On November 3, 1991, the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) convened a meeting in Finfinne (Addis Ababa), where over 1,000 Oromo intellectuals met to decide the alphabet for Afaan Oromo. After many hours of debate, they decided unanimously to adopt the Latin alphabet, Qubee, the script for Afaan Oromo. Today, it’s 18 years to the date since the adoption of Qubee, and it has been the anchor of Oromummaa, the Oromo identity. The Oromo youth that comes of age since 1991 has been dubbed “the Qubee Generation.”

Here’s a brief history on the development of Qubee (an excerpt); the article was written by Leenjiso Horoo and was originally posted on the Oromo Affairs webpage.

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By Leenjiso Horo

Bilisumma.com – Much has been talked; much has been discussed about independence. In the struggle against colonial occupation, the terms independence and liberation are used interchangeably. And so is, here, too. Independence cannot come in itself, or by itself or by begging for it, or by penning ones hopes on some external intermediaries or mediators. And it is neither a gift from the Heavenly Kingdom, nor it is a gift by the goodwill of the worldly kingdoms or rulers. Independence is a fruit of bitter struggle. Long ago, the Oromo nationalists understood this to be a self-evident truth that the independence of Oromiya rests on their shoulders, on their willingness and capacity to fight a bitter fight. With this understanding, four decades ago in 1970s, these nationalists, echoing a philosophical version of a 12th century moral philosopher’s (Rabbi Hillel’s) words, asked themselves two fundamental questions: liberating Oromiya: If no now, when? If not us, who?

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By Leenjiso Horo*

The mistake that was committed by some Oromo leaders over a century ago still persists; still with us; still hurting us. “Why it persists?” is the question we should ask ourselves. As the old saying goes, those who do not learn from the mistakes of history are condemned to repeat it. And it goes without saying, even those who learnt from the mistakes of history, but failed to understand the danger of those mistakes are too condemned to repeat the same mistakes. As this heading suggests, there is persistence of problem within the Oromo nationals.

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