@addisstandardeng · Post #21222 · 28.01.2026 г., 10:47
#Op_ed: Deluge, Defense, and Demolition: Themes in PM Abiy’s #AAU lecture In this op-ed, Ezekiel Gebissa argues that Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s first address to Addis Ababa University, delivered during its 75th anniversary, fell far short of expectations for a vision grounded in “intellectual freedom and scholarly rigor.” Instead, he writes, “It became a political performance that redefined intellectual life in state-friendly terms, insulated executive power from criticism, and practically diminished the country’s most important academic institution.” By narrowly defining intellectuals as rational, non-dissenting problem-solvers, the prime minister implicitly cast critics as “anti-intellectual.” This, Ezekiel contends, was “not a philosophical clarification; it was a normative directive” privileging compliance over critique. https://addisstandard.com/?p=54802