Meles Zenawi – Footprints on the Sands of Time

Addis Ababa, January 8, 2016 (FBC) – Africans usually say that “Great tree chooses where to grow and we find it there, so it is with the greatness in men.” Mario Puzo in the western flick – The Godfather – added, “Great men are not born great, they grow great . . .”

Depending on how you see personalities and the actions that define their greatness. Puzo’s thought is arguable with the writings of the renowned English playwright William Shakespeare in Twelfth Night, which said, “Be not afraid of greatness. Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and others have greatness thrust upon them.”

Is Meles Zenawi the father of modern Ethiopia or a Great leader in this 21st century, and are his footprints on the sands of time?

NATIVITY AND THE MAN

Meles Zenawi was born in the town of Adwa, Tigrai, in northern Ethiopia, to an Ethiopian father and a mother from Adi Quala, Eritrea. He completed from grade 1 to grade 8 in just 5 years. He was awarded a scholarship to complete his high school studies in Addis Ababa, the capital at the General Wingate High school. Upon completing his high school in great distinction, he enrolled to study medicine at Addis Ababa University medical faculty for two years before interrupting his studies in 1975 to join the Tigrai People’s Liberation Front (TPLF). If we can go down memory lane or inquire from those who have rudimentary knowledge and experience of Ethiopia, we can begin to understand the difficult task taken by Meles Zenawi in wrestling for over two decades to reconcile Ethiopia’s too many problems after the fall of communism and Mengistu. And before he was called to the great beyond, he still generated balanced and economic growth.
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