To be clear, I have no intention of ever jumping into the hot debate as to whether either side is correct simply because that is a subject for those who claim to know about the canons and dogma of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. Although I was born Orthodox Christian and baptized at the Church of St. Mary of Zion in Axum, I am not a practicing Christian and tend not to argue with anybody who is religious. So, what I'll do in this piece is share what I think about the political ramifications of the current standoff within the Ethiopian Orthodox Church.

It has become increasingly clear that many who were diehard supporters of Abiy Ahmed, including the architects of the war against Tigray, such as Andargachew Tsige and Neamin Zeleke, are now in the opposition camp. Media outlets that have long been in the pockets of Abiy Ahmed, such as ESAT, ENM, Addis Dimits, to mention a few, have now become vocal in opposing the Abiy regime. Further, many high-profile personalities in the world of arts have joined what looks like fashionable nowadays, namely, opposing Abiy Ahmed. While I respect the right to oppose of all of them, I still want to know why now. Incidentally, I am also aware that many have been sent to concentration camps (without access to due process) and others are in jails and have been charged. I don't condone such measures, of course.

First, it is worth noting that there is a common thread in the personalities of those who now find themselves at the receiving end of Abiy Ahmed's wrath: All were ardent supporters of Abiy Ahmed and pretty much everything he did, including the wars in Tigray and Oromia. So, why oppose him now? Well, to the unsuspecting observer, it is easy to say that they are opposing what the Abiy regime has done to the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. However, if one delves more into what actually is driving the opposition now, the answer is that it is politics more than religion that is fueling the opposition.

In my view, the opposition to Abiy by his erstwhile buddies has to do with their realization that what they had hoped Abiy would do may have slipped away for good. The opponents had hoped that Abiy would return Ethiopia back to the "good old days," where we had one Emperor, one flag, one language, and provinces. They wanted him to do away with "ethnic politics" and dismantle the Constitution, but that never came to light. Also, they had hoped that Tigray would be subdued and vanish from view, but that did not happen. They also wanted Abiy to silence all voices calling for the right to self-determination, but that has not happened, either. As a matter of fact, there are more and more calls for self-determination. In short, the course that the new opponents had charted for Abiy has not and is not likely to come to fruition anytime soon. Makes one wonder when - if ever - such people will come back to their senses and see that Ethiopia is a multi-ethnic country, where people are jealous about their rights as a group and not only as individuals.