In this country, anyone who was not a supporter of the TPLF was considered as an opponent. You can’t be in the middle. In addition, if you have money, you will be asked to pay a bribe wherever you go
Today’s guest Fisseha Eshetu (PhD) was born and raised in Addis Ababa. He attended elementary and high education at the Cathedral and St. Joseph’s schools. He had also attended the Addis Ababa University School of Medicine and received his bachelor’s degree. After graduating, he was employed by the Air Force at Bishoftu and worked for four years. However, he was forced to resign following a change of government.
After being unemployed for a few months, his mother, who was worried about his jobless state, gave him 7,000 Birr to start his own business. Using the money, he and his friends started a small language school called Unity. At the same time, he earned a Master’s Degree in Public Health Education from Addis Ababa University. He also had the opportunity to work as an assistant professor in the Department of Public Health Education at Addis Ababa University.
After serving for four years, he received a scholarship to study abroad. However, he feared that if he went abroad for education, his flourishing language school would collapse. He left Addis Ababa University and worked hard to develop his business. He pioneered the opening of the first private university in Ethiopia, which has produced a large number of scholars and researchers.
The establishment of the university had created a chance for many Ethiopians who were not able to enter into higher education. Apart from teaching and learning activities, he has contributed to the development of journalism in Ethiopia via publishing a daily newspaper and a magazine called Eletawi Addis and My Fashion.
Dr. Fisseha, a man who worked hard to bring large amounts of foreign exchange for Ethiopian digital companies such as Amazon and Alibaba in Africa, was not well received by the government.
Our guest, who has been in Dubai and the United States for the past ten years, has been struggling for the establishment of a transitional government in the country. Despite the efforts of the Diaspora Council, he was not successful due to the long-standing ethnic and linguistic divisions. Fisseha together with some Ethiopians residing abroad established a company focused on digital technology and market so as to benefit the black people. And he has served as a leader of the company. The Ethiopian Press Agency made a brief stay with him and discussed a range of issues. Excerpts:
Tell us about how the country accepted you when you came up with the idea of establishing the first private college in Ethiopia?
Many of our students have made a significant contribution to the establishment of the college until it stood on its two legs. The role of our students was no less important than that of the founders of Unity University. So, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our students. It is well known that there was no law in Ethiopia that allowed the establishment of a private college when the idea was introduced. The previous Derg government was also communist and private educational institutions were not allowed to be established. It was a big challenge not only to have or not to have a government by law, but it was also unpopular at the community level.
At that time, almost all education was provided by the government. So, the community had its own problems to accept and we had to go through all that. The government’s bureaucracy for licensing was particularly tedious, especially when new programs were introduced. Most of the time, we even started early and dragging them was another task.
Surprisingly, we had a large number of councilors, so they fought hard with the Ministry of Education to get at least a diploma. Finally, we were allowed to teach at the diploma level. Proclamations began to improve, Higher Education Institutions Quality and Placement was established, and things began to change. Even so, the advent of new programs has had its ups and downs.
Similarly, when we set out to open a journalism and communication department to play our role in developing the profession of the Fourth state, we had a serious problem. By the way, when we open a new classroom, we take into account the benefits to our community. As pioneers, we have struggled to launch new programs.
You did print work alongside the teaching and learning process. In particular, you have been widely acclaimed for publishing newspapers and magazines called “Eletawi-Addis” and “My-fashion”. Why did you suddenly stop working?
I believe we have to do all we can as an educational institution. In this regard, many say that happiness begins with something. But in most of the work I do, I am not starting something just for the sake of beginning. I believe educational institutions need to serve the community apart from the teaching & learning process. There are many ways to serve the community. We serve either voluntarily or financially. For example, I told you that we started online education 15 years ago before anyone started it. E-commerce: We started a number of projects called Digital Ethiopia. As I said, we start by looking at the gaps in the sectors that we think will benefit the society.
In this regard, I had great faith in the media. That’s why we started publishing not only the «Eletawi Addis” but also the first-of-its-kind magazine in the fashion industry. We can say that when the “Eletawi Addis” newspaper started its work, it was an institution that honored journalists, not just to get their praise. Before that, a journalist was paid no more than 800 Birr. Basically, journalism was not considered as a profession by the then system. Outside of government institutions, the private sector was not valued by journalists. When we started, we were paying an undisclosed salary of five to six thousand Birr.
Most are still tabloids. But we also published a 30-page daily newsletter at Broadsheet. I understand that no one still publishes to this level on a daily basis. I believe that the launch of this newspaper in itself has greatly contributed to the development of the sector.
On the other hand, the opening of this newspaper will provide employment opportunities for our graduating students. It also provides an opportunity for students to practice in the teaching and learning process. Sometimes, though, things do not always start as they once did.
University executives agree that the content of the newspaper should not be limited to the newspaper. They feared that the news would hurt Unity University. In particular, even if you make a small mistake in a way that does not know which side will win, it will directly affect the institution. So, when it was decided not to be published at that time, the members of the newspaper became embroiled in a controversy over “interfering with the principles of the profession.” Due to this reason, the organization decided to end the newspaper.
You had a vision of making Unity University like that of Harvard or Oxford University. However, as soon as the university started to blossom and expand, you transferred ownership to others. What was the reason for this?
I was forced to leave because I was overwhelmed by the pressure from the government. As you can see, the institution was making a profit. If it had been supported by the government, it would not only have made a profit, but it would have been an educational center in Africa that could generate significant foreign exchange for the government. As I told you earlier, 16 years ago, when we started our online education, no one knew about it.
We were recruiting students from Europe and the United States. The government obliged us to stop it immediately. They stopped us, but they allowed for a South Africa based institute. This approach was never fair. In fact, when such an idea comes up in your country, you should be encouraged. If we kept the students, we were going to teach online, it would bring in as much foreign currency as coffee. If we could afford it, we could earn millions.
At the same time, we planned to open a large project at Pan-African University. We have signed with 29 African countries; We have created a conducive environment for inviting the First Lady of the World; After agreeing with former President Girma Woldegiorgis, they stopped us again as we prepared to make the call abroad.
What was the reason given for this?
In this country, anyone who was not a supporter of the TPLF was considered as an opponent. You can’t be in the middle. In addition, if you have money, you will be asked to pay a bribe wherever you go. When we would not do so, they used to shut their eyes on us as everything was done through bribery. If you do not pay a bribe, you will be caught. Personally, I was told that people in the Ministry of Education were asking me to pay bribes. I then told them I would not give them even a coin. After that, they would pay attention to you and give you various restrictions. They paralyze your ability to move.
Can we say that this change is the result of your efforts?
I believe I have made a small contribution to the change. I have no regrets. As an Ethiopian, I have tried my best to bring about change. There is more hope now than ever; this promise must be given time. Of course, there are many issues that need to be addressed. There are some things that I believe will not happen in the two or three years we have been here. In this regard, I have remained silent for the past three years because I do not want to be criticized. Basically, I don›t want to get involved in politics anymore. I have always fought as a citizen, not as a politician. I was not a fan of any political party. When you talk about the transition process, you say it will change the system, you mean, it will benefit Ethiopia.
Of course; no one forbade me to join the opposition. I have never been before; I still am not. Now that the change has taken place, a good business environment has been created. In the process, we were able to come up with a new project. We brought Black Economy Business to Ethiopia with a lot of conflict. This work is a great idea. The identity of black people is where we come in. It is more important to us than business. This is a historical process. By the way, I tried to bring this project to Rwanda. We could have gone to countries where we could do better business than Ethiopia. However, we believe that we will not give this opportunity to anyone, but there are many problems in the country. The change was encouraging.
What kind of work is planned for this project? Which section of society will benefit more from it?
By the way, the business is not established for the sake of creating an entity. It is a giant organization with great visions. The Black Economy Excellence gave birth to this vision. This is because of the frustration of living in the white world. As blacks in the United States, we face many challenges. Violence against blacks has been on the rise, especially since the election of Donald Trump. The United States will not help you if you do not have a problem with black people. There is oppression on blacks in every field.
Even in COVID-19, the black community is the most affected. It is the black community that is migrating to the other world. And how long will this contempt and humiliations of blacks continue? And the idea is that black people still have the idea of oppression. So far no one was able to send in the perfect solution. If you continue with this idea, you will not get anywhere.
How can your e-commerce plan be implemented as farmers are unfamiliar with the technology?
This e-commerce is part of our project. We plan to build a factory and convert the wheat into pasta. The technology you are talking about is not very far from us. No-farmer currently does not use a telephone. He can call and order. All we need to do is create a conducive environment for information exchange. Along with e-commerce, a huge market will be opened nearby. Thus, the farmer actually benefits. Technology is not based on the Internet; the telephone is a part of technology. Therefore, it is possible to easily exchange information on the telephone.
At this stage, how do you explain your readiness to get approval from the government?
Well, they welcomed us in a wonderful way, not on a honeymoon. I was very impressed. It didn’t take us more than a month to do everything as I told you before. We meet the criteria. All the government offices we visited opened their offices and welcomed us. When we launched our project last week, we signed a memorandum of understanding with 10 organizations. We will now set up a council to work together. In general, as a government, I have never seen such a response in my life. I hope that the response we have received now will not change in the future.
What message would you convey to the Diaspora community who have the knowledge and ability but are not familiar with the method?
The Diaspora communities are known for their skills and knowledge. In that sense, there are many ways to benefit the country. We have launched a «turn to the country» campaign. The remittances to Ethiopia would be about $ 4 billion annually.
In the next three months, we are working with the Ethiopian Diaspora Agency to bring $ 250 million to Ethiopia. As you said, the project we are planning to implement is a good opportunity for someone who has lost his way and cannot work alone. Through this project, we will benefit a lot of people by investing not only in Ethiopia but also in the entire African.
Another thing to keep in mind is that let alone in Ethiopia; in the United States people inevitably face challenges when starting a business. There are obstacles everywhere. Therefore, anyone who wants to come and invest and be prepared must be patient in the first place. In particular, the outside world is also investing in Ethiopia. They should not be compared to countries with advanced technology.
Therefore, I believe that the Diaspora should be aware of the challenges they will face when they come to Ethiopia. In this regard, we are already prepared for the challenges. The government that greeted us with a smile today may not be the same tomorrow. Therefore, the Diaspora should come with an open mind for everything. In general, I believe the future is in Africa.
Lastly, please tell us what you think about the current political situation in the country?
I can’t say a lot as it’s only a few days since I arrived. But from outside, I understand that our country is at a critical juncture. An election is currently underway. Elected groups have a great national responsibility. The people expected more from them. We Ethiopians need to learn from our past experiences. Not only politicians but all of us have to work hard to get better. We must all work for peace and security so that the conflict here and there does not escalate into irreversible trouble. In general, if we love our country, we must realize that our current situation is more important than anything else.
The Ethiopian Herald July 3/2021