Five-Star Ghana hammer Ethiopia 5-0 in 2019 AFCON qualifier

Black Stars (Photo credit: Images Image)

Kwasi Appiah made a five-star start to his competitive tenure as Black Stars coach guiding the senior national team to a 5-0 win over Ethiopia in their 2019 AFCON Group F opener at the Baba Yara Stadium.

The Stars dominated the one-sided tie from Start to finish with debutants striker Raphael Dwamena, winger Thomas Agyepong and fullback Lumor Agbenyenu impressing.

Black Stars skipper, Asamoah Gyan opened the floodgates in the 10th minute when he glanced home a header into the net off an Ethiopian defender.

The goal came from an assist by tricky left winger Agyepong who floated in a cross for Gyan's 50th goal in the colours of the senior national team.

The Ethiopians were yet to recover from the early setback when striker Dwamena knocked down a ball for defender John Boye who controlled before firing high-up into the corner of the net in the 14th minute.

The pick of the goals was scored with the game inching close to halftime in the 41st minute when midfielder Ebenezer Ofori cut in on his left foot and rifled home a fierce long-range shot into the top corner of the net.

After a delayed restart to the second half, the Stars continued to dominate the Ethiopians and scored their fourth in the 48th minute through Dwamena prodded home from close-range after the Ethiopian keeper saved a Dede Ayew shot.

The FC Zurich striker who wasted some opportunities completed his brace in the 60th minute with a poachers effort after an Ethiopian goalkeeping howler from a cross by Agbenyenu.

The massive 5-0 result moved the Black Stars to the top of the AFCON 2019 Group F qualifiers on goal difference.

The Stars and Sierra Leone both have three points each after the latter defeated Kenya 2-1 on Saturday in the other Group F clash.Read more here

Why There’s a Statue of Bob Marley in Ethiopia

When you think of Jamaica, you’re likely to conjure a mental picture of Bob Marley before you think of anything else. There’s no other country in the world where one musician seems to represent the embodiment of an entire culture like Marley is to Jamaica. The dreadlocks and the red/green/yellow color scheme seems sooooo Jamaican. But is it?

The answer might surprise you: Look no further than the Ethiopian flag. Does it look familiar? That’s because the Rasta movement arose in Ethiopia, not Jamaica.

Ethiopia is the only African country never colonized by Europeans. Countries like Kenya and Egypt were controlled by the British; the Belgians took the Congo; and much of North Africa was seized by the French. Every European country seemed to want a piece of the “dark continent,” but Ethiopia always avoided colonization—including two failed attempts by the Italians in 1895 and later in 1935. Read more here 

Teddy Afro: Ethiopia's top artiste aims to heal the nation with the mic

In the midst of the political tension in Ethiopia, one man is hoping to turn around the situation through what he loves doing best. Singing.

Teddy Afro, a top Ethiopian artiste wants to heal the country with his mic. This is despite having previously had run-ins with the government leading to the banning of his tracks in 2005, four years after his career took off.

In an interview with the BBC’s Amharic service, Teddy who is based in the United States said he aimed at using his music to turn around the tensed political atmosphere. His latest track titled ‘Ethiopia’ is sung in Amharic – the dominant language of the East African giant.

Rather than misunderstanding each other, let's communicate, instead of conflict, let's love one another and long for peace instead of holding a grudge, let's forgive one another.

‘‘… for us to come out of the situation we are in, I believe the only choice is love. I’m sad with what has been happening recently, I’m hoping that our elders will continue to collaborate and find a solution that will leave the country better off for the next generation.

‘‘Rather than misunderstanding each other, let’s communicate, instead of conflict, let’s love one another and long for peace instead of holding a grudge, let’s forgive one another,’‘ he added.

The 6 minutes 37 seconds track recently helped him top the Billboard World Albums chart, a feat the musician celebrated on his Facebook page. He told the BBC that the current track has exceeded his expectations. It is said to have sold over 500,000 copies since release.

‘‘It gives me great joy, there hasn’t been an album that has been this well received to my knowledge. All of my music is based on love, like Martin Luther King said, hate is defeated with love, darkness with light. Read more here

In Ethiopia, Authorities’ Reshuffling of the Oromo Language Alphabet Touches a Nerve

Authorities in Oromia, Ethiopia’s largest state, have infuriated language experts and Oromo nationalists with their decision to re-arrange the order of the alphabet of the region’s language, Afan Oromo.

In multilingual and multiethnic Ethiopia, orthographic choices are complex linguistic and political decisions that have great socio-political consequences.

Among Ethiopia’s written languages, most write their language in either the Ge’ez or Ethiopic alphabet, known as “Fidel,” or the Roman alphabet. Afan Oromo officially adopted the Roman alphabet — in its usual order of ABCD and so on — after the current government come to power in 1991.

However, more than a quarter century later, the regional educational authorities of Oromia announced they were reshuffling the “Qubee Afan Oromo” (as the alphabet is called). The first seven letters are:

• L
• A
• G
• I
• M
• Aa
• S
• Justifying the change, authorities blamed the old alphabet order as the reason why reading skills among primary school children in Oromia remain poor. They even cited a research to back up their claim.
  There is, however, a problem with their argument. It was based on a misrepresentation of the findings of the research. In fact, the research, which was funded by US Agency for International Development (USAID) in 2010, revealed a broader problem of reading skills not only among Afan Oromo-speaking primary school students, but also students whose mother tongue was Amharic, Hararigna, Sidaamu Afoo, Somali and Tigrinya.
  In the study, pedagogic and logistical difficulties were identified as factors for poor reading skills in Ethiopia’s six major regions. However, the order of alphabet was not cited as a factor for the dismal reality. In a post on the citizen journalism site OPride.com, one blogger agreed with the findings of the research but questioned the connection it had to the alphabet order, writing:

  There is little disagreement on the core problem here: The education quality crisis in Ethiopia needs fixing. …. The disagreement here though is on the proposed solutions. This is underscored by a key question that everyone is asking: JUST HOW DOES REORDERING THE AFAAN OROMO ALPHABET IMPROVE READING AND LEARNING OUTCOMES?

  ‘Yet another fraud perpetrated on the Oromo people’

  The change actually took effect in 2016 and school textbooks already reflect the reshuffling, but it was done so quietly. So much so that the news of the letter order change only made it into Ethiopia’s political news cycle after government affiliate Oromia Broadcasting Service reported about it. Over last two years, a series of political events with far-reaching repercussions such as protests and internet outages has dominated the country's news cycle.
• As soon as the change was reported, concerned Oromo intellectuals started raising questions.
  For them, this is the latest attempt in a series of steps intended to diminish the cultural rights of the Oromo people, who have historically been marginalized in Ethiopia. On Facebook Awol Kassim Allo, wrote:

  The casual change/disfiguring of the Alphabet of a language spoken by more than 40 million people without any debate and discussion is appalling. The excuse given to justify it – improving the ability of children to read at early stages of instruction – is lame and cannot stuck up to scrutiny. …This is yet another fraud perpetrated on the Oromo people and it must be rejected.

  The circumstance of the change also stoked another fear: that the decision to alter the order of the letters might be a plot by people who were disgruntled when the Oromos opted to adopt the Roman alphabet over the Ge’ez alphabet in 1991. Read more here

Ethiopia's Vulnerability to Religious Extremism

By Desta Heliso

I am often baffled when people consistently describe Ethiopia’s problems as exclusively ethnic or socio-political. Ethiopia has multiple problems, which are not unique to her and cannot be solved by a single magic bullet. One major problem Ethiopia is facing at the moment is religious extremism, which, in my view, is probably one of the biggest threats for her future. This is driven home to me by the recent terrorist attacks in Manchester and London. As my family and I currently live in the north-west of the Greater London area, it was particularly close to home. In this short article, I wish to express my long-held view that addressing issues of human rights, democracy or freedom without properly dealing with religious extremism would not bring about peace, justice and prosperity in Ethiopia. I wish to urge those who argue otherwise to think again.

These are truly troubled times for the Horn of Africa. Somalia, which is ethnically almost homogeneous, is disintegrated. Djibouti is small and weak. Eritrea is isolated and supports groups such as Al Shabab. South Sudan is enduring a devastating civil war. Sudan is a fully Sharia State with enthusiasm and attempts to export its system to other countries. Extremist groups in Egypt are using the perceived threat the Great Renaissance Dam project poses to Egypt as a pretext to achieve their goals. All this makes Ethiopia extremely vulnerable. Those who live and work in Ethiopia will also know that religious radicalism was behind some of the unrest that took place in Ethiopia in recent years.

I would go even further and argue that current issues reflect the variegated nature of Ethiopia’s problems that started after the 7th century, when the fledgling but politically and economically powerful Christian kingdom of Axum was severely weakened by the ascendancy of Islam. In subsequent periods, bloody battles took place between Muslims and the Christian Kingdom, but resolutions were achieved in one way or another and Islam and Christianity have peacefully co-existed in Ethiopia for centuries. Of course, there were always some who sought to stir religious conflict in order to achieve religious and political goals. Likewise, there are some today who are inspired by the emergence of extremist groups such as Al Qaeda, Islamic State, Alshabab and Boko Haram. Indeed, there are some whose dream is to fly the flag of Islamic State at Arat Kilo, the seat of Ethiopia’s political power.

These radicals argue that Ethiopia used to be dar al Islam (‘land of Islam’) and must be reclaimed. These claims seem to be reinforced by various ideas and projects such as the restoration project of the tomb of King Armah/Nejashi and the oldest mosque in Tigray by the Turkish government. I believe the project will contribute to the preservation of the history and culture of our country. It will also bring in revenue through tourism. But for extremist elements, this is one step towards reclaiming Ethiopia as a land of Islam. Such claims may be treated as dangerous but they cannot be ignored, because the root of the claims is Wahhabi fundamentalism.

The expansion of Wahhabism in the Horn of Africa has been funded by the massive oil wealth of Saudi Arabia over the years. In Ethiopia, this goes back to early 20th century. For years, Wahhabism successfully employed stealth strategies. There was a time when projects, which were probably funded by Wahhabist ‘charities’, were freely operating in Ethiopia. It was only when Wahhabism showed its true colours elsewhere in the global arena that they were exposed. But Wahhabi extremism still continues to pose real threat to Ethiopia. This is exacerbated by what is happening in the neighbouring nations.

For example, a centuries old moderate form of Sufi Islam is endangered by the ascendancy of al-Shabaab in Somalia. Eritrea, who used to support the Houthi rebels in Yemen and was, therefore, friendly with Iran, has switched sides and is now a strong ally of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. A struggle for influence between Riyadh and Tehran is evident not only in Eritrea but also in Somaliland and the semi-autonomous Somali region of Puntland. The Sunni-Shiite battle in Yemen has made it possible for the Saudis and their allies to establish military bases in the region and draw Eritrea and Sudan into the battle against the Houthis. All this makes Ethiopia extremely vulnerable. Of course, Ethiopia cannot afford to severe its diplomatic relations with Saudi Arabia, but the fact that the Kingdom’s wealth is behind the increasing assertiveness of fundamentalist Wahhabism in the country is deeply worrying.

Having said all this, I do not think that the dream of Islamic extremists to establish a political government, which sustains puritanical Islamic doctrine through a strict application of Sharia, will come true in Ethiopia. But any success of a fundamentalist form of Islam in any part of the country could lead to religious conflict and potential disintegration of the country. That will probably end any hope of peace and stability in the Horn of Africa. So I urge all those who focus on the imperfections of the current system and the failures of the current government to consider this issue as well. Our deep and perhaps legitimate desire to perfect the democratic process and bring about the sort of ‘human-rights’ we have experienced in the West should not blind us to one of the greatest threats Ethiopia (and the world) is facing right now. Without safeguarding secular state and developing strong security, religious extremism cannot be tackled. If religious extremism is not properly tackled, democracy and freedom cannot be achieved or protected. Great Britain’s democratic process was threatened by the recent Manchester and London attacks by Islamic terrorists, as there was a question as to whether or not the election of 8th June 2017 should go ahead. Now Theresa May is promising to change the human rights law in order to restrict terrorist activities. Ethiopia’s ‘infant democracy’ and the limited freedom we enjoy would be even more severely threatened if similar sorts of attacks took place in our cities and towns, as the country is much more vulnerable than ever to religious extremism.

Read from the source here