For whom the bell tolls :Abiy Ahmed?

Ethiopian Prime Minster Abiy Ahmed, deserves to be congratulated for conferring on him the coveted Nobel Prize for Peace. That is a rare recognition for a head of state from a poor country, which has as legacy of boiling past. What that could have catapulted him to the league of legends like Nelson Mandela, Kofi Annan, Martin Luther King, Barack Obama etc.?
The peace that he brokered with the neighboring Eretria may be a more tangible result that had happened in the immediate past. His intangible contribution to the society, perhaps, could be his abiding faith in democracy and in building societies that allow press and intellectual freedom. In a continent known for civil wars, armed fights, use of calumny and deceit to cling to power by hook or crook, Abiy’s disposition and mission as an evangelist of freedom, fairness and most importantly, his respect for dissent, should be a trailblazer for many countries in the region, which give scant respect to these attributes.
Not that Abiy has completely succeeded in his mission, which many analysts interpret is backed by shrewd economic calculations. Eritrea is strategically important to the landlocked countries in the Horn of Africa, because of its physical distribution, having dotted with a number of good ports. A peace deal with that country has enabled the land-locked Ethiopia much needed access to port facilities. Also, there are many Ethiopian companies, that have to depend on import of their raw materials and export of finished goods who are looking at setting up their units in the Eritrean and Djibouti-another neighboring country in the sea mouth.
At the same time, one has to hedge the success of the peace deal brokered with Eretria. The latest news is that there are skirmishes still at the border gates mainly driven by economic reasons of Ethiopian business men taking undue advantage of the situation by cornering markets for their products in that country, which has led to discomfort of the local businessmen. Also, reports say that there is disenchantment among Ethiopians about the accelerated reform process, which may result, at least temporarily, in job loss and other difficulties. This unsavoury situation is being exploited by some of the opponents of the young prime minister.
Now, that Abiy has declared that the elections will be held as per the schedule in the country,Supporters of Abiy may think that the present global decoration will work to his advantage. But the greatest stigma that Abiy has to shed is that he is being unduly influenced and helped by the western forces to serve their end.