Author Archive

Dreams of Brighter Tomorrows in US-Ethiopia Relations

                                Best to leave bad old days alone because the best is yet to come in Ethiopia-US relations   For the record, over the past two years, there has been no American of Ethiopian ancestry who has been more critical

Reboot: Is it Time to Make Ethiopia-America Partnership Great Again?

So what we’re looking to do is refashion our engagement with Ethiopia… You know historically we’ve had a strong partnership with Ethiopia… Molly Phee, US Assistant Secretary for African Affairs. I am a MEGA-MAGA Republican. That is a Make Ethiopia Great Again-Make America Great Again Republican. I would very much like to see relations between

Embracing “Failure” as a New Design Philosophy in Ethiopian Education Reform (Part V)

Failure is an option here. If things are not failing you are not innovating. Elon Musk The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do. Steve Jobs Winston Churchill started as a failure in school. Unable to pass, he failed the sixth grade and had to take a math class

Looking for a Few Good Hummingbirds for Mission Education S.O.E.Y. (Part IV)

When Education Minster Berhanu Nega made the admission before the entire world that 97 percent of Ethiopian students had failed the national school leaving exam, he took one small step for himself and one giant leap for “liberating education” in Ethiopia. The truth shall set us all free and we can now begin to overhaul

Medemer Way or “Ethiopian Solutions to Ethiopian Problems”

“Prof. why aren’t you saying something?” There is an old saying, “Those who know don’t talk, and those who talk don’t know.” Many on social media have been asking why I have not said something — anything — on the recent controversy involving the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church (EOTC). I addressed the issue directly only

Disruptive Innovation Can Fix Failing Ethiopian Education (Part III)

Adafne has made Ethiopia the land of chatterboxes — first by suppressing truth,  second by suppressing education and knowledge, third by closing down all means by which truth is propagated, fourth by hiring silver-tongued spinners of lies and fifth by closing all avenues for the publication and dissemination of ideas and knowledge. Professor Mesfin Woldemariam

Message to (Diaspora) Ethiopian Intellectuals: Save/Support Ethiopian Youth/Education! (Part II)

Author’s Note: While this commentary stands on its own merits, I strongly recommend reading Part I, “Message to Ethiopian Intellectuals: A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Waste!” In Part II of my message to Ethiopian intellectuals, I had planned on discussing a different set of ideas and issues. I changed the subject after listening

Message to Ethiopian Intellectuals: A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Waste! (Part I)

Author’s Note: In 1972, the United Negro College Fund launched a very successful advertising slogan, “A mind is a terrible thing to waste.” It was part of a fundraising campaign aimed at enrolling young beautiful black minds from low income families into historically black colleges. In 2022, Black students made up 12% of the student

My Personal Tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.-1/16/2023

Author’s Note: For more than a decade and half, I have sought to honor the work and memory of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) on “Martin Luther King, Jr., Day” and other occasions through op-ed pieces, interviews, lectures, speeches and campus and classroom events. When I first got

African Solutions to African Problems: Let the African Union Resolve the GERD Dispute!

  Is the Biden administration a “friend” of Ethiopia? Following the US-Africa Summit last month, the million dollar question is whether Ethiopia and the US have kissed and made up. Some Ethiopians suggest bilateral relations have turned a corner with the ceasefire agreement and US-Ethiopia relations will soon be in an upswing. Others cautiously note recent