Marching to the Same Beat: The Uniformity of Thought in Ethiopia

By Seble Teweldebirhan

Addis Ababa, May 24, 2012 (Ezega.com) - It is amusing to observe what constitutes valuable information in Ethiopian public media. Those who follow the media closely might be compelled to think nothing bad ever happens in the country or in the world for that matter.  If one fails to follow other news outlets, it might come as a surprise how a country growing on a daily basis can have on absolute consensus of the society that is getting tougher to live in everyday.

What qualifies as news appears to have a direct relationship with whatever policy the country is trying to implement. However, what qualifies as foreign news worthy of covering in Ethiopian public media is still unclear. ETV and other news agencies broadcast news about Chinese car accident or a Malaysian farmer success story. While people are expecting some update on what is going on in Greece or Syria, the media may congratulate a mother who gave birth to the biggest baby or talk about a man who can’t stop growing.

Some suggest that the public media is using the same criteria for foreign news as it does to home news. It is trying to be ‘developmental’ and follow ‘positive journalism’. However, for the majority who rely on public media to update their perception of the world, it is deprivation of information.

There is not much agreement among scholars about the basic elements of the right to information. From the outset, the understanding is that the right to information includes freedoms like free expression and access to information by the public upon request. Accordingly, these rights are simple rights, which means all states have to do is refrain from interfering in the exercise of these rights. Therefore, whether the right to information includes duties on government to provide timely information without a specific request is a topic for a debate.

However, in this age of globalization, information is a necessity element to live a minimally good life. People should have not only mere information, but also quality information including accuracy, and completeness. Naturally, as Aristotle tried to articulate centuries ago, people have a strong desire to know. Individuals, deliberately or not, enjoy knowing new things and discover the unknown. That is the reason for the continual progress of humanity.

Leaders, including PM Meles Zenawi, refer to the global situations understood only by limited number of the society to justify most of their actions. Inflation, climate change, extremism and many other contemporary issues are defended based on international norms or legitimacy. Government also employ several imported theories like democracy, capitalism, neo-liberalism, economic growth with a double-digit and so many other confusing concepts even for those who came up with them.

In addition, notions like transformation and renaissance are used as a logo with no briefing or explanation to their effect. The media uses these terms sometimes without bothering to translate them to local languages let alone put them in context. People do understand these terms relate to the celebrated economic growth. However, since the growth lacks visibility to many, the terms mostly fail to be understood seriously.

The academic curriculum in the country does not address critical matters properly. For that matter, the majority of the audiences are illiterate. Accordingly, the policies government is trying to implement remain strange concepts. People are just repeating what it has been said without understanding the real meanings. Indeed, those who repeat these things are considered pro-development and benefit from their actions. For the rest of the society, this may give the impression they know what they are talking.

Unfortunately, in Ethiopia, pursuing solid knowledge like politics has always been seen as the enemy. The religion, government, and culture all stand against decisive awareness and understanding of alternatives. The pursuit of new insight and keen perception face a challenge of condemnation. People are appreciated only when they know what is already determined as something they should know. Following, instead of thinking ahead, is the basis for societal approval. Deep analysis and prediction are sometimes considered superstitious.

Of course, basic institutions of the nation have their own selfish interests to lead a campaign for new knowledge. Religion fears that if people know certain thing is unreasonable and unjustified myth in societal map, it will be rejected. Politicians are suspicious of those who realize better ways of leadership since the only guarantee for their power is if people do not have other alternatives. Keeping people in the dark is the best strategy to win elections every time.  Cultural leaders and elders enjoy extensive power by controlling what ever goes on in individual lives of their members. They would not want to lose their control by letting their youth know they have a choice.

As a result, in Ethiopia, most people do not speak their mind, or have the required capacity even if they want too. Especially in the political sphere, officials are spoon-fed words and concepts, and they give ready-made answers for whatever question. The worst part is the media picks up these answers and present them in the form of news. Sometimes, it is difficult whether the official or the reporter came up with these answers, since they both seem to say the same thing.

Media, mainly controlled by government, culture and indirectly by religious viewpoints, appears to be incapable of coming out of these illusions and provide the society with useful and comprehensive information.

Indeed, engaging in world events and analyzing them has its own risk in the current setup of public media. Since most theories are interpreted in a manner that fits the politics, media might be scared of inconsistency. In order to escape this contradiction, when it comes to foreign news, the media takes the safe road and stick to soft news. The attitude is that explaining what is happening in other nations politically, economically and socially, might jeopardize one’s business or even safety. Therefore, it is better to leave imported theories in the box unexplained to the very people who are told to live by them.

In a country where the schooling is a little more than learning basic alphabets and only a limited percentage of people attend higher education, the media should have been involved in spreading knowledge and indicate the real alternatives. Unfortunately, the public media reflects the known insecurity of basic institutions in the country that say ‘what will happen if people are informed?’ http://www.ezega.com/News/NewsDetails.aspx?Page=heads&NewsID=3298