Yadessa Guma, Author at OROMIA TODAY

Article | Commentary | Op-Ed | Politics | ⏭
Cui Bono? The Political Economy of Conflict and the Oromo Question
By Yadessa Guma (PhD, Anthropology) Posted on2026-04-202026-04-19
“Cui Bono?”—who benefits? This article applies that question to Ethiopia’s recurring cycles of conflict, arguing that instability is not accidental but structurally embedded. By centering the Oromo experience, it shows how political, military, and economic elites—historically reproduced through entrenched advantage—derive disproportionate benefit, while the broader population bears the cost. Without confronting this imbalance and the unresolved Oromo question, durable peace and equitable development will remain elusive.
Read More Cui Bono? The Political Economy of Conflict and the Oromo Question
Article | Community | Human Rights | Politics | ⏭
Ambo: Cruelty in Plain Sight — Violence, Impunity, and the Political Crisis in Oromia
By Yadessa Guma (PhD, Anthropology) Posted on2026-04-162026-04-16
In Ambo, a shocking act of violence against young adults exposes more than individual cruelty—it reveals a growing pattern of impunity and normalized abuse across Oromia. What appears as a single incident reflects a deeper crisis, where violence is increasingly visible, accountability is absent, and fear is woven into daily life. As informal actors and unchecked forces shape events on the ground, the question is no longer whether this is isolated, but how far the pattern extends.
Read More Ambo: Cruelty in Plain Sight — Violence, Impunity, and the Political Crisis in Oromia
History & Memory | Oromo Struggle | Remembrance | Tribute
Oromo Martyrs Day—April 15, 2026: Memory, Sacrifice, and the Unfinished Future of Oromia
By Yadessa Guma (PhD, Anthropology) Posted on2026-04-122026-04-11
Oromo Martyrs Day, observed on April 15, is not just a moment of remembrance—it is a living testament to sacrifice, resilience, and an unfinished struggle. From the fallen leaders of 1980 to civilians, youth movements, and fighters of today, the cost of dignity remains ongoing. This day binds generations through memory, while raising an urgent question: what becomes of a people’s sacrifice when history is still being written?
Read More Oromo Martyrs Day—April 15, 2026: Memory, Sacrifice, and the Unfinished Future of Oromia
Article | Economy | Politics
Between Water at the Margins and SurvivalEnvironmental Precarity and the Political Economy of Inequality in Oromia
By Yadessa Guma (PhD, Anthropology) Posted on2026-03-052026-03-01
2 Comments
This article examines a troubling visual and empirical phenomenon: images circulating of Oromo women in the Rift Valley of Oromia risking life and health to fetch water for their families. Understanding this image demands situating it within the broader environmental distress (drought and water scarcity) in southern and eastern Oromia, the pervasive rural poverty that structures everyday life, and the stark contrast with development and economic dynamism in Finfinnee. Using mixed methods—qualitative visual analysis and synthesis of secondary data—we trace the structural causes and propose integrative solutions that move beyond short-term humanitarian responses towards sustainable water governance, gender-sensitive livelihood support, and equitable development planning.
Read More Between Water at the Margins and SurvivalEnvironmental Precarity and the Political Economy of Inequality in Oromia
Article | Commentary | ⏭
Wallaga and the Politics of FaçadeEight Years of Rhetoric, War, and Recalibration
By Yadessa Guma (PhD, Anthropology) Posted on2026-02-222026-02-21
1 Comment
Eight years after branding Wallaga as too dangerous to visit, Ethiopia’s leadership now stages high-profile tours through a region devastated by war, displacement, and militarization. This article examines how early political rhetoric securitized Wallaga, normalized extraordinary violence, and reshaped policy under the guise of reform. By tracing the arc from fabricated fear to choreographed presence, it asks a hard question: does visibility signal stabilization—or merely a recalibrated façade masking unresolved brutality?
Read More Wallaga and the Politics of FaçadeEight Years of Rhetoric, War, and Recalibration
Article | Language | Research | ⏭
Amharic Language Shift Among Agaw, Qimant and Oromo CommunitiesAnd Why These Amount to Ethnocide and Must be Reversed
By Yadessa Guma (PhD, Anthropology) Posted on2026-01-042026-01-02
This article synthesizes sociolinguistic research on language shift among Agaw, Qimant, and Oromo communities in northern Ethiopia to explain why Amharic replacement is best understood as a long-term institutional process rather than a sudden loss. Drawing on comparative evidence, it argues that “Amhara” functions historically as a linguistic–social formation shaped by schooling, administration, and mobility incentives, while showing how minority languages can persist, decline, or revive depending on intergenerational transmission and institutional support.
Read More Amharic Language Shift Among Agaw, Qimant and Oromo CommunitiesAnd Why These Amount to Ethnocide and Must be Reversed
Op-Ed | Politics | ⏭
The Forgotten War in Wallaga: Why Atrocities in Western Oromia Remain Uncounted
By Yadessa Guma (PhD, Anthropology) Posted on2026-01-032026-01-02
1 Comment
While the world associates Ethiopia’s mass violence with the Tigray war, a longer and largely uncounted war has devastated western Oromia—especially Wallaga—since 2018. Displacement, repeated massacres, school closures, and the collapse of health services have become a grim norm, yet the true civilian death toll remains unknown. This article explains what we know, what we still do not know, why the suffering has been under-reported, and why an independent investigation by credible human rights bodies is now urgent.
Read More The Forgotten War in Wallaga: Why Atrocities in Western Oromia Remain Uncounted
Op-Ed | Opinion | ⏭
Why Oromia’s Future Demands Clarity: Independence vs. “Democritizing Ethiopia”
By Yadessa Guma (PhD, Anthropology) Posted on2025-11-242025-11-24
This article examines the evolving debate over Oromo self-determination any time soon, contrasting the independence path with the argument for democratizing Ethiopia’s federation. Grounded in constitutional analysis, human rights reporting, security trends, and long-term governance patterns, it evaluates which option aligns with the lived realities in Oromia today. The evidence increasingly challenges assumptions about a reformable Ethiopian state, raising critical questions about whether a monitored Article 39 referendum is now the most credible way to resolve the Oromo self-determination question.
Read More Why Oromia’s Future Demands Clarity: Independence vs. “Democritizing Ethiopia”
Op-Ed | Politics | ⏭
Peaceful Divorce, Shared FutureHow voluntary sovereignty + economic interdependence could turn Ethiopia’s zero-sum politics into shared prosperity.
By Yadessa Guma (PhD, Anthropology) Posted on2025-11-042025-11-03
1 Comment
Ethiopia’s century-long attempt to centralize diverse nations has produced recurring conflict, mistrust, and economic stagnation. A peaceful, lawful divorce — followed by a rules-based common economic area — offers a path to turn zero-sum politics into shared prosperity. Article 39 provides the consent mechanism; AfCFTA/IGAD/COMESA/EAC offer ready economic scaffolding. If one flag cannot deliver peace and dignity, multiple flags cooperating through open markets and guaranteed corridors may finally do
Read More Peaceful Divorce, Shared FutureHow voluntary sovereignty + economic interdependence could turn Ethiopia’s zero-sum politics into shared prosperity.
Culture | Op-Ed | ⏭
Irreechaa as Ritual Repair: How Oromo Thanksgiving Supports National Healing—And Why It Draws Contestation
By Yadessa Guma (PhD, Anthropology) Posted on2025-10-122025-10-12
Irreechaa—the Oromo thanksgiving held at sacred waters like Hora Arsadii (Bishoftu) and Hora Finfinnee—does far more than mark seasonal change. Read through the lens of colonial/historical trauma and its inter-generational transmission, Irreechaa functions as cultural therapy: a cyclical, collective practice that restores dignity, cohesion, and hope after generations of political marginalization. The same symbolic power makes it a lightning rod for control and contestation by state security forces and rival national projects seeking to limit Oromo visibility in shared civic space.
Read More Irreechaa as Ritual Repair: How Oromo Thanksgiving Supports National Healing—And Why It Draws Contestation
Commentary | Op-Ed | Religious Affairs | ⏭
We Live Next Door to a Medieval People. Sadly.Orthodoxy, Empire, and the Struggle for Cultural Liberation in Ethiopia
By Yadessa Guma (PhD, Anthropology) Posted on2025-07-182025-07-16
A medieval mindset still haunts the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, preserving Ge’ez exclusivity while marginalizing Oromo identity. A recent video by an Orthodox clergyman exposing this racism underscores the need for ecclesiastical autonomy. This article examines how spiritual exclusion is tied to imperial history—and why a modern, inclusive Oromia Orthodox Church is no longer just necessary, but inevitable.
Read More We Live Next Door to a Medieval People. Sadly.Orthodoxy, Empire, and the Struggle for Cultural Liberation in Ethiopia
Opinion | Politics
The Idea of Oromia Shall Never Be Extinguished
By Yadessa Guma (PhD, Anthropology) Posted on2025-07-122025-07-12
The idea of Oromia is more than a place—it's a vision of justice, dignity, and identity. Despite repression and new threats cloaked in legality, this enduring ideal lives on in Oromo resistance, culture, and memory. Now more than ever, Oromia must be defended, revived, and reimagined for the future it promises.
Read More The Idea of Oromia Shall Never Be Extinguished
Article | Opinion | Politics | ⏭
Why Is No One Talking About the Dissolution of the Ethiopian Empire?
By Yadessa Guma (PhD, Anthropology) Posted on2025-02-202026-01-04
The Elephant in the Room The Ethiopian Empire, as it stands today, is a product of the late 19th century “Scramble for Africa,” when European colonial powers carved up the continent among themselves. Unlike most African countries, Ethiopia managed to resist outright European colonization. However, its imperial formation under Emperor Menelik II followed a similar...
Read More Why Is No One Talking About the Dissolution of the Ethiopian Empire?
Opinion | Politics | ⏭
Glory to Gloom: The Rise and Fall of Jawar Mohammed
By Yadessa Guma (PhD, Anthropology) Posted on2025-01-152026-01-04
Jawar Mohammed’s journey from celebrated activist to a controversial figure in Oromo politics reflects a turbulent trajectory shaped by hidden ideologies, contentious alliances, and fractured loyalties. Once a key player in both the Oromo and Ethiopian political landscapes, his career now serves as a cautionary tale about the perils of political opportunism and the consequences of what many perceive as a Trojan horse strategy—Jawar hiding his Ethiopianist agenda while pretending to champion the wellbeing of the Oromo nation.
Read More Glory to Gloom: The Rise and Fall of Jawar Mohammed
Article | ⏭
የአማራ ፋኖ ወለጋን ለመውረር አትድፈር፡ አጠቃላይ መጥፋት አደጋ ላይ ይጥላል።
By Yadessa Guma (PhD, Anthropology) Posted on2024-12-232026-01-04
የብዙ ታሪክ ባለቤት የሆነችው ኢትዮጵያ የራሷን ህልውና አደጋ ላይ የሚጥሉ ውጥረቶችን እየታገለች ነው። ሰሞኑን ከተከሰቱት እና አሳሳቢ ጉዳዮች አንዱ የአማራ ፋኖ ታጣቂዎች በኦሮሚያ ክልል ወለጋ አካባቢ የጦር ሰፈር መስርተው ክልሉን የመቆጣጠር አላማ እንዳላቸው ማስታወቁ ነው። ይህ እርምጃ በወለጋ ላይ ግልጽ ጦርነት ከማወጅ ጋር ተያይዞ ኢትዮጵያን ወደማይቀለበስ የጥቃት አዙሪት ውስጥ ሊያስገባት ስለሚችል በቀድሞዋ ዩጎዝላቪያ መስመር እንድትበታተን...
Read More የአማራ ፋኖ ወለጋን ለመውረር አትድፈር፡ አጠቃላይ መጥፋት አደጋ ላይ ይጥላል።
Article | ⏭
Amhara Fano, Don't Dare Invading Wallaga: Risking Strong Enmity Between the Amhara and Oromo Nations
By Yadessa Guma (PhD, Anthropology) Posted on2024-12-232025-05-28
Ethiopia, a nation of rich history and diverse ethnic identities, is grappling with deep-seated tensions that threaten its very fabric. One of the most recent and alarming developments is the announcement by Amhara Fano militias that they have established a base in Wallaga, an area in Oromia, with the explicit aim of taking over the...
Read More Amhara Fano, Don't Dare Invading Wallaga: Risking Strong Enmity Between the Amhara and Oromo Nations

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