One man can bring peace By Abdulrazaq O Hamzat
‘’the peaceful action of a sincere peacemaker can melt the strongest heart of a brutal murderer’’ Abiy Ahmed One man has capacity to inspire peace against all anti-peace forces, no matter how long and bitter the war has been fought. This is what we have learned from Abiy Ahmed (41), the new Prime Minister of Ethiopia in his quest to end his country’s 20 years war with neighboring Eritrea. Eritrea seceded from Ethiopia in 1993 after many years of struggle and internal rift which started in 1974. Five years later, both countries fought over disputed territory along their border. In that unfortunate battle, which signifies the beginning of a long term conflict between the two countries, more than 80,000 people were reportedly killed. Several attempts by the international community to resolve the dispute didn’t yield any result, including a UN backed boundary commission in 2002, which resolved that Ethiopia should cede the town of Badme to Eritrea. Ethiopia refused to honor the ...