

fedhan boojiyanii, hamma fedhan 

harkaa fi harma irraa mursiisanii, 

hamma fedhan beelaa fi dhibeen 

ficcisiisanii, hamma fedhan akka 

hoolotaatti gabaa biyya keessaa fi 

biyyoota alaatti gurgursiisanii 

sanii gadii miti. Gadadoo fi 

hammeenyi, buqqifamnii fi 

dhumaatiin uummata Oromoo fi 

uummata Anyuwaaki fi 

uummata Somaalee Ogaadeniyaa 

faa irratti tahaa jiru kun kan 

himuufillee nama suukaneessu. 

Gabaabummatti: gaadduwwanii 

fi saamtuuwwan, 

waanbadeewwani fi shiftoonni 

maqaa Wayyaanee jedhamuun 

of-waaman Oromiyaa jituu 

onsanii, gandeeni fi biyya 

hongeessanii, uummata beelaa fi 

jeejeen akka baala mukaatti akka 

harcawu taasisanii, laggeeni fi 

harawwan, haroolee fi 

caffeewwan faa summeessanii, 

bosanaa fi daggala Oromiyaa 

barbadeessanii, manneen hidhaa 

Oromotaan akka dhipphatan 

godhanii, kana biraa 

dabraniiyyuu Oromoota jiraa 

isaanii Gaara Suufii faatti majaa 

(waraabessa hamaa) sooranii, 

soorsisaniiti jiru. "Yaa Waaq kan 

tolu fidi jennaan Sidaama (Amaara) 

fidde?", jedhuuyyu Oromoonni 

bara Minilik gara-jabeessichaa 

san turani! "Kan irra tolu, kan irra 

wayyu nuu fidi jenneetoo si 

kadhannaan loltuuwwan Minilik, 

nafxanyoota Minilik isaan harma 

muran, isaan harka ciran, isaan 

beelaa fi dhibee biyya fidanii loonillee 

akka lafarraa dhuman godhan --- yaa 

Waaq nutti fiddee ?", jechuu isaanii 

ti. 

Ee, uummanni Oromoo, 

uummatoonni Kuushii fi warri 

kaan bara Minilk isa akkanaa 

kana keessa kutaniiti, bara 


Hayila-Sillaasee isa oggaa 

uummanni Walloo fi Tigraay 

beelaan akkasitti harcawu, 

shampaanyaa fi dhugaatii Biyya 

Faranjii irraa fichisiisuun akka 

bishaaniitti masaraa isaa kan 

Tulluu Daalattii keessatti 

dhangalaasaa ture san keessa 

gayani. Maarree ennaa san 

Hayila-Sillaaseen saree isaa tan 

Luluu jedhamtu sahaanii sabbuu 

(dahaabaa) irraayyi murachiisaa 

dilbiiwwan Oromoo soorsisaa 

tureeyyu. Silaa jiruu fi jireenyi 

hin dhaabatuu, Oromoon bara 

hamaa akkanaa keessa hulluuqee, 

bara Darguu keessa gaye. Barri 

Darguu kunis bara sonaan hamaa 

kan korbeessi re'ee (waxaxeen) 

maqaalee namoota 

galaafatamanii obobsaa yaa'ii 

keessatti himu, kan ilmoon 

namaa ajjeefamee karaa irratti 

darbatamu, bara kan du'eefillee 

boowuun nama adabsiisu, bara 

warreenii fi firoottan namoota 

ajjeefamanii horoo xiyyiitii fi 

xiyyaa kafalaniitoo reeffa 

hospitaala keessaa bituun 

awwaallatanii faa keessas dabree, 

kunoo bara Wayyaanee 

dhaqqabe. Seenaan Oromoo, 

seenaan uummatoota Kuushii, 

seenaan uummatoota Kibbaa kan 

waggaalee 130 kan nu barsiisu: 

mootummaan Habashaa akkuma 

walgeeddaree dhufu irra 

hammaachaa, irra gara 

bineensummaatti jijjiiramaa 

dhufa. Warri Wayyaanees tartiiba 

fi walgaafa kana keessa ibidda 

tufaa, ibiddaan dachee teenya 

gubaa, namaa-sa'a, lafaa-marga 

barbadeessaa jiru. 

Lafti akka aadaa Oromoottis 

tahee, akka dinagdee 

ammayyaatti madda qabeenyaa fi 


horoo uummataa ti. Namni harra 

Gondorii fi Maqalee irraayyis haa 

dhufuu, Indiyaa fi Shaayinaa 

irraayyis haa dhufuu, gogaaqaamaa 

kan Oromoos haa 

uffatuu namni lafa Oromoo 

saammatu nama lafee Oromoo 

caccabsee saammatuun adda 

miti. Kana diinni uummataa fi 

saba Oromoos, firri isaas akkaan 

beekuu dha qabu! Oromoota 

jaleewwan diinaa Oromoo 

tahuun, yookaan immoo dubbii 

dhipphisaniitoo laaluun diina 

gamanaa fi isa baar gamaa wajjin 

lafa Oromoo saammachaa jiraniif, 

mammaaksi Oromoo tokko inni: 

"hin bariitu seetee intalti ---" 

jedhamu, dhaamsa fi 

akeekkachiisa cimaa dabarsaafi. 

Oromoonni tokko tokko immoo 

jecha warra Amaaraa isa: "oggaa 

manni abbaa keetii saamamu atis 

wajjumaan saammaddhu" 

jedhamun, uummata ofii alagaa fi 

diina waliin hiriiranii saamaa jiru. 

Jechi kun jecha hamaa fi 

hammeenyaa, jecha 

gadaantummaa fi gadigalummaa, 

jecha dabeessaa fi dursitee harkakennattuu 

akka tahe ammamu 

beekutu nama baasa. 

Dhaamsi fi akeekkachiifni 

Wayyaanotaafis tahee, 

nafxaynoota birootii dabarfamu: 

uummanni Oromoof uummanni 

Habashaa (uummanni Amaaraa 

fi Tigree) bardhibbee hedduu 

lolaanis haa tahuu tolaan akka 

uummata biyya ollaatti wajjin 

jiraatanii jiru. Nuti Oromoonni 

ginni-bittee Habashaa biyya 

keenya harkatti galfachuun, waan 

ilmoon namaa nama irratti hin 

adeemsifne nu irratti 

adeemsiseef, harras tahee boru 

akka biyya ollaatti waliin 

jiraachuu malee, Oromiyaa 

teenya akka gumbiitti 

(dogoogootti) buqqifnee, gara 

biraa geessuu hin dandeenyu. 

Akkanuma isaaniis nu waliin 

akka ollaatti jiraachuu malee, 

Abashiyaa (Abisiiniyaa) isaanii 

fuudhanii gara ardii biraa 

geessuu hin dandayani. 

Wayyaanonni waan garaa isaanii 

malee, waan boruu hin yaanne, 

kunoo uummatoota ollaa isaanii 

mara otoo uummata Amaaratuu 

isa obbolaa isaaniis waa hin 

qusatin, gaaddatanii, 

saammatanii, hidhanii waxalanii 

uummatoota Toopphiyaa cufa, 

dabraniiyyuu uummata Repulika 

Somaaliyaa irratti hojii 

faashistummaa adeemsisuun 

kun, egeree isaanitii waan toluu 

miti! "Boru hin beekneen ---" jedha 

mammaaksi Oromoo tokko. 

Egaa, duraandursi kanaa olii kun 

kan amma barreeffamee, akka 

itti-lixiinsa barreeffata kanatii 

tahuuf dhiyaate. Armaan gaditti 

immoo "duradubbii" fi "seensa"tu 

akkuma barreeffata isaa 

duraanii keessa jirutti, garuu 

gulaaltiin barbaachisu idda 

godhamee isiniif dhiyaatee, mee 

duukaa bu'aatii ilaalaa! 

Duradubbii 

Kunoo, erga gara waggaa 

lamaatii asii warra biyya keenya 

harkatti galfachuun bitaa jiruu fi 

warri isa wajjin hiriiruun bittaa 

sanillee oromoomsuuf carraaqaa 

jiru, "mee koottaa lafa fudhaddhaa" 

jechuun gandeen Oromiyaa fi 

addunyaa keessa fiigaati 

muldhatu. Oromoonni kana 

dhugaa godhatanii alaa manaa 

gandeen uummata keenyaa 


uqqisuun alagaa wajjin saamaa 

jiranii fi saamuuf fiiganillee hin 

dhabamne. Barreeffanni kiyya 

inni harraa kun waayee kanaa 

irratti xiyyeeffachuun yaada fi 

qeeqannoo dhiyeessuuf yaala. 

Ani kana oggaan dhiyeessu 

durseen wanneen lama 

jabeessetoo jala-buusuun 

dubbiftoota waraqaa kanaa 

akeekkachiisuu fidha. 

Oromoonni biyyambaa 

taa'aniitoo akka waan qilliqilliidhaan 

Oromoo fi Oromiyaa 

bilisoomsanii fakkeessuun yoo 

Oromoonni tokko tokko gara 

biyya ofii deemanii firoota ofii 

gaafatan, yoo qorannoof deeman, 

yoo cidhaaf deeman, --- "abalu 

kuunnoo galee diina wajjin hojjachaa 

jira; kuunnoo maaloo maaloo diinaa 

tahe" jechuun Oromoota biyya 

ofiitti deebiwuu malee, waan 

tokkollee warra Wayyaanees 

tahee, warra OPDO wajjin 

qunnamtii hin qabne maqaa 

balleessan hin dhabamne. 

Oromoonni akkanaa, kan 

Oromoota biyyambaa jiran 

keessaa lakkoofsaan xiqqoo 

tahan, kana hojjii isaanii isa 

duraasaa godhachuun gurra nu 

duuchaa jiru. Ani ennaan kana 

jedhu Oromoonni biyyatti 

deebiwuun diina wajjin hojjachaa 

jiran hin jiran jechuu kiyyaa miti. 

Lakki, isaan akkanaa kunis ni 

jiruu! Ani kanan jedhu isaan 

akkanaa kana saaxil hin baafnuu 

miti. Baaqaa fi callaa addaan 

baafachuu qabnan jedha. 

Oromoota biyyatti sababaa fi hojii 

garagaraatii deebiyanii fi kan 

ammallee deebiyaa jiran hundaa 

walitti qabneetoo cagaduu irraa 

of-qusachuun mishaa taha. Mee 

arrabni keenya, qalamni keenya, 


shamalli keenya, dabreetuu 

eeboon keenya Oromoota irrattii 

mitii, diina qawween biyya 

keenya seenetoo, ammallee 

qawween uummata keenya 

jilbeeffachiisee bitaa jiru irratti 

haa xiyyeeffamu! Gaafa hundi 

keenya kana beekuun, 

tokkummaa jaarmolee Oromiyaa 

dhugoomfannee alaa-manaa 

walqabanneetoo kaane, diinni 

ammaan tana jaarsaa-jaartii, 

shamaraa-dargaggeessa, xiqqaaguddaa 

keenya: hidhaa, waxalaa, 

galaafachaa, kaan biyyaa hariyaa 

dabreetuu biyya baqatanitti 

ajjeesaa jiru kun, biyyaa fi 

uummata keenya akkanatti hin 

madeessu. Eekaa, gaafa 

tokkummaan Oromoo akka 

sibiilaatti jabaatee, jaarmoleen 

Oromiyaa karaa hundumaa 

hidhataniitoo uummata ofiis 

hidhachiisan: birmadummaan, 

bilisummaa fi walabummaan 

Oromiyaa dhiyaachaa jira jechaa 

dha! 

Seensa 

Kunoo saamichi lafa uummata 

Oromoo mootummoota 

Habashaa kan addaddaatiin ittifufuun, 

amma marsaa isa 

sadaffaa irra gayee jira. Marsaan 

inni duraa kan bara Minilik irraa 

kaasee hamma bara Hayila- 

Sillaaseetti itti-fufe yoo tahu, inni 

lammaffaan immoo kan bara 

Darguu ti. Kunoo inni ammaa 

kun, jechuun inni sadaffaan isa 

amma argaa jirruu kan bara 

Wayyaanee ti. Baroota jedhaman 

kanneen mara kan Oromoota lafa 

handhuuraa isaanii tahe irraa 

buqqisuun alagaaf qoodaa ture, 

warra humna warra Oroppaa: 

Biritaaniyaa Guddoo, Faransaa, 

Xaaliyaa fi Rusiyaa duriitti 

hirkachuun humna meeshaa 

waraanatiin biyya keenya qabate. 

Oromoon warra kanaaf nagaan 

harka kenne otoo hin taane, 

diddaa fi waraana waggaalee 31 

(1868 - 1901) irratti oofameen 

tahuu isaa beekuun sirrii dha. 

Barri jedhame kunillee isa 

qabannaa fi qubannaa warri 

Minilik dursanii adeemsisan 

agarsiisa malee, san durallee 

(bara 1868 durallee) akaakayyuu 

fi abaabayyuun Minilik faa 

yaalanii kan daddhaban san hin 

dabalatu. 

Waggaaleen kanaa olitti 

kennaman kanneen keessa 

yommuu warraanni Habashaa 

Oromiyaa teenya cabsee qabate, 

uummata Oromoo kuma 

hedduun lakkaawamutu dirree 

dhawaatti (dirree waraanaatti) 

diina itti-dhufe san dhaweetoo 

dhawamuun kufe. Erga biyyi 

keenya Habashootan 

koloneeffatamee asiiyyis 

uummanni keenya mirgaa fi haqa 

ofiitii akka yeroo fi humni isaaf 

hayyametti qabsoo haddhooftuu 

adeemsisaa ture. Ilaa ammallee 

adeemsisaatuma jira! Haatahu 

malee, qabsoon saba keenyaa 

yeroo Waldaa Maccaa fi 

Tuulamaa irraa kaasuun biyya 

guutuu keessatti hamma tokko 

walitti qindaawuun adeemaa jira. 

Keessumaayyuu bara 1991 irraa 

kaasuun dammaqiinsi sabaa kan 

Oromoo sonaan cimeetoo, diinni 

Oromiyaa ijoollee Oromootiin 

boqonnaa dhabaa jira. 

Ammoo, diinni uummata 

keenyaa inni ammaa kun akka 

diina isa inni bakka bu'ee san, 

jechuun akka nafxanyaa warra 

Amaaraa sanii isa leeccalloo 


iyyaa fi qabeenya uummata 

keenya irraa saammate, akka 

awaannisaa kan achumatti gaditaa'ee 

of-keessaa baasuun jiraatuu 

miti. Inni harraa obboleessa isaa 

isa durii irraa waan hedduu 

barachuun middhaa fi roorroo 

san caalayyuu itti-fufaa deeme. 

Qabeenya handhuuraa uummata 

keenyaa tahe, saammachuun 

biyya ofii daran ijaarrachaa jira. 

Nafxanyaan duriis deebiseetoo 

nu qabachuuf of-ijaaree: "koottaa 

wajjin qabsoofneeti, haadha teenya 

Toopphiyaa dimokiraatessinaa!", 

nuun jechaa jira. Garuu, nu 

ergamni keenya biyya namaa 

dimakiraatessuu yookaan ijaaruu 

otoo hin taane, harqoota 

gabrummaa uummataa fi biyya 

keenya irra jiru, waltaanee 

caccabsuun biyya teenya, 

Oromiyaa: walaboomsinee, 

bilisoomsinee, birmadoomsinee 

ijaarrachuu dha! Kana ergamnii fi 

dirqamni keenya, kan 

Oromootaa! Kana ergamnii fi 

dirqamni dhaloota qubees kan 

dhaloota qubee duraas! Dhugaan 

ishiin haddhooftuu tun 

Difaabbaachawuufis, Hagoosifis, 

Caalaafis liqimfamuu qabdi! 

Habashhooni meeshaa 

waraanaa, ogeeyyii waraanaa fi 

gorsituuwwan waraanaa warra 

Oroppaa irraa maqaa 

Kiristaanummaatiin yoo 

argatanillee, uummata Oromoo 

yeroo gabaabaa fi akka laayyootti 

cabsuu hin dandeenye. 

Uummannii Oromoo biyyaa fi 

mirga ofiitii akka gosaatti, akka 

godinaatti dabree dabrees gosaa 

fi gosni, godinaa fi godinni 

walthuun waraana Minilik isa 

ibidda baatee ibidda tufu san 

dura gore. Uummanni kun 


biyyaa fi mirga ofiitii jedhee 

dirree waraanaatti diinaa biyya 

isaa qabachuuf dhufe san kuffisee 

kufe. Naannolee fi gosoolii 

Oromoo isaan guguddoo dhiisii 

naannoon xixiqqaanuu, gosni 

maddeenuu waraana Habashaa 

yeroo lamaa-sadii faa moyee, 

silaa dubbiin dubbii meeshaa 

waraanaa isa ammayyaatii booda 

moyamee biyyi isaa qabamuu 

dandaye. Yeroo san Oromoon 

meeshaa waraanaa kan 

dhuudhaa kan akka: eeboo, 

shootala, wantaa (gaachana), 

hablee, shimala, furrisa, gajaraa, 

mancaa, qottoo faa malee akka 

warra Habashaa kadhaadhaan 

yookiin gargaarsaan kan inni 

warra baar gamaa irraa argate 

tokkollee hin argamuuyyu. 

Oromoon Arsii akkasitti waraana 

Minilik hollachiisaa, yeroo sadii 

isaan moyee booda moyamullee 

seenaa Oromoo fi Oromiyaa 

keessatti akka bakkalcha barii ifaa 

jiratu kun, meeshaa Oromoo isa 

kan dhuudhaa irranatti 

tarreeffaman malee, wanna biraa 

harkaa hin qabu ture. Oromoonni 

Barentuu (Harargee) gooroo 

Calanqootti diina biyya isaanii 

qabachuuf deemu san dura 

dhaabachuun, akkasitti gooroon 

Calanqoo dhiiga isaanitiin kan 

jiidhe, akka warra isaan 

qabachuuf dhufee san meeshaan 

ammayyaa kan isaan qaban hin 

turre. 

Naannoo Oromoo isaan xixiqqaa 

turanii fi isaan kutannoon diina 

dura goran keessaa kan akka: 

Darraa, Gullallee, Noonnoo, 

Caboo faa maqaa dhawuutu 

dandayama. Waayee Oromoo 

Gullallee waanan kaanan dura 

baldhinaan ibseef, isa ilaaluun ni 

mala. Ammoo, shoorri (qoonni) 

dubartiin Oromoo qabsoo 

bilisummaa fi walabummaa 

Oromoo keessatti qabdu, duradhaabannoo 

Oromoon Gullallee 

godhe san keessaa akka 

fakkeenyaatti waraabbachuun ni 

gaya. Dura-dhaabannoon 

Oromoon Salaalee, duree isaanii 

beekamtichaa fi boonsisaa saniin, 

Gosshuu Gichillaa-tiin 

gaggeefame godhe kan 

yaadatamuu qabu. Raas 

Daargeen Oromoo Arsii irratti 

harma-muraa fi harka-muraa 

adeemsise sun waraana Oromoo 

Salaalee akka laayyootti cabsuu 

hin dandeenye ture. Naannoo 

Oromoo Salaale fi Oromoo 

Boorana Walloo jidduutti 

argamu, jechuun Darraan goota 

biyyaa isa gaggaabaa saniin , 

Abbaa Kuraaraa-tiin (Hasanuu 

Wadayiin) gaggeeffamee 

yommuu lama waraana Minilik 

moyee sadaffaa irratti moyame. 

Hasanuu Waday erga waraanni 

isaa qawwee ibiddaatiin 

moyamuu isaa beeke "farda kiyya 

diinni hin yaabbatu, harka kiyya 

diinni hin qabatu" jechuun farda 

isaa shan utaaletoo, diina akka 

inni conqolaasu godhe san 

ajjeesuun ofis ajjeesee seenaa 

Oromoo fi Oromiyaa kan karaa 

isaatiin jiru dhiigaan nutti 

dabarseetoo dabre. 

Oromoon Caboo jedhamu 

naannoo hedduu xiqqoo takka 

irra kan jiraatu. Innis karaa 

maraan Oromoota Sadan Liiban 

jedhaman, jechuun Ammayya, 

Walisoo fi Kuttaayeen 

marfameetoo jira. Garuu, yeroo 

waraanni Minilik kan Raas 

Goobana Daaccii-tiin durfamu, 

erga waraana Oromoo Bachoo isa 


kutannoon dura dhaabate san 

akka hokaatti haamaa waraana 

Oromoo Afran Walisoo isa yeroo 

sadii waraana Habashaa moye 

sanis cabsee Caboo seenee, 

Caboonis abbootii duulaa 

beekamoo kan akka Damee 

Araddoo fi Bayyuu Abbaa- 

Shorroo fa'iin durfamee, waraana 

san ennaa tokko moyee 

lammaffaa irratti moyame. 

Goobana Daaccii "Caboo nama isaa 

motii warqee isaatu na mo'ate" 

jedhe kan dubbate, dhiira 

Oromoo Caboo duwwaa otoo hin 

taane, dubartiin isaas miya 

warqee kan: jaafgaa, manishii faa 

jedhamuun waraana Minilik 

tashattashaa waan turteefi. 

Oromoon Bachoo kan waraana 

Minilikiin akka hokaatti 

haamamuu dandaye, kutannoo 

cimaan waan diina dura ijaajjefii 

lafti Bachoo goodaa (urufa 

diriiraa) waan taheef, akka 

Oromoota isa daangessanii akka: 

Sooddoo, Galaan, Meettaa, 

Kuttaayee, Walisoo faa 

tulluuwwan, gaarran, goorolee 

faa waan hin qabneef ture. 

Jagnoonni Bachoo warri oggaa 

sanii Shabbu Abbaa Guraa 

(Shabbuu Bordee) faa harrallee 

akkuma jagnicha Oromoo 

Kuttaayee, Waamii Garoo: 

Bachotti, Sooddotti, Aabbutti, 

Gullalleetti, Meettaatti, Walisotti, 

Kuttaaye faatti uummataan 

faarfamaa jiru. 

Waraana Walisoo kan fardeen 

isaanii uummataan "Maaruu 

fardeen qilleensaa" jedhamaniitoo 

faarfamaniiyyu, waraana 

Habashaa ala lama mowanii isa 

sadaffaa irratti moyamanii 

abbootii duulaa kan dirree 


waraanaatti kufan irraa kan hafan 

Raas Goobanaan qabamaniitoo 

mana hidhaatti du'an keessaa 

seenaa goota biyyaa, kan 

Ilaansuu Halloo kan 

irraanfatamuu miti. Goobana 

Daaccii waan aadaa Oromoo 

sirriitti beekuuf, dureewwan 

Oromoo erga mana hidhaatti 

naqsiisee, halkan waarii jala 

looltuu isaa keessaa namoota 

sadii gara mana isaan ittihidhaman 

saniitti erguun: "mee 

dhaqaatii waan Oromoon jedhu 

dhaggeeffaddhaa!", jedheeni. Mana 

hidhaa san keessatti Ilaansoo 

Halloo, qeerransi harqaan abbaa 

isaa Halloo Bokkuutti baye 

jedhumu sun: garaa isaa lafatti 

rirriitaa ilkaan ciniinnatee, 

seeyyeen inni sirbe ammallee 

akka mammaaksaatti Oromoon 

Walisoo gaafa booreen qabee 

nafxanyaatti lallabu: 

"Yaa orooboo battee 

Yaa orooboo battee 

Yaa Oromoo baddee 

Yaa Oromoo baddee 

Yaa Oromoo badde!"* 

Jedheeti seenaa yeroo sanii 

ijoollee ofiitti dabarsa. 

Gabaabumatti "yaa Oromoo biyyi 

kee qabamewoo, bilisummaan kee 

mulqamewoo, maal jirta, maal---!" 

jechuu isaa ti. 

Innin kanaa olitti akka 

fakkeenyaatti dhiiyeesse kun, 

diddaa qabannoo fi qubannoo 

uummanni Oromoo kutannoon 

adeemsise keessaa hamma 

xiqqashoo wayii ti. Haatahu 

malee, xiqqashoon kunillee 

hammam uummanni Oromoo 

biyyaa fi mirga ofiitii akka 

dhaabate, ibseetoo nutti 

muldhisa. 

Ammoo, sabni Oromoo 

sabeewwan, saboota fi 

uummatoota ollaa isaa warra 

Kuushii fi warreen biroo wajjin 

diddaan qabannoo fi qubannoo, 

dabrees erga qabatamee asiiyyis 

diddaan gabrummaa walitti 

hidhaa cimaa qaba. Ammaaf mee 

kan saba obbolaa keenyaa, kan 

warra hortee Kuush tahee kan 

Walaayitaa** akka fakkeenyaatti 

mildahchuun ni gaya. 

Uummanni Walaayitaas akkuma 

uummata Sidaamaa 

("Sidaamoo"), Hadiyyaa, 

Kafichoo faa waraana Habashaa 

dura kutannoon kan dhaabate. 

Oggaa hedduus moyateeti ture. 

Booda akkuma Minilk mataan 

isaa Calanqoo fi Arsiitti ofii 

isaatiin waraana hogganuun 

argame san, Walaayitaas akkuma 

amalaa fi duudhaa isaa 

phaapphasii Ortodoksii of cinaa 

taasisee, qeesii taabota 

baachisiisee uummataa fi biyya 

Walaayitaatti duule. Uummanni 

Walaayitaa akka nama tokkootti 

tahee, diina biyya isaa qabachuuf 

deemu san dura gore. Minilik 

waraana Walaayitaa kan mootii 

isaanii, Xoonaa-dhaan 

hogganame san cabsuuf, torban 

sadii guutuu irraa fudhate. Booda 

reeffi uummata obbolaa keenyaa 

kan Walaayitaa kun waan 

tortoreef, fooliin isaa Minilikii fi 

duree bataskaanaa faa dabarsuu 

hin dandeenye. Waraanni Minilik 

inni erga Oromoo Arsii cabsee 

baddaa Aannoleetti harma-muraa 

fi harka-muraa adeemsise sun, 

Uummata Walaayitaa isa 

madaayee ciisu, gorra'ee dhiiga 


isaa akka gadi-jedhee dhugaa 

ture, barreessituuwwan Biyya 

Faranjii galmeessanii jiru. 

Akkanuma uummata obbolaa 

Oromoo keessaa uummata 

Kafichoo keessaa garri 

dhibbayyaa 65 (65 %) akka 

Habashootaan duguugame, 

uummata xiqqaa Dimmee 

jedhamu keessaa dhibbayyaan 70 

ol akka dhume seenaan dhiiga 

hortee warra Kuush galmeessee 

jira. 

Sirna gadaa keessatti 

qabiinsa lafaa 

Habashoonni biyya keenya 

humna meeshaa waraanatiin erga 

of-jala galfatanii, uummata 

keenya middhaa fi roorroo 

daangaa hin qabne irratti 

adeemsisaa turani; ammas 

adeemsisaa jiru. Hacuuccaa fi 

roorroon uummataa fi saba 

Oromoo irratti godhame, karaa 

fuula garagaraatiini. Kunis 

saamichaa dinagdee biyyaa, 

hacuuccaa taliigaa (siyaasaa), 

miiddhaa aadaa, cunqorsoo 

afaanii, roorroo gamtaa fi 

kanneen kana fafakkaataniini. 

Kanneen keessaa mee ammaaf 

waayee saamicha lafaa haa 

fudhannu. 

Dur, otoo seerri gadaa sonaan 

hin laafin yookaan hin dhabamin 

lafti dhuunfaa namtokkee hin 

turre. Lafti kan uummataa ture; 

jechuun kan walee ture. Oggaa 

san Oromoon tokko qoorbee 

(qabalee) isaa keessatti lafa isa 

barbaachisu bayee qotata. Bakka 

isa barbaachisutti yaasee tifkata. 

Lafti kan nama hundaa: kan 

gandaa, kan lammii ti malee, kan 


namtokkee hin turre. Booda 

godinoota Biyya Oromoo tokko 

tokko keessatti, suuta suuta 

abbootiin duulaa warri seera 

caffeetiin uumataan filataman 

waggaa saddeet booda aangoo 

taliigaa gadi lakkisuu dhiisanii, 

uummata isaan filate san bulchuu 

bira kutanii bituutti gadi-taa'ani. 

Olee-bulee bittaa sanis gara 

ilmaa-ilmaatti dabarsuu 

jalqabani. Biyya Oromoo fi 

Oromiyaa keessaa kan kun 

dursee itti tahe, naannoo Oromoo 

Walloo warra baddaa keessatti, 

jechuun naannoo gosa torban 

Walloo fi Yajjuutti. Kunis kan 

dursee jalqabamee gara jalqaba 

bardhibbee 18-ffaa irraa kaasee ti. 

San booda Oromoo Maccaa 

keessaa naannoon Gibee: Limmu, 

Jimma Abbaa Jifaar, Geeraa, 

Guumaa fi Gomma bara 1830 

irraa kaasanii seera gadaa 

dhiisuun gara mootiitti ofgeeddaranii 

lafas kan dhuunfaa 

namtokkee gochuu eegalani. 

Boodas naannoo Maccaa keessaa 

gosni Leeqaa fi Sayyoo faa isa 

warri Limmuu faa godhan san 

jalqabanii lafti kan dhuunfaa tahu 

jalqabae. Sirni qabiinsa lafaa kun 

san irraa kaasee naannoo 

Oromoo Maccaa warra Gibee 

gamaa keessatti babaldhachuun 

hunda isaanii walgaye. 

Haatahu malee, sirni qabiinsa 

lafaa inni lafa dhuunfaa nama 

tokkoo taasisu kun Biyya 

Oromoo hundaa keessatti hin 

babaldhanne. Booda jechuun gara 

walakkeessa bardhibbee 19-ffaa 

naannolee Macca Boruu (bahaa) 

fi Tuulamaatti dabree dabree yoo 

jiraatellee, lafti guutumatti kan 

dhuunfaa kan taheeyyu erga 

Oromiyaan Habashootaan 

qabatamtee asiyyi. Erga 

Habashoonni biyya keenya 

qabatanii asiillee bakka tokko 

tokkotti, lafa keessaa immoo 

iddoon tokko tokko hamma 

Xaaliyaaniin dhufetti lafti kan 

gamtaa ture. Kunis kan tahuu 

dandaye lafuma abbootii duulaa 

fi warra abbootii gadaatii warri 

Minilik dhiisan keessaayyi. 

Oromoonni kun uummataaf lafa 

horii itti-bobbaafatu dhiisaniifi. 

Kana kan godhan abbootii duulaa 

fi abbootii gadaa cufa otoo hin 

taane, garii isaanii qofa. 

Fakkeenyaaf naannoo Oromoota 

Afran Walisootti, warra abbaa 

bokkuu (abbaa gadaa) Arfan 

Walisoo turan keessaa, warri 

Gurree Birqii lafa baddaa 

Qaqaldhii kan Minilik faa 

dhibbayyaa 70 (70 %) fudhatanii 

dhibbayyaa 30 Oromoof dhiisan 

keessaa, garii bakka Tulluu 

Cuultaa Gurree Birqii jedhamee 

beekamu gubbaa fi naannoo isaa 

akka uummanni horii ofii 

gamtaan itti-bobbaafatu taasisanii 

turani. Hamma jalqaba bara 

dhibba 19 fi jaatamootaa("1960s"), 

mootummaan Hayila Sillaasee 

gibira gaara ayyyaantuu saniif 

baasuu qabdu jedheetoo isaan 

dirqisiisetti lafti bobbaa sun 

kanuma gamtaa ture. Kan achitti 

horii ofii bobbaafatullee nama 

lamaa-sadii yoo tahe malee, 

warra Gurree Birqii fi lammii 

isaanii hin turre. Naannolee 

Oromiyaa waltajjii kanatti iddoo 

gariitti lafti awwaala gandaa 

(kaabbaan), lafti tolchaa, lafti 

odaa yaa'ii, malkaan irreechaa fi 

lafti Oromoon gamtaan yaa'ee 

Waaqa itti-kadhatu faa hanga 

bara Xaaliyaanii boodatti kanuma 

waleeti ture. 


Naannolee Oromiyaa birootti 

jechuun Barentuutti 

(Harargeetti), Baale-Arsiitti fi 

Gujiitti lafti kan dhuunfaa kan 

tahuu dandaye erga Biyyi 

Oromoo koloneeffatamee asiiyyi. 

Dabalees, Booranaa fi Gujii 

keessaa gariitti lafti hanga 

dhiyootti kanuma gamtaa ture. 

Dhugaa dha; naannoo 

Barentuutti lafa magaalaa Adaree 

Biyyoo (Harar) marsee jiru 

keessaa, erga warri Misiraa 

(Gibxii) biyya keenya isa karaa 

kanaa waraanaan cabsanii 

qabachuun waggaawwan 11 

bitanii (1875-1886), maatiiwwan 

tokko tokko lafa kan dhuunfaa 

taasisiifatanii turani. Kunis 

Harargee keessaa lafa daran 

bicuu tahe wayiiti malee, hanga 

Hababashoonni humna 

qawweetiin biyya keenya 

qabatanitti lafti kanuma gamtaati 

ture. Waan hundaafuu, Biyyi 

Oromoo gara irraa sonaan caalu 

keessatti hamma Habashoonni 

dhufanii biyya qabatanitti: abbaa 

lafaa fi qottuu jechuun 

uummanni Oromoo lafaqabeessaa 

fi lafa-dhabeessa 

jedhameetoo wanni isa karaa 

kanaan addaan qoodu hin turre. 

Sirna gabrummaa habashaa 

jalatti qabiinsa lafaa 

Habashoonni erga biyya teenya, 

Oromiyaa, harkatti galfatanii 

booda lafa uummataa akkuma 

jirutti irraa mulquun seera 

baasanii labsatani. Kun 

naannolee Oromoo tokko tokko 

kan akka Leeqaa Naqamtee, 

Jimma Abbaa Jifaar faa isaan 

Minilik wajjin akka lafti isaanii 

hin qabatamneef waliigalan, otoo 

waraanaanis dura hin dhaabatin 

gabbaran malee, Oromiyaa cufatti 


akka John Markakis jedhutti 

"halkan tokko keessatti ("over night)" 

lafti Oromoo fi kan uummatoota 

Kibbaa kan warra Habashaa tahe. 

Lafa sarbame kana keessaa 

Minilik faa dhibbayyaa 30 (30 %) 

deebisanii Oromoota abbootii 

biyyaa turaniif kennani. 

Dhibbayyaa 70 (70 %) isaan 

harkatti galfatan sanis bakka 

sadiitti qoodani: a) kan Minilkii fi 

warri isaa fudhatan b) kan 

bataskaana isaanitii kennamee fi 

c) kan loltuu isaanitii ramadame. 

Loltuu isaanii yommuu jennu, 

loltuu dasiibaa ("common soldier") 

irraa kaasee hamma abbaa 

duulaa bantiitti ("raas") kan ilaalu. 

Miseensonni loltuu Minilik isaan 

waraanaan cabsanii Oromiyaa fi 

biyyoota uummatoota Kibbaa 

seenan sun, lafa wal-keessatti 

qoqooddatani. Qondaalotaa fi 

hojjattota mootummaa 

Minilikiifis mindaan kennamu 

hin turre. Mindaan jarreen kanaa 

lafa Oromoo fi uummatoota 

Kibbaati ture. Jarri kun uummata 

irra qubatanii akka shilmiitti 

dhiiga uummata keenyaa fi kan 

warra Kibbaa xuuxaa jiraatan 

jechuu dha. 

Loltuu dasiibni lafa wantaa 

(gaashaa) tokkoo hamma 

lamaatti, shantamaalli ("haamsaa 

alaqaan") wantaa shan, dhibbaalli 

("matoo alaqaan") wantaa 10, 

dhibshanmaallii ("shaamballiin") 

wantaa 20 argate. Warri 

qondaalota mootummaa fi 

dureewwan bataskaanaa immoo 

lafa hedduu baldhaa fi guddaa 

tahe fudhatani. Lafa uummata 

Oromoo fi uummatoota Kibbaa 

irraa fudhatan kanallee ofii hin 

qotatani. Kan qotuuf 

uummatoota isaan koloneeffatan 

sani. Karaa qotiisa lafaatiin yoo 

ilaalle, lafa isaan dhuunfatan 

kana bakka lamatti hiruu 

dandeenya. 

1) Lafa uummanni Oromoo fi 

kan Kibbaa ciisii tahee qotatu. 

Kun akaaku baay'ee qaba. Kaan 

sisoo dha; kaan irboo dha. Inni 

kaan immoo qixxee yookaan 

hirtaa jedhama. Yoo namni 

Oromoo yookaan Gede'oo tokko 

lafa qotate keessaa hoomisha isaa 

harka lama ofii habifatee harka 

tokko abbaa lafaa isaatii kenne 

sisoo jedhama. Yoommoo harka 

sadii hambifatee harka tokko 

kenne, irboo jedhama. Inni qixxee 

yookaan hirtaa jedhamu immoo 

isa qotataan tokko harka tokko 

abbaa lafaatii kennee , harka 

tokko ofiif hambifatu. Sadeen 

kun yoo ilaalaman qotataan 

tokko isa hambifate san keessaa 

deebiseetoo abbaa lafaatii kan 

gibiraaf tahu, mootummaaf 

immoo kan kurnanee ("asiraatii") 

jedhamu harka kudhan kenna. 

Kanaafi, uummanni Oromoo fi 

uummatoonni Kibbaa kan 

gabbaarii jedhamanii 

beekamaniiyyu, lafa qotatan san 

keessaa hoomisha isaa 

dhibbayyaa 50 hamma 70-tti (50 - 

70 %) abbootii lafaatii kennu, kan 

jedhameefi. 

2) Lafa hudaada jedhamu isa 

uummanni ajajamee bawuun 

abbootii lafaatii qotu. Dabaleesoo, 

uummanni Oromoo inni afaan 

isaa keessayyuu jechi gochaa 

jibbisiisaa fi duubatti hafaa kana 

ibsu, waan hin jirreef Afaan 

Amaaraa irra jecha "ciisii" 

jedhamu ergifate kun, ciisii fi 

gabbaarii tahuun bara dheeraa 


isaan tajaajilaa ture. Egaa, 

Oromoonni gabbaarii yookaan 

ciisii tahan kun hoomisha 

handhuuraa isaanii tahe gabbaraa 

jiraachuu qafa otoo hin taane, 

karaa hundaa abbaa lafaa isaanii 

tajaajjiluyyu. John Markakis 

waayee kanaa, barroo (kitaaba) 

isaa fuulee 113 irratti kunoo akka 

kanaa gadii jedha**: 

"The gabbar was also required 

to provide landholder with 

necessities such as honey, 

meat, firewood, dried grass, 

and sundry other items. In 

addition labour service was 

required of him for a variety of 

purposes. The gabbar had to 

grind the landholder's share of 

grain, transport it to his 

residence in town, build his 

house, maintain his fences, 

care for his animals, and act as 

porter, messenger, and escort. 

Nor was the gabbar in a 

position to refuse any request 

of the landholder. Moreover, 

the gabbar was obliged to 

present gifts to the landholder 

on religious holidays and 

whenever the latter was 

promoted, married, had a son, 

went to perform military 

service, or returned from it." 

Uummanni Oromoo inni 

gabbaarii jedhame kun, akka 


kanaa olitti arginutti gabra 

yookaan qixxee gabraa ti jechuu 

dha. Habashoonni gabra akka 

hoolaatti gabaa baasanii gurguru 

yookaan bituuyyu. Gabbaarii 

wanni isa gabra irraa adda isa 

taasisu, gabaadhaa bitamuu 

yookaan gurguramuu dhiisuu 

qofa. Kan uummanni Oromoo fi 

uummatoonni Kibbaa 

nafxanyoota gara-jabeeyyii, 

garaan bineensaa kanaaf hojjatan 

kana callaas miti. Akka 

ashkariittis mana keessa isa 

tajaajilu. Kun kan ilaalu abbaa 

warraa qofa otoo hin taane, 

maatii isaa hunda. Haati warraa 

isaa akka hojjattuu manaatti 

waan hunda jaraaf hojjatti. 

Ijoolleen isaas akkanuma. Sirna 

gabrummaa jibbisiisaa kana 

keessa, akkamitti uummanni 

keenya dabree akka as gayuu 

dandaye, kutaalee itti-aanan 

irratti wajjumaan ilaalla, mee 

"Haabultu dubbiin"! 

=== Hubachiisa miiljalee === 

1) * Walaloon kunii fi kan biraas 

kanaan dura waan barreeffamee, 

gara Afaan Ingiliziitti hiikamee 

bayeef, namni feetan isa ilaalu 

dandeessu. Tamene Bitima: "On 

Some Oromo Storical Poems", 

1983, in: PAIDEUM 29, pp. 117- 

125. Yookaan : Griefenow-Mewis, 

Tamene Bitima: "Oromo Oral 

Poems Seen from Within (Eds.)", 

Koeln, 2004. 

2) **Bara Hayila Sillaasee namti 

Ameerikaa tokko, kan afaanota 

naannoo Gaafa Afrikaa irratti 

qorannoo adeemsisaa ture, horoo 

qorannoo dhaabbata addaddaa 

irraa argachuuf jedhee, uummata 

duraan Kuush Lixaa jedhamee 

beekamuuyyu: Waalayitaa, 

Gaamoo, Kuulloo-Kontaa, 

Shaakichoo, Kafichoo faa hortee 

Kuushii irraa addaan qooduun 

maqaa lagaa kenneefii: Omoo 

("Omotic") jechuun moggaase. 

Habashoonni dhalawwan Kuush 

addaan qoodanii barabaraan 

bituun waan sagantaa isaanii 

taheef, ennasuma kana fudhatanii 

"Omoo" jechuutti ka'ani. 

Harrallee beektota afaanii kan 

Oroppaa keessaa, warri kana hin 

fudhanne guutaniiru. 

Barreessitoonni fi dureewwan 

Oromoo dabrees kan Kuushota 

biroo kana fudhachuu hin qabani. 

Kan Habashoonni addaan nu 

qoqqoodanii hanga ammaattuu 

nu bitaa jiran ni gaya. Gayeen 

gayee dhaa, abadan nuti 

dhalawwaan Kuush diinaaf 

harka hin kenninu! 

3) John Markakis: "ETHIOPIA - 

Anatomy of a Traditional Polity", 

Oxford, 1974. 


The basis of Mushrooming Factions within Oromo Liberation Forces VOLUME 1 SPRING 2010 

The basis of Mushrooming Factions within Oromo Liberation Forces 

The basis of Mushrooming Factions within Oromo Liberation Forces 

Lack of Understanding the Value of Freedom and Ingredients to Get It 


At this critical time in our 

struggle when one strong Oromo 

organization is badly needed, 

much to the chagrin of millions of 

freedom seeking Oromos, we see 

fragmentation of existing 

organizations. We are witnessing 

the ever more mushrooming 

factions within Oromo liberation 

forces. More worrying is not the 

number or disunity of these 

factions but the internecine feud 

amongst them. The infighting 

have not confined itself among 

higher echelon of these factions 

but transmitted to Oromo 

communities so much so that 

close friends in the community 

are turned to arch enemies 

because of the infighting factions 

are scrambling for supporters 

from within communities 

relaying such embarrassing, 

tragic and crippling infighting to 

the Oromo grass roots level. 

This is one urgent problem that 

the Oromo mass can no longer 

shunt aside. This article addresses 

the root cause of the problem. 

More often than not, we tend to 

concentrate on secondary causes 

of problems. However, these 

secondary causes themselves 

have roots. It is of paramount 

importance to understand issues 

from deeper and broader 

perspective in order to form right 

thought from where right 

solution emanates. As the old 

adage goes, a problem well 

understood is a problem half 

solved. Here, lack of 

understanding the value of 

freedom and lack of 

understanding the indispensable 

ingredient required in order to 

achieve freedom are discussed as 

the primary cause of the problem 

that initiates chain of secondary 

causes like power struggle, 

localism, religion, partisanship 

and buckling to peer pressure. 

Lack of understanding 

One cause of mushrooming 

factions and fragmentation is lack 

of understanding the value of 

freedom and ingredients that are 

necessary to get it. One may cite 

power struggle, corruption, 

region, religion, partisanship, 

peer pressure, flocking with 

acquaintances and ideological 

divergence and so on as the 

causes of disunity among Oromo 

factions. However, these factors 

have causes themselves; a 

primary cause. They are just the 

by-products of the primary cause. 

The primary cause is lack of 

understanding the value of 

freedom and ingredients that are 

necessary to get it. If one knows 

and understands the value of 

freedom; if one knows unity is 

the indispensable ingredient to 

get freedom; one surely does not 

engage in the aforementioned 

divisive elements. 

Some of the means by which 

understanding can be facilitated 

are first hand experience, 

observation of others experience 

and experience of the opposite 

condition. In order to miss 

freedom, one must have directly 

experienced its value, taste, 

necessity and so on. One can also 

observe freedom as it is 

experienced by others around us 

and may understand its value. 

Experiencing slavery can also 

help us to understand the value 

of freedom just like one who 

experiences hunger understands 

the value of food. 

The current Oromo generations 

have not directly experienced the 

taste and value of freedom. Born 

and brought up under the yoke of 

slavery, these generations lack 

the first hand experience as to 

what living in freedom means 

and feels like. However, we are 

now observing those who enjoy 

freedom around us and most 

importantly we are now 

experiencing the abject misery 



because of lack of freedom. 

Understanding the value of 

freedom we lack and feeling the 

pain we are going through 

determines our willingness, 

eagerness and zeal to commit 

ourselves to getting it. Moreover, 

we should understand what 

awaits us in the future if the 

status quo persists. 

The likes of Elemo Qilxu, Tadassa 

Biru, Baro Tumsaa, Magarsa Barii 

and so on had understood well 

that freedom is the most precious 

commodity and paid the ultimate 

and fitting price. These giants felt 

the pain that the Oromo mass has 

been going through. As a result, 

they had done their utmost to get 

rid slavery of the shoulder of 

their people. These giants had 

understood what is in the store 

for us in the future and paid the 

ultimate price to obviate what 

was looming. Currently, 

however, the movers and shakers 

of Oromo politics failed to 

understand the past, the present 

and the future with regard to the 

value of freedom. 

Once we understood freedom is 

necessary to the highest degree 

like water and food and its price 

is incalculable, the next step is to 

pay the appropriate price and 

search for ingredients that are 

indispensable for getting it. One 

such indispensable ingredient is 

acting in unison. Our present 

faction leaders failed to 

understand this important, the 

most basic and the simplest yet 

quintessential ingredient for 

achieving freedom. Forming new 

organization with exactly same 

objectives and at times with 

exactly same names, Oromo 

faction leaders played a role of 

wreaking havoc, spreading 

confusion, and sowing discord 

among themselves and the 

Oromo grass roots. Hence, lack of 

understanding the necessity of 

acting in unison is one of the 

causes for mushrooming factions 

in Oromo politics. 

Most of the obstacles to unity like 

power struggle, corruption, 


peer pressure, flocking with 

acquaintances and ideological 

divergence are not the direct 

cause of factionalism and 

disunity. They are rather the byproducts 

of lack of understanding 

the value of freedom and the 

ingredients necessary to get it. If 

one understands the value of 

freedom, the misery due to its 

absence and what it takes to get 

it, then these obstacles would not 

have been there in the first place. 

If unity is understood as an 

indispensable ingredient for 

achieving freedom, these 

obstacles can always be 

hammered out through 

discussion. 

By and large, Oromo politicians 

have tended to line up behind 

region, religion and tribe thus 

deepening the fragmentation 

within. Wrong diagnosis of the 

problem may lead us to believe 


tribalism and the likes are the 

main problems we have at grass 

roots level. These are not real 

problems of our society. They are 

created by these politicians who 

are engaged in power struggle 

and corruption. 

In addition to understanding the 

value of freedom and ingredients 

that are indispensable for getting 

it, Oromo leaders should also 

understand, experience, and 

implement uniting factors that 

are common to all Oromos 

irrespective region, religion, 

party and ideology. One such 

factor is Oromummaa-our 

identity. Oromummaa should be 

cultivated and elevated ardently. 

It should be inculcated into the 

mind of each and every Oromo in 

such a way that it rises on top of 

region, religion, party, ideology, 

egoism and personal interest. 

Power struggle 

Some factors that lead to power 

struggle within a given faction 

include but not limited to weak 

and power-thirsty individuals 

within the faction. The later factor 

is a direct consequence of not 

understanding unity as the 

indispensable ingredient for 

achieving freedom. Power 

struggle, struggling for ones own 

power, is not struggling for 

freedom of the mass. It is about 

individual interest and has got 

nothing to do with Oromummaa, 

Oromiyaa and freedom of the 

entire Oromo nation. Powerthirsty 

leaders promote their own 

interest and thus cannot be 

national leaders; rather they are 

national cancers for they thwart 

freedom of Oromos. 

The consequences of such a 

power struggle on the entire 

Oromo nation are enormous. 

Power struggle weakens an 

organization and can even lead to 

fragmentation thereof. It can also 

be the source of new 



mushrooming factions. Since one 

wants to be a leader, he/she 

comes up with a new 

organization rather than joining 

the existing ones and being led. 

In addition, passion for power 

prevents merger of factions. Since 

factions leaders fear they would 

lose the power previously held in 

their respective factions, they 

won’t opt for a merger. If at all 

they agree to merge, in the 

process of merger stronger 

factions may want to contain 

smaller ones and do not want to 

share power. Another 

devastating effect of power 

struggle is that power-thirsty 

individuals will be dictatorial in 

the aftermath of liberation 

making the liberation itself 

meaningless. Further more, 

power struggle give birth to 

regionalism and religious 

divisions since these power 

mongers make use of these 

elements to garner support from 

within the factions and even from 

the grass roots level. 

Regionalism 

It should be understood and 

accepted by Oromos that region 

(localism) is just a matter of 

chance and not who we are. We, 

Oromos, were born not only in 

Oromiyaa but in various parts of 

the world. For instance, some of 

us were born in USA or 

somewhere in Europe or for that 

matter in Kenya. Irrespective of 

where we were born we are all 

Oromos. Oromummaa defines 

me, not where I was born or live. 

Regionalism based on tribalism 

mentality is baseless because 

Oromos tribes live all over 

Oromiyaa intermingled and 

assimilated with each other. For 

example we have clans from 

Tullammas in Arsii, Wallaga, 

Harar, Jimmaa, and so on and we 

have clans from Arsii in Shawa, 

Wallaga, Harar, Jimmaa and so 

on. 

Furthermore, boundaries of the 

so called Oromo regions as we 

know it today are introduced by 

the occupying Abyssinian 

regimes to separate Oromos from 

one another and facilitate their 

occupation. These artificial 

boundaries with strange names 

have got nothing to do with 

Oromos. Regional names like 

Shawa, Harar, Wallaga etc have 

no relation with Oromo. We 

should not fight based on 

artificial boundaries marked by 

our enemies. 

Ideology 

After a long time in the struggle, 

some of our leaders are still 

indecisive about whether to fight 

for democratic Ethiopia or 

independent Oromiyaa. This is 

quite unacceptable as it confuses 

our people and international 

community. Competent leaders 

who work for the interest of 

Oromo nation can always 

hammer out ideological 

differences among them and act 

in unison for the common good. 

Such leaders who stand for 

national interest never cause an 

internecine feud just because they 

differ in their opinion as to which 

means to pursue to come to a 

well identified and understood 

goal. If one knows his/her goal 

very well, if one is adept in 

communication skill, if one can 

present his/her case convincingly 

and if one understands the 

consequence of internecine feud 

on Oromo cause, the means to an 

end should not be a problem. 

After thorough deliberation, they 

either convince each other to act 

in unison or pursue their own 

way agreeing to disagree. 

Competent leaders instil a clear 

goal into the minds of the mass. 

In our case, our leaders could not 

resolve their petty difference let 

alone convincing the larger 

Oromo mass as to which means is 

appropriate to reach the desired 

goal. 

In a nutshell, if one understands 

the value of freedom and if one 

understands unity is 

indispensable ingredient to 

achieve freedom and guard it 

afterwards, one surely avoids 

factors that contribute to disunity. 

Freedom and Oromummaa 

prevail over personal interest, 

localism, religion, ideological 

divergence and the likes. We are 

in slavery not as Shawa, Arsii, 

Wallaga, and Harar and not as 

Muslim or Christian. We are in 

slavery as Oromos. We need to 

fight for our freedom in unison as 

Oromos putting aside our 

personal interest, region, religion 

and ideology. 




Biyya Oromoo Laalistuu VOLUME 1 SPRING 2010 

Dhugaasaa D. Goobanaa 

Haa geeraaru nun jedhuu – maaliin geeraarru laataa? 

Dhuunfannee mirga hin qabnu – faacha siida injiifata 

Boobbafnee dhibba hin qabnu – kuusaa dilbii hormaata 

Roorroon garaa nu gubee – diidee nu dhiikkifataa 

Nu hin dardarbiin yaa garaa – barri ni dabra kun seeraa 

Seera yeeroo qaraan-qaraa – seenaa eenyummaa sooraa 

Geerarsaan seenaa ibsu – dhugaa bulee laaliisu 

Mee takkan biyya farsaa – 

biyya mandhee goota boonsa 

Seenaa soora eenyummaa – 

ittiin dhaadhessu dhimma! 

Biyya Oromoo Laalistuu, 

Madda walaabaa jiituu – waan hedduu magarsituu 

Dhaadheessan dhugaa wayya – kan ifu halkan guyyaa 

Qorxii dilbii bekkumsaa – dharri bulee fokkiisa 

Seenaatu heddu nu gubaa – yaadannoon bara dhibaa 

Seenaan aadaa gabrummaa – kan gadda roobsu gumaa 

Eenyummaa kee ukkaamse – goota garaa bobeessee 

garaan guubate hin hafuu – kan mirga dhabe hin rafu 

Eenyummaaf hidda dhiigee – ittin koolaasa addagee 

Iyya gumaa gootoota – lammii fi qomootu birmata 



Boreen dhugaa dhaaddeessu – hoga goomoon mandiisuu 

Boree mirga dhalootaa – diroon dhiigaan falmata 

Namuumaaf nooru jedhu – seera uumaaf dhaabata 

Godaanan biyya haalagaa – nagaa siif dhaamu laata? 

Akkam bultee sin jechuuf – halkaan baariyaa laata? 

Akkam oolte sin jechuuf – maaliin siif dhiiyaa laata? 

Mee takkaa dhagefadhu – waan nu gubuun gabasaa 

Ittiin si aarsuuf miti – haadha ilmaan gamessaa 

Seenaaf yeelaluuf malee – attuu hin dhabne bekkumsa 

Bekkumsa sirna fokkuu – xinnaa fi guddaa boosisa! 


Burqaan gibee hin guunee – haawas yaa’u bubbise 

Akka waan bishaan dhabdee – eebuun aafaan nu gogse 

Dhaamsaf jecha makmaaksaa – afaan eenyummaa ibsa 

Akka waan afaan dhabdee – qooqa halagaan nu gorsaa 

Dagaagan lammii fi qomoo – aadaaf aadaa akka huumoo 

Labsa seera abba gadaa – safuu siiqqeetu hooda 

Akka waan aadaa dhabdee – lubni hidhame gaddaa 

Gamtaa naanoo fi aanaa – lammii fi qomoo gurmessaa 

Akka waan odaa dhabdee –kiyyoon nu marsee caasaa 

Laliistu biyya oromoo – guutee jiru dilbii fi kuusaa 

Akka wan midhaan dhabdee – belaa hinjirree nu onsa 

Waan hundaa hin himaatanni – fukkuu sirna cunqursaa 

Kan hafee waaqaaf dhiise – boree hin haafnee bilisa! 


Safuu hin eegane laata? – cubbuu maaltu nu qabee? 

Maal jetee nu eebbistee? – carraa maaltu nu qaqabee? 

Coqqorsa baksaa cuuphxee – dargagoo adda tuqxe 

Adda jabbadhaa hin jennee? – irree uumaa wal–qiixxee 

Coqqorsa baksaa cuuphxee – dubaroo mormaa tuqxe 

Lubbuu dheradhaa hin jennee? – akka eegataan haanxee 

Bilaa haanxee hidda dhiigsu – eenyummaa kan maadeessu 

Aadaa sirna cunqursaa – maaf safuu waaqaa cabsa 

Addageen dhugaa dabsan – maaf humnaf nu dorsiisan! 



Biyya Oromoo laalistu, 

Hin gorsiinee lammii fi qomoo – aadaa jette akka huumoo 

Aadaa fiiniinsu eenyummaa – ibsaa seera namummaa 

Eebba barii fi galgaalaa – humna keesaaniin bulaa 

Akka horan bekkumsa – kaayyoo bilisaaf tumsa 

Akka hin daganne gumaa – dhugaa haadhooftu dhimma 

Halagaan gaafa koolfaa– lammii fi qomoon gaafa golfaa 

Hin dhagatiinan jettee – hin gorsaanee waalaalaa? 

Fiirri garaa walii lafaa– ijoollee koo ofkoolaa 

Jette hin eebiifnee laataa – dhiiga haadhoo–obbolaa 

Maalii? Maaltu dhalatee? – Eebbii kee abaarsaa ree? 

Qomoon qomoo gurguree – lammiin lammii dareree 

Diinni fokkun kichuu ciree – luumnnii dofan geeraree 

Gumaan gootoota oromoo – maaf taate du’a saree? 

Yaa ijoollee banneerakaa – gurra abbaa ganneerakaa! 

Akka waan hayyuu dhabnee – nama nu gorsu dhabnee 

Akka waan jennu dhabnee – jettee jeetteen wal–dhabne 

Akka waan gootaa dhabnee – diinni addaaggen nu dhane 

Akka waan nama hin taanee – xinnaa guddan tuffatamne, 

Akka waan dhimma dhabnee – holloo ijoollee dhahanne 

Akka waan diina taanee – qomoon fi lammiin wal–dhaanne 

Maal abdaateetu laataa? – kodeen koodee kan ganee? 

Diina gumaaf himanee – seenaaf biyyaa goodaanne 

Eenyummaa uumaaf tumsu – maal taanan iraanfannee? 

Uggum maaltu dhaalate – qomoon guma dagatee 

– diina kodee godhatee? 

Hubaadhaa Qomoo fi lammiin? – jechaa gabbisa dhagaa 

„Saanyiin faacaasaan margaa“ – „dharri hin ajjeessu dhugaa“ 

„Dhugaa bulee guddatu“ – kan hin banne hundeensaa 

Nama dhugaa daabsudha – “ kan hankaaku galmasaa“ 

Abdii fi irkoon haalagaa – turee seenaa faalleessa 

Seenaa bilisaaf tumsaa – oromoon walii obsaa 

Hadhooftu akka eebiichaa – qabsoo dhugaa finiinsaa 

Biyya Oromoo laalistu – 

Boolaaleen hin qochissu – tarkaanfii tokko malee 



Abba laafaatu nu sobee 

Mooji isa qoteetiikaa – goonni hin qootu boolaalee! 

Foonin qaaljeessa male – dhiigaan gabbiissa malee 

Boonyii ijoole hin raaffiisu – shiillimii tokko malee 

Warra raafuutu nu sobee 

Mooji isa rafeetikaa – goonni hin raafu mirga malee 

Mirga hidda dhalootaaf – dagaala oolee bulee 

Abjuu hiikatu toolcha – waan hawwaan barii abjootu 

Baatanii aadaa fokku – wal qixxummaan hin jirtuu 

Kaakataanii gumaa boree – abdiin haalagaa hin toltu 

Bilisa mirga namummaa – goonnii dhiiga lolasu 

Ilma seenaa dhaagate – eenyummaa hubachiisu 

Hubadhaa qomoo fi lammiin – 

Abbayyiin ganna goge – gorsa gafatee ejeersaa 

Kan daagagu bonaa fi ganna – laaliise birraa– arfaasaa 

Kaan otoo roobuuf googee – maaltu isa gabbisaa? 

Deebbii ejeersaa keessaa – yaa hidda dheerinasaa 

Dhugaa dharaaf hin googne – dhiigan soore gabbissa 

Dhimma ejeersaa keessaa – yaa qola furdinasaa 

Baaqqen hin kaabu danaa – eenyummaa keessan gogsaa 

Dhaamsa ejeersaa keessaa – yaa garaa baldhiinasaa 

Damee guddaan dagaage – fedhii sabaa gaaddisa 

Doofaa fi jarjaara miti – obsaatu diina koolasa 

Seenaa ejeersaa keessaa – yaa hundee guddinasaa 

Kan qobaa areedu miti – koodeen kufee wal kaasaa! 

Tokkummaatu jabiinaa – oromoon walii obsaa 

Kan gannii isa coolagse – eenyummatu rakkisaa! 

Hubannon fakkii ejeersaa – bokkuu hincabne dameensaa 

Ongee fi caamsaan haamatuus – hiddiisaa hin gogu tasa 

Diroon abdatan kuusaa – qabsoof dhiiga gaalasa 

Arfasaan rooba hin dhabu – diina gumaa baasisaa 

Kaayyoon galmaa bilisaaf – eenyummaan walii tumsa 

Diroon diinaa diinumaa – haalagaa abdachuu dhiisaa 

Qomoo fi lammiin Oromoo 

Hadaraa walii obsaa – humna oromoo gurmeessaa! 




Eebbii kee isaan ganamaa – diroo qaqabu laataa? 

Gorsii kee isaan galgalaa – galaa nu ta’uu laataa? 

Qoosaan kee isaan waarii – gamachuu fiduu laataa? 

Muxxaanoo fi bekkumsii – humna nu taa’uu laataa? 

Otoo Abbayyii hin ta’iin – ejeersaa tana laata? 


Kootaa ni galla nun jedhu 

Warri abdaatan rooba qaamee 

Warri hawwan teessoo koomee 

Warri fedhii aangoon sardamee 

Warri hawwiin bilisa dhaame 

Warri abjuun qaban doome 

Galluu maalti gallaa? – abjuu dhugaan hiikan tola 

Aangoof sardamun fafa – teessoon koome takaallaa 

Kuufaattiin goota boonsa – mucuca qaamee ilaalaa 

Duuti hin oolee bilisaa – goonni gaalu gaadiin galaa 

Caaqa fi qoosaa nu dhiisaa– galma kaayyoo faalleessa 


Gundoo naannessa hoodhi – ni ciitaa hin yaddaayini 

Dhugaaf nannoofnee ni gallaa – ni du‘uu hin yaddaayini 

Caaxee aadii cagaadi – caaggaddu hin ta’iin malee 

Galaan gootoota abdii – hagamsaa gumaan bule 

Rafii ka’ii saagaadi – saaggaddu hin ta’iin malee 

Hoo galaan akka qabdii – garaan kee hin walaale 

Sabbata fuurdaa fooyii – jaawwii aadaaf maarsattaa 

Yoo gaaleef ittin feecaa – gabaa coorii ittin baataa! 

Yoo dhuneef ittin boossaa – ittiin garaa hidhaatta 

Seenaaf dhaamsa hegeree – diroo ittiin gorsattaa! 

Yaa ilmaan abbaa gadaa – dhugaa buleen wal mudaa 

Akka ollatti miti – buluun akka mana abbaa ofii 

Mudhi qabataan miti – kan kolaasaan diina ofii 

Hiiriiranii qomoo fi lammiin – quusaatanii wal tuffii 

Dhaaddatan oromummaa – ilaalcha hundee tokkumma 



Seenaa dhugaa hin daabsiinen – haalkaniis taatu guyyaa 

Obsan galma hawwan gahuu – hoo abdatan hirriyyaa 

Hirriyyaan gaafa rakkoo – tokkummaa hawaasaf iyyaa 

Diroon ummata oromoo – bilisa dhugaan fayya 

Halkaan dukkaanaan miti – ifaan galla saafa guyyaa 

Faacha injiifataa baannee – dhiigaan ummanne biyya 

Afaan qabannee miti – kan galluu yaa ilmaan ayyaa 

Sirbaan–geerarsaan malee – shuubbiisaa aadaa biyyaa 

Dichiisaa foolleen malee – labsa gadaan seera biyyaa! 

Bilisummaan Ummata Oromoo – boreedha dhiigatu iyyaa! 

Walabummaan Biyya Oromoo – kaayyoo boree dhugan keenyaa! 

Gumaan gootota oromoo – hin haftu waaqa waayya! 

Tokkummaan qabsoo utubu - eenyuummaaf ilmaan ayyaa! 


Rooting out the Oromos and exposing them to hunger VOLUME 1 SPRING 2010 

Rooting out the Oromos and exposing them to hunger 

Rooting out the Oromos and exposing them to hunger 


As of this writing, around 17 

million hectares of Oromo land is 

sold or marked to be sold to 

foreign investors by the Ethiopian 

government. When in Ethiopia 

people are experiencing ethnic 

tensions, social unrest, food 

insecurity and high rates of 

hunger and poverty, it is unusual 

and hard to conceive that fertile 

land is being conceded to foreign 

countries instead of being used to 

boost domestic production that 

can relief the ever escalating 

famine. 

The pretext of putting Oromo 

land on market is to increase 

production and eliminate hunger. 

However, foreign investors 

transport the production to their 

country of origin or put it on 

international market exacerbating 

food insecurity of the host 

country. In addition to making 

hunger worse, large-scale land 

lease results in environmental 

disaster and eviction of 

indigenous population. 

Large-scale land lease has been 

already tried in different parts of 

the world and failed miserably 

exposing the local dwellers to 

hunger let alone eliminating it. 

The Cambodian government has 

made land lease as a solution to 

the food crisis leasing 

Cambodia’s 6 million hectares of 

land. However, nearly hundreds 

of thousands families in that 

country lack sufficient food and 

face under-nourishment 

according to the most recent FAO 

statistics. Moreover, tens of 

thousands Cambodians are 

estimated to have been rooted out 

of their ancestral land in recent 

years. 

This article addresses how largescale 

land lease results in food 

insecurity for the entire country, 

eviction of indigenous Oromos 

and environmental disaster. 

Food insecurity 

Among other things, food 

security depends on three factors: 

the sufficiency of food, the ability 

of consumers to purchase the 

food and the nutritional 

adequacy of the food. 

Although the availability of food 

from large scale agriculture 

owned by foreign investors is not 

a concern, its accessibility to the 

local inhabitants is. The control 

over production from such 

agriculture is shifted from 

domestic small landowners to 

foreign investors and 

consequently large proportion of 

the foods produced would be 

shipped to the country of origin 

of the investor or sold on the 

international markets. These 

foreign investors transport the 

food to their county in order to 

fulfil their country’s food security 

and/or for another purpose such 

as for agro-fuels as an alternative 

to fossil fuels usage. This could 

be the prime purpose of investing 

in the first place. Since the 

product of the land is 

transformed into large industrial 

estates connected to far-off 

markets in another country, the 

local dwellers face shortage of 

food self-sufficiency. As a result, 

food security of around 95% of 

Oromo population who depend 

on small-scale agriculture is 

endangered. 

This scenario has already been 

practically proved true. For 

instance, let us take countries like 

Madagascar, the Sudan, 

Cambodia and Philippines who 

are currently host countries for 

large-scale agricultural foreign 

investors. Madagascar and the 

Sudan, still receive food aid relief 

from the World Food Program. In 

Cambodia, about 100,000 families 

lack sufficient food. Recently, 



Cambodia received $35 million in 

food assistance from the Asian 

Development Bank (ADB). In 

Philippines, nearly 70 percent of 

the poor live in the countryside, 

and approximately 90 percent of 

the rural population lives below 

the poverty line. 

Even if the product of large-scale 

farm is not transported to other 

countries, there is another 

problem the land grab creates: 

the inability of local farmers to 

purchase food. The main concern 

of any foreign investor is the total 

return manifested in the total 

percentage change in the value of 

an investment over a specified 

time period, including capital 

gains, dividends, and the 

investment's appreciation or 

depreciation. Simplified, the 

foreign investor is after his/her 

profit. This results in increased 

dependency of locals on foreign 

markets. Moreover, to make 

profit, the investors use cheap 

labour paying workers small 

amount. The landowners and 

inhabitants will be forced to sell 

their labour cheaply on their own 

backyard and possibly can even 

make them jobless exposing them 

to abject poverty and famine. The 

local Oromos do not have the 

capital to compete on the foreign 

market and could not buy food. 

As such food security of millions 

of Oromos is endangered. 

Finally even if the above two 

factors are met, i.e., even if the 

product of large-scale farm is 

remained locally and local people 

could be able to purchase food, 

there is still another concern that 

affects food security of the locals: 

the nutritional content of the 

available food. Foreign investors 

produce mainly one or two type 

of crops such as maize and/or 

rice. Nutrition wise such crops 

deliver carbohydrates and not 

enough of or nil protean, 

vitamins, and minerals and so on. 

To meet their dietary and 

nutritional needs, small-scale 

Oromo farmers usually divide 

their land to cultivate barley, 

beans, lentils, vegetables and 

fruits from which they get the 

proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins 

and minerals. With their land 

grabbed the Oromo locals would 

loose the capability of producing 

crops of their choice that provide 

them with balanced nutrition. 

Consequently millions of Oromos 

will be affected by diseases 

related to nutritional deficiency. 

In the long-run, this results in 

physically crippled and mentally 

enfeebled future Oromo 

generations. 

By leasing land that affects food 

security, the Ethiopian 

government violates international 

agreements. Article 11 of the 

International Covenant on 

Economic, Social and Cultural 

Rights obliges states to ensure for 

everyone under its jurisdiction 

access to the minimum essential 

food which is sufficient, 

nutritionally adequate and safe. 

A state that does not respect, 

protect and fulfil food security of 

its citizens violates human rights 

to food. 

Rooting out the indigenous 

population 

Large-scale land lease drives the 

native landowners off their land 

rooting them out of their 

aboriginal backyards. Since their 

land is gone, these landowners 

depart to cities and other location 

in search of work so as to sustain 

their life. They might not find 

work. Consequently they are not 

only being rooted out from their 

ancestral land but also exposed to 

beggary, misery and hunger at 

foreign place where no one 

familiar is there to stretch a 

helping hand. 

Evicting Oromos from their 

ancestral land is a violation of 

international law. Under Article 8 

Para. (2b) of the United Nations 

Declaration on the Rights of 

Indigenous Peoples, states shall 

provide effective mechanisms for 

prevention of and redress for any 

action which has the aim or effect 

of dispossessing indigenous 

peoples of their lands, territories 

or resources. 

Moreover, the Oromo people 

have a distinctive spiritual 

relationship with trees, rivers, 

lakes and hills that surrounds 

them. For example Oromos 

celebrate Irreechaa (Thanksgiving 

Day) once a year. Irreechaa takes 

place at the banks of lakes, rivers, 

or Odaa trees. Oromos go to these 

places for seeking quiet and 

natural scene that is suitable for 

attention to thank and worship 

God with full concentration. 

Furthermore, Oromos believe 

that green is holy, water is life, 

and the places are peaceful where 

the spirit of God is found. 

Besides, according to Oromo 

spiritual tradition one house is 



reserved for and used as a place 

of worship. Such a house is called 

Galma. Evicting Oromos from 

their ancestral land is divesting 

Oromos of their spiritual life. 

Divesting Oromos of their 

spiritual life is violating 

international law. Articles 25 and 

26 of the United Nations 

Declaration recognize the 

distinctive spiritual relationship 

of indigenous peoples with their 

traditionally owned or otherwise 

occupied and used lands, and 

that they have the right to own, 

use, develop and control these 

lands. States must therefore give 

legal recognition and protection 

to these lands, territories and 

resources, with due respect to the 

customs, traditions and land 

tenure systems of the indigenous 

peoples concerned. 

Environmental disaster 

At this crucial juncture when the 

world is debating how to tackle 

environmental disasters that is 

looming and that has already 

affected large portion of the 

globe, it is irresponsible to engage 

in activities that exacerbate 

environmental disaster. 

Large-scale land lease contribute 

to environmental degradation, 

desertification and destruction of 

ecological systems and 

biodiversity because forests 

should be cleared to facilitate the 

land for cultivation. Large scale 

land lease clears virgin and 

pristine forests that is home of 

endemic wild lives with which 

Oromia is blessed and that serve 

as coolant against the scorching 

tropical sun. The indigenous 

Oromo population who are 

entirely dependent upon forests 

for their livelihoods, food, 

medicines and/or building 

materials will face disaster. 

Trees are Oromo’s sacred places 

used as a natural and quiet place 

where Oromos worship Waaqa 

(one God). In this regard 

deforestation caused by land 

lease causes not only physical 

environmental disaster, but also 

bereaves Oromos of their 

spiritual life. 

As investors care only for a shortterm 

and quick profit from the 

land, they use chemicals that 

serve this purpose. Hazardous 

and toxic chemicals are dumped 

into the soil in the form of 

fertilizer, pesticide and herbicide. 

Acidification of soil by nitrogen 

compounds hampers soil’s ability 

to retain and recycle natural 

nutrients and organisms in the 

soil making it useless in the long 

run. Emission of nitrogen into the 

air causes greenhouse gases and 

depletion of Ozone layer. 

Moreover, these chemicals can be 

washed off to the nearby water 

bodies and not only kill aquatic 

lives but also impact on the 

health of humans who use such 

contaminated water for drinking 

purpose. The following internet 

link is a tragic example of the 

effect of toxic chemical washed 

off to water used by locals for 

drinking. 

http://www.youtube.com/watc 

h?v=eUqgUR4qI98 

In conclusion, the Ethiopian 

government should respect 

international laws and refrain 

from leasing Oromo land which 

otherwise creates food insecurity 

and exacerbate hunger, eviction 

of indigenous populations 

exposing them to abject misery, 

divesting them of their spiritual 

life and creating cataclysmic 

environmental disaster. To boost 

production and eliminate hunger, 

the government should invest in 

technologies and means that can 

be used responsibly by local 

farmers. Local farmers should be 

trained and equipped with 

modern agricultural know-how 

instead of evicting and 

appropriating their land to so 

called investors. Failure to do so 

and continuing with the land 

grab would leave the Oromos 

with no alternative but fight for 

their inherent rights for life. 


Volume 1 Spring 2010

Hangaasuu Bilisummaa Journal Volume 1 - ULFO

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