Universities and colleges in Oromia Regional State are contributing their share in nation building in the socio-economic fields of the state. Representatives of the universities disclosed this in the annual conference of the Coalition of Universities and Colleges in Oromia called “Consortium of Universities and Colleges in Oromia” (CUCO) hosted by Haramaya University on December 23, 2021 at resource center.

Dr. Lemi Guta, Chairperson of CUCO and President of Adama University of Science and Technology, said that CUCO has been working for the development of the country since its inception in 2007 EC, and since then the Universities in Oromia region have been collectively and separately providing humanitarian assistance to those displaced as a result of the recent battle, those affected by the Borena drought, and those affected by the floods in Metehara.

Indicating that CUCO currently operates with14 Universities and 16 colleges, Dr. Jamal Yusuf, President of Haramaya University, on his part, recommended that the members of CUCO should continue to make intellectual contributions to the nation building process in addition to the financial, material, moral and blood donations that they have been contributing to the current situation facing the country.

At the end of the conference, CUCO and other sister universities (Dire Dawa and Jigjiga University) made the following declaration of intent with 7 points to shoulder their responsibilities to the people of Ethiopia as stated here under.

  1. We strongly oppose the conspiracy of foreign powers to interfere in the internal affairs of our country by defending Ethiopia’s sovereignty, by joining our hands to over throw neocolonialism.
  2. We condemn the unnecessary pressure exerted on our country by the United Nations Security Council, the United States and other Western nations under the disguise of human rights and humanitarian assistance.
  3. We work with the government, our people and our Ethiopian friends to counter the unbalanced news and baseless propaganda campaign against us by some foreign media, individuals and groups.
  4. We express our readiness to work with the government and other stakeholders to end the ongoing war and to ensure the stability of our people.
  5. We announce our readiness to do whatever we can to help our people who have suffered casualties as a result of the war, to rehabilitate those displaced and to rebuild the infrastructure destroyed as a result of the war side by side with the planned development work.
  6. We show our readiness to work with the government and peace-loving political forces to find a lasting solution to political and other differences in our country, not through force but through professional consultation and dialogue.
  7. Finally, we promise to support the efforts of our country to uphold our sovereignty and border unity develop a civilized political culture, strengthen the unity and brotherhood of our people, build a strong economy to come out of poverty and develop our democracy.

 Expressing their readiness to do so more than ever, they called on the government and all other stakeholders in Ethiopia to work closely with the Universities.

Lastly, the conference participants visited Haramaya University main library, laboratories in Haramaya Institute of Technology and laboratories in college of Health and Medical science located in Harar.

By: Aweke Ayalneh

Photograph: Tewodros Lishan