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First
of a two-part story [Part I]
Africans
have their own homegrown democracies far ahead of those who now claim that
theirs is the only democracy. For example, the Oromo nation of Eastern
Africa has a genuine democratic institution, called the Gadaa. Gadaa is a
system by which the Oromo people directed all aspects of their lives
including: political, social, economic, and spiritual affairs.
Before the Oromo nation fell under the most savage European and Abyssinian
(Ethiopian) colonial rule, Gadaa was truly an effective and functional
African democracy by which the Oromo nation managed its affairs.
Gadaa is an African homegrown democracy. The Oromo nation invented it and
have using it for over 500 years of their recorded history. This African
democratic institution has guided the life of each member of the Oromo
society for his/her entire life.
Starting at birth, an Oromo male's place in the society is known and there
is no confusion as what he is supposed to do when he comes of age. The
Gadaa system divides the male members of the society into groups whose
roles or responsibilities change every eight years. Each group ascends a
rung of an articulated ladder of power every eight years until it gets to
the top and attains the ultimate power of leading the nation.
The group descends the ladder of power gradually. The leaders of the
group, who also are the nation's leaders, are elected from among the
members of the group and hold the highest office of the land for no more
than eight years.
In the Gadaa system, the Oromo have five political parties who take turns
forming a government and run the affairs of the nation. For elections, the
competition is among the members of a party.
A party administers the affairs of the nation for only an eight-year
period. Those elected into the office include the Abbaa Gadaa (president)
and councilors (cabinet).
The Oromo political system is barely a bureaucratic type of government but
headed by councils. The leaders are elected into the office for an
eight-year period. These officials will be under review at the end of the
fourth year, which is in the midterm, not only by their party but also by
the whole nation.
If there is weakness or misdeed on the part of the officials, the General
Assembly, the Gumii, has the authority to remove them. (The Gumii is the
meeting of the representative of the whole society.)
However, if there is public discontent and the leaders are found to be
unfit, the officials could be removed anytime. Indeed the rule of law and
accountability, which is also the system of check and balance, is the
hallmark of the Gadaa system.
Gadaa has four supporting institutions that serve as check and balance
mechanism. One of these is the spiritual institution called the Qalluu.
The spiritual leaders have enormous influence and reverence in the society
and are almost as powerful as the Gadaa leaders.
For the major part of the last 500 years, it seems that the Qalluu
institution was indirectly involved in politics by organizing and
conducting elections. The religious leaders organized the debates among
those competing for office.
However, about 20 years ago, after about 30 years of debate, a fundamental
legislative change in more than half millennium took place that took away
the right of the Qalluu to oversee the election for political offices. The
General Assembly of the Gadaa took back this authority.
However, the Qalluu institution maintains its authority in the spiritual
arena and the Gadaa institution its political supremacy. On the other
hand, the pilgrim to the seat of the head of the Qallu institution,
considered the holiest place to receive blessing and pay respect to the
leader, has been banned by the colonial rulers for a long time now.
The Gadaa system allows the sharing of power with the various sectors of
the society in running the affairs of the nation. For example, no
generation - son, father, and grandfather - of age is denied the right to
take part in the political life.
The Oromo youths are organized according to their Gadaa classes in a
sequence of eight years. The youths participate in the General Assembly,
the Gumii, and have a powerful voice. In addition, the youth (18 years of
age or above) make up the bulk of the defense force of the nation. They
are also the generation in training to take over the leadership of the
nation when they attain the age.
The elders are another group who recently, or in the near past, went
through their active part of Gadaa and are highly experienced in running
the affairs of the nation. The elders, after they leave the active
leadership, serve as advisors to the current leadership. They are involved
in many aspects of the society's interest including settling disputes.
They are considered the peacemakers of the nation.
There is another institution called the Siqqee. It serves the women folks.
The Siqqee is the Oromo women's institution. Through the Siqqee the women
guard their interests and conduct the ritual sermons that only they could
fulfill for the society.
The last, but not least, is the General Assembly, the Gumii. This is the
most powerful institution in which representatives of the whole nation and
wise persons participate. The Gumii ratifies new laws, nullifies laws that
are no longer necessary, and is also vested with the power to remove the
Gadaa officials, including the Abbaa Gadaa (president).
Note: Abyssinian (Abasha) is the name of the people who live in
North-east Africa, before they appropriated the name Ethiopia, which is
another name for Cush (Kush).
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Conclusion of a two-part story [Part II]
There are functional redundancies among the Oromo democratic institutions.
Such redundancies are built into democratic institutions to serve as check
and balance mechanisms.
For instance, some the functions of the Gadaa and Qalluu institutions
often overlap and tend to create opposition between the leaders of the two
institutions. Such opposition is considered necessary and healthy in
democracies. Actually, Oromo institutions and for that matter, the
society, has intentionally built in opposition.
Accurate time keeping is very important in the Gadaa system and other
Oromo institutions. Time is important in entering into and leaving
offices. Knowledge of time is also important for rituals that take place
at different times of the year. Knowledge of time also serves to forecast
events and weather. The Oromo have invented an accurate calendar to serve
these purposes.
An African anthropologist and expert on Oromo culture, Dr. Legesse says,
“The Oromo calendar is a great and unique invention and has been
recorded in a very few cultures in the history of mankind.” He indicated
that the other known cultures with similar calendars are the Chinese,
Mayan, and Hindus. Modern astronomers also have attested to the Oromo
calendar’s accuracy and the scientific base of its invention.
Like in many democratic systems, Oromo democratic institution has its
weaknesses. Gadaa system’s greatest weakness is its disfranchisement of
the women folks from political life. Oromo women play a significant role
in the political life of the Oromo society, although indirectly. Their
direct participation in the Gadaa system is limited. However, as mentioned
above, the women have their own institution by which they guard their
rights and serve the society.
On the other hand, Oromo women play very prominent roles in the Qalluu
institution. For instance, if the son who is the apparent heir is not of
age, the mother takes over the leadership. There have been most famous and
revered women in the Qalluu institution.
The Anglo, then Abyssinian colonizations of the land of Oromo, Oromia, in
the latter part of the 19th century have vastly reduced the usefulness of
the Oromo democratic institution, the Gadaa. The Abyssinian (Ethiopian)
colonizers outlawed the meetings of the General Assembly and usurped the
power of the office of Abbaa Gadaa. The colonizers took over the
political, economic, and judicial affairs of the Oromo nation.
Today, even though the Oromo democratic traditions are alive at the
village level and hardly at the regional level, at the national level the
colonial system of rule has taken over. The fate of this African
democratic political tradition is in danger of complete destruction if the
colonial occupation of Oromo people continues.
Many Western scholars do claim that “democracy” is a unique Western
invention. Many of them consider other societies inferior to their own and
tirelessly work to undermine and hide the cultural, political, and social
achievements of Africans.
European and compliant Abyssinian (Ethiopian) scholars who actively
cooperated with colonial rulers devalued the contributions of Africans,
such as the Oromo. However, it is a reality that other societies such as
the Oromo have invented democratic institutions which the European,
particularly British, and Abyssinian colonial rulers have worked to
destroy and replace with their own.
When one compares the Oromo democratic institutions with the Western
democracies, the latter barely distribute political power across age
groups or generations. In Oromo democracy, even though those at their
prime age hold most of the authority, the system ensures power sharing
between generations. In fact, the Gadaa system is a means of distributing
power among the various age groups and classes of the society.
It is only logical and pragmatic that African leaders search their roots
to rediscover their own African democratic cultures rather than shop for
democracies in alien cultures. African democracies should be used as
sources of ideas to build modern democracy for Africans. Because, African
democracies will reflect the African peoples own traditions and worldview
far better than the democracies borrowed from alien cultures.
Note: Abyssinian (Abasha) is the name of the people who live in Northeast
Africa, before they appropriated the name Ethiopia, which is another name
for Cush (Kush).
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