By Worku Burayu (PhD)

Let’s call a Spade a Spade: Honey coated venom released by our prime minister Abiy Ahmed, fearmongering spearheaded by our president Lemma Megarsa, lying and liars dispatched by Addisu Arega, ill advice given by a bunch of failures, unsubstantiated information broadcasted by EBC, ESAT and OBN, Oromo Democratic Party starts to work directly to kill or paralyze the prey, the OLF, OFC, and finally the dream of the Oromo people.:

Over the years, we’ve heard repeated lies from a member and number of EPRDF compulsive liars so-called pathological liars and gained some insight into the way they think. TPLF created and dispatched lies and liars all over Ethiopia and successfully used the divide and rule approaches, particularly between Oromo and Amhara peoples, not so long ago. Now the higher TPLF officials, the perpetuator of the lies and liars are deserted from the Central Oromia to Tigray and camped in Mekele, unfortunately leaving behind, their messengers, the pathological liars-OPDO and others, in Oromiya.

“I felt like I was going crazy because no Oromo could tell me what was wrong with ODP officials,” Abbaa Gadaa said, after listening to OBN TV channels. “I have watched the OBN TV broadcasting particularly that of Alamu Sime’s, Alemayehu Ejigu’s, and Addisu Arega’s comments on the present situation in Oromia and about the armed units in the country. I don’t agree with the officials complain and I don’t want to repeat what they have said but their saying that OLA consists of TPLF members is absurd,” Abbaa Gadaa added. “The armed bodies in the country are many, but the complain that OLF is the only armed front in the country is a white lie,” he criticized, Addisu Arega’s nit-pick. According to Abbaa Gadaa, he used to believe that Taye Dendea is a true teller from the OPDO circle until he listened to Taye’s interview just yesterday. “Taye, informed us that no one killed by the so called the “Ethiopian military forces” in Oromia, while I have credible information that more than 15 innocent civilians killed in Western Gujii zone at Fincaawaa town by EPRDF Forces,” Abba Gadaa complained. More than 12 in Horro-Guduru and more than 5 in Qellem Wellga were killed the date Taye was giving interview alone. The crime committed before that in Moyale, Dambdollo, Western and Eastern Wollega by military forces of Ethiopia is not hidden from Taye. Taye himself is the first OPDO member who disclosed the killing of civilians by the so called “Ethiopian defense forces” during the massacre of Moyale. Which one is true Taye? Members of WBO are all Oromo children fighting for the cause of Oromo, to solve the real issues of the country that need due attention. “Why Oromo democratic party officials lie when they don’t need to?” Abba Gadaa asked. It’s common for many Oromo to feel that way because some members of the society aren’t familiar with these pathological liars. People, by and large, are honest by their origin. Most people tell the truth most of the time. Some people lie more than others, but no one, except TPLF officials, compete those of ODP officers. What surprise us, as a society, is they disprove their first lying by another lie over and over. There are some information which I will give just an abstract about some individuals in ODP.

Addisu Arega: From 2003, when he was resuming spying against Oromo and other students in the University, Addisu Arega perfected to multiply fictions and to create and disseminate lies against genuine Oromo political organizations. Now blatantly started defaming the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA), particularly to those in the Western Oromia zone, where he was raised. This lie has two reasons: (1) he is envious because when he was spying Oromo student at then and open psychological war against Oromo at large, presently; Arega’s class-year, the determined Oromo man who was struggling for freedom of Oromo as young QEERROO at then in the University, is a commander of WBO (OLA) in the Western Oromia Zone, presently (2) In the 2003 & 2004 Addisu Arega had been suspected as a double agent for both “Kinijit,” the now “Gimbot-7” and EPRDF to spy a group of Oromo students or institution such as Mecha Tulama Association. This secret is known by most of OLA members in Western Oromia Zone, because some of them were his classmate.

Abi Ahmed & Lemma Megarssa: Is anyone remembering what our prime mister said in the so-called general assembly aka Kora Sabaa? “When I requested them for water, they gave me milk during the struggle when I was in Western Oromia,” the prime minister said. Is anyone think the struggle he was referring to? It was the anti-Oromo struggle perpetuated by TPLF and led by Abiy to expose where Oromo revolutionaries were existing. “I have reliable information that I may be killed by them (referring to people of Wollega) if I go and visit the 240,000 misplaced people in Wollega,” prime minister Abiy added. “Because of me, I didn’t want to create antagonism between Wollega and Jimma,” prime minister elaborated further. In that speech Abiy tried to release his “honey coated venom,” to divide Oromo people on region basis.” Frankly, I didn’t want to write the role of Abiy in the 2008 process of hunting to kill Jalle Laggassa Waggii, the then Western commander of WBO, who finally scarified for the Oromo cause during the process in that sourer Western Oromia Zone. (1) According to Dr. Abyi, “Shoa, where Laggassa was born should have become antagonist of Jimma because Abyi is from Jimma.” (2) If he has no trust in “People of Wollega,” by implication he has no trust in Lemma Megerssa, who was sitting nearby him during the meeting, because Lemma is a member of that community. On the same Kora Sabaa Lemma talked to the gathering. “We couldn’t save the life of many in Western Oromia because the road was blocked by the people,” Lemma apologized. But the truth is, road was blocked to carb further damage and mislocution after the people were misplaced in thousands. Did they safe our people from Hararghe, Borana, Guji and many other places where there was no any road block? Why on earth, Abyi and Lemma wanted to poke to our wounds? once they declared the time is for love, peace and reconciliation. If they think we don’t know what has happened to the Oromo people by two of them, let alone others, they are ill-advised or undermined the intelligence of Oromo people. The time for peace, love and reconciliation is now, not tomorrow or next year. We believe reconciliation crosses distances, overcomes hostility, opens access, melts indifference, and cultivates peace.

ODP, your deceptions are so blatant, easily disproven, and seemingly unimportant. Believe it or not, ODP lying makes some sense that can be a symptom of problems, such as a personality disorder or a manic episode although pathological lying is not a clinical diagnosis. But some ODP members get so accustomed to lying that they do so even when there is no clear purpose, and when their lie is easily disproven, leaving everyone scratching their heads over the point of their deceptions. The lie does matter to them when actually it just doesn’t matter. While everyone around them thinks it’s an irrelevant issue, the ODP liar believes it is critically important. For instance, while ODP has been worked for TPLF since its inception and has been working with TPLF right now, they complained that other opposition groups such as OLF is working with TPLF. If so, is really important to them? Why? This reminded me the late Meles Zenawi’s complain against the same OLF in 1992 that OLF was working with members of the ruined Derg, while actually Meles was advised by some of the prominent men such as Shimelis Mazengiya who used to be the higher official in the Derg regime. For ODP, it is a kind of psychological war it has learnt from TPLF against OLF. Who are they? to list do’s and undo’s for other political organizations? They feel like giving up control if they are telling the truth. They tell lies because they are trying to control a situation and exert influence toward getting the decisions or reactions they want. The truth might not conform to their narrative so can be inconvenient. They don’t want to disappoint their members. Because they tell lie after lie they are worried about losing the respect of those around them. And they’re worried that the truth might lead you to reject or shame them. If a chronic liar admits to any single lie, they feel like they’re admitting to being a liar, and then you’ll have reason to distrust them. Or “it’s not a lie to ODP.” Once we are under burden, our thinking about the big picture can be challenged. Our recollection of things is actually become unreliable. Various studies prove that our memories are influenced by many things, that they change over time, and that they are essentially restructured each time we think about them. Often, repetitive liars feel so much pressure in the moment that their memory becomes simply unreliable. When they say something, it’s often because they “genuinely believe” at that moment, that it is the truth. Their memory has been overwhelmed by pressure, current events, and their desire to find a way to make this situation work, like prime minister of Ethiopia and Oromia Reginal State president trying to do right now. Sometimes, this can become so severe that the person almost seems to have created a complete alternate world in their head, one that follows to their instant beliefs and needs. We have observing that they want their story to be true so badly that their desire and needs again overwhelm their instinct to tell the truth. The first question is “Why do they need us to see this the same way they do?” Let say Spade is a Spade, ODP lie starting from the top.

Conclusion: People want the change group function effectively in the actual practical land. We also need every political organization particularly ODP to learn to be honest. Members of Abbaa Gadaas, Religious Fathers, Elders, QEERROS and Elite Oromos should give advice to these pathological liars. Shared sympathy for a person’s hopelessness can be a valuable tool to give them go-ahead to tell the truth. And then, acknowledging and strengthening when a person does tell the truth is a powerful way to get more truth-telling. It shows people that the truth is not frightening, and that the world won’t end when the truth comes out. ODP face it! Escaping reality will lead you to a very non-resilient personality perpetually blaming everyone but yourself for your problems.

Horaa Bulaa!