By Muhsin Ibrahim
A former Ethiopian minister, a Humboldt scholar at our institute, delivered a lecture a couple of weeks ago. The topic was on Ometo, a minority language and culture in Ethiopia. However, her talk covered other cultures (and languages) such as Amhara, Tigray and Oromo. There I learned that the famous Maitama Sule Dan Masanin Kano-led Hausa school of thought that links the origin of Hausa people and Ethiopians had more plausible points than I knew.
The Professor explained that their women avoid mentioning their husbands’ names. Instead, they use euphemisms such as “master of the house”, “so-so’s father”, etc. Further, the Ometo language doesn’t have gender distinction in the plural, etc. These are the same cases in Hausa.
Christians or Muslims, the traditional Ethiopian apparels resemble that of the Hausa people. Moreover, some Amharic words and that of Hausa sound similar and mean virtually the same. These include “demena” & “damina“, “ābiduga” & “auduga“, among others.
For years, before the above discovery, I liked and read about Ethiopia. I fly their airliner more than any international flight for my love of the country, my convenience as it operates in Kano State, among other reasons. It’s, indeed, the pride of Africa.
When Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed won the Peace Nobel Prize in 2019, I heartily celebrated it. Like many people globally, I was optimistic that the country would progress further and become an example for other African countries to emulate. But, unfortunately, Ethiopia is heading to an all-our-war with itself. When will we ever make it in Africa, please?
Dear Ethiopians, don’t ruin the rich history, culture and beauty your country is known for. Your resilience used to be against foreign invaders and intruders since centuries ago. Even the fascist Mussolini had to give up. Rethink and let go of all these ethno-regional and political differences and put down your arms.
May peace reign in Nigeria, Ethiopia and other crisis-ridden places, amin.
Muhsin Ibrahim is a Nigerian. He works and studies at the Institute of African Studies and Egyptology, University of Cologne.
Amin ya Hayyu ya Qayyum Dr.
I quite agree with you about the need for peace in the Horn of Africa.