Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali wins Nobel Peace Prize

By Adedapo Adesanya 

Ethiopian Prime Minister, Mr Abiy Ahmed, has won the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to achieve peace with neighboring Eritrea. According to the Norwegian led Committee, he was awarded the prize on Friday for his “efforts to achieve peace and international cooperation and for his decisive initiative to resolve the border conflict with neighbouring Eritrea.”

Mr Ahmed worked with the President of Eritrea, Isaias Afwerki on the peace agreement to end the two-decade long conflict which had prevailed between Ethiopia and Eritrea from 1998 to 2018.

In the statement released by the Nobel Committee, “An important premise for the breakthrough was Abiy Ahmed’s unconditional willingness to accept the arbitration ruling of an international boundary commission in 2002.”

Some of Ahmed’s achievements include – lifting the country’s state of emergency, granting amnesty to thousands of political prisoners, discontinuing media censorship.

He was also applauded for legalizing outlawed opposition groups, dismissing military and civilian leaders who were suspected of corruption, and significantly increasing the influence of women in Ethiopian political and community life.

A statement from the office of the Prime Minister Ahmed said since coming to power in 2018 he had made “peace, forgiveness and reconciliation key components of his administration.”

“This victory and recognition is a collective win for all Ethiopians, and a call to strengthen our resolve in making Ethiopia – the New Horizon of Hope – a prosperous nation for all,” the statement added.

This means that Ahmed was named as the winner of the 100th Nobel Peace Prize and he will receive the award in December in Oslo. It is worth some nine million Swedish crowns (about £730,000; $900,000).

Following the announcement, the Ethiopian prime minister said he was humbled and honoured to have been selected.

“Thank you very much. It is a prize given to Africa, given to Ethiopia and I can imagine how the rest of Africa’s leaders will take it positively to work on [the] peace-building process on our continent,” he added in a phone call with the secretary of the Norwegian Nobel Committee.

Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg had been the favorite to win while Abiy Ahmed, elected leader in 2018, was predicted as the second favorite to win.

New Zealand Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern was also a contender, lauded for her response to the Christchurch shooting earlier this year.

According to the Nobel Institute there were 301 nominees in the running for this year’s peace prize, the fourth highest on record. The record was 376 candidates in 2016. However, the list of nominees is only revealed 50 years after the prize is awarded.

Congolese doctor Denis Mukwege and human rights activist Nadia Murad were joint winners in 2018 for their efforts to end the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war.