By Ayele Zewge Bojia*
The devastating news of the death of the legendary leader of Macha and Tulama Association, Obbo Bekele Nadhi, was received with deep grief and sorrow. The passing away of such a notable leader, apart from causing an instantaneous grief and agony, usually has got a special power of inducing a moment of reflection by many others. Obbo Bekele Nadhi’s death is one such moment that has got that unique power of spurring thousands to stop for a while, and reflect on the path they have traversed thus far and destined to traverse in the future, too. This is basically so due to the mere fact that he and his alike had played a significant role in a distinctly visible chapter of modern Oromo political history that stretches over the preceding half a century.
By way of paying tribute, let me briefly state some essential facts aboutObbo Bekele Nadhi.
During his early student days, he managed to garner valuable experience and exposure from the role he played in his capacity as a leader of the student union of the then “Emperor Haile Selassie 1st University,” and was also chosen and received an award as “All Round Student of the Year.”Again, while he was studying for his LLM in a prestigious Canadian McGill University, he represented his University to various forums with utmost distinction in his capacity as the leader of the students union. In this same capacity, he proudly represented African students in “Afro Asian Clubs Conference” and was also chosen to serve as a Editor in Chief of popular student magazine of ESUNA (Ethiopian Student Union in North America.)The greatest and loftiest contributions of Obbo Bekele Nadhi’s were the ones that were intertwined with the history of Macha and Tulama movement.
Obbo Bekele Nadhi had led this association as Vice President and later as an Interim President, and in the process, he had become one of those iconic figures who attained a level of being considered as institutions in their own right.
A close look at the history of this association and the magnificent movement it led shows that every single Macha and Tulama Association leader has got one’s own unique niche area of contribution that each brought to the association, thus constituting an integral part in the making of the superb whole. Seen from this perspective, Obbo Bekele Nadhi’s niche area could be mentioned as the intellectual, diplomatic and the moderate face of an otherwise militant movement. To the association itself, he used to be the never ending source of financial capability, especially during those difficult days when the association was forced to go through during the mid 60’s.
Just to cite a single incident at which he distinguished himself with one of his many heroic deeds: it occurred in conjunction with the threat posed with respect to the legal status of the association. In what amount to public lynching, senior security advisors of the Emperor tried in futility to intimidate and force Obbo Bekele to publicly express the dissolution of the association right there and right then – in a much similar way other attendees had already expressed on the venue they prepared solely for this purpose. Obbo Bekele, who was fully aware of the fact that the whole drama was staged, aiming at his association and himself, boldly and heroically, expressed his unflinching position by stating; “I do not belong to the association that I can dissolve right here and right now in front of you. I belong to the association that is established by like minded members to whom I am primarily accountable to. I can communicate what you expect to be done by already existing associations to members. I believe the ultimate decision on the destiny of the association I am representing rests with members who established it.”
Though this statement, seen by any measurement, was correct, truthful and even legal, it was taken as an affront to the authority of the Emperor by opportunist elements in attendance. Some even angrily demanded for immediate reprimand of the speaker. All these barrage of accusations and threats did not sway this hero from sticking to his principled position.
Despite the fact that he was portrayed as a person defying the authority of the Emperor, he was believed to have been spared from incarceration due to the fact that the imperial regime was intent at minimizing the political fallout from the repressive measure it was taking against the leaders of this association. As a legal advisor to the Ministry of Finance and the then Bank of Agriculture and Industry, Ob. Bekele used to maintain close contact with the leaders of a number of bilateral and multilateral agencies operating in the country. The wide name recognition and respect he commanded in this circle seemed to have imposed a great deal of self restraint on the part of the Imperial regime from including Obbo Bekele Nadhi in the detainees list.
It is unfortunate to lose him by the time we are eagerly looking forward to once again hearing from founders like him in conjunction with theforthcoming 50th anniversary of the establishment of this Association. Macha and Tulama Association did not have an office or legal personality starting from late 1960’s all the way to the beginning of 1990’s. The absence of these things did not deter this association from staging an impressive come back during the early 1990’s when situation so demanded. This phenomenon clearly shows that Macha Tulama needs favorable legal environment for the mere purpose of expediting its operations and not, at any rate, for the purpose of its existence. Leaders like Obbo Bekele has taught us and even made it possible for us for such things to happen. That is why we confidently assert that Macha Tulama Association will never be exiled, and hence the forthcoming 50thanniversary will primarily be celebrated in the very place it was established. Wherever we are, it is proper and beneficial to reflect on the history of this association and its beloved and respected leaders like Obbo Bekele Nadhi during the forthcoming 50th anniversary, hopefully and preferably on the forums of community associations.
Finally, my heart goes out to his family and all those Macha and Tulama community members who will undoubtedly be so much aggrieved at the loss of our hero.
February 16, 2014
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