By Samuel Alemu
September, 2012- The society from every corner of the nation has been expressing their deepest grief over the death of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi. Lubaba Yimer is among many women whom the Addis Zemen, daily Amharic newspaper, reporters approached for comment about the sudden death of Meles Zenawi. She said, “Words become scarce to express my grief over the death of Prime Minister.
I wish he had lived long, but impossible.” Meles Zenawi had caused significant gains in economic development and played a great role in ensuring peace and security. Unlike the previous regimes and that of some other African countries, there has not been civil war in the country since EPRDF has assumed power as Meles had employed skillful leadership. As a result, peace and tranquility has been well secured, she said.
These and the not yet mentioned wisdom of this great leader have made him a unique one from the rest of African leaders. He is smart in handling situations , fighting against poverty. Meles had paved the way with respect to social, economic, political and other aspects to make Ethiopia a prosperous nation. And he had left great assignment for the coming generation to work hard for the effective realization of his missions and visions keeping the sustainability of peaceful co-existence and democracy. Undeniably, the youth are duty-bound to play a pivotal role in enhancing the socioeconomic development of the nation for the benefit of all Ethiopian.
Ethiopian Orthodox church religious father Abba Hailemariam Adane on his part said that since the works of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi are vividly observed, it is easy for everybody to understand what he had done in life. That is why all members of the society have felt in deep melancholy.
The community has benefited a lot from the development endeavors and initiatives of His Excellency Prime Minister Meles Zenawi and the remarkable results registered so far in all aspects. For instance, electricity has been rampant throughout the country following the workable rural development policies and strategies, he said.
Similarly, the transportation sector has also shown great improvement.. The transformation of unpaved road connections in urban and rural areas and the presence of asphalt roads with a view to making all areas accessible is also a case in point in this regard. The expansion of telecommunication services across the nation has strongly facilitated rural-urban connection and vice versa. From all this, one can deduce that Meles had crafted well implemented policies regarding many areas. These all are really the fruits of this great leader. So, he has left important and commendable legacy for all. The society cries and floods with tears tantamount to ocean flow as they have lost a key person with huge legacy, he said.
According to Hailemariam, the society would pay an indispensable role in making the legacy of Prime Minister sustainable. To this end, they have to work aggressively to be triumphant over poverty and backwardness stepping over the pavements of the Prime Minister. Hence, to ensure the renaissance of the country, everybody needs to play their level best, he said.
Tekle Gebre, around 20, was in tears over the death of the Prime Minister when this reporter came across him. He said that as his heart is broken, he could hardly resist the sorrow. As to him, the Prime Minister is among the pioneers he wonders in the history of his life. Tekle said, “I want to treat and consider Meles as my dad and other his close relatives. “All the successes registered during Meles time make me happy. Ethiopia has lost this great person who has a dream and plan to make it one of the developed nations in the world. That is why I am incapable of controlling myself. I have learned patience, endurance and commitment from PrimeMinister Meles. As I am young, I would implement what I have learned from him. To be honest with you, I have no words to express what Prime Minister did for this country, better to stop here, he said.
Yordanos Hagos said, “The death of Prime Minister makes me strongly disturbed. Not only am I in deep sorrow, but every family, neighbours as well as the community are in severe morn. “Prime minister is a great person for Ethiopia as he did various unforgettable things. To mention but a few, expanding education, health institutions, religious, woman’ and equality among nations, nationalities and peoples in the country,” he added.
He once passed away. The youth have to follow the footsteps of Meles. They are expected to play their part for the development and growth of this nation following the path Prime Minister had paved in his life time. They have also to work in unison in a bid to sustain the current rapid economic growth thereby to improve the living standard of all citizens.
The society know that the Prime Minister could have done better than what he did if alive. Sadly, we all lost him for good. However, the society and ruling party are required to make themselves stable to do things in a very skillful manner and they have to strive to complete what was started so far to achieve the Growth and Transformation Plan.
Girma Befekadu is a teacher and he said, “The death of the Prime Minister has disturbed me beyond my capacity to express in words. But, since his illness, I have hoped that Meles would be back to work. My mind has still refused to believe the death of our prime minister. My eyes have been flooded with tear. Even if Meles is an Ethiopian, I hoped that he would work for Africa and the world. Unfortunately, we lost him, Africa lost him, the world lost him, indeed. In fact, Meles had done a lot for Ethiopia.
He played a decisive role in building the nation and well introducing it to the rest of the world. Besides, he was a good example for African leaders and did all his level best for Ethiopia’s renaissance.