History repeats itself; so they say. The truism of this is nowhere more relevant than, perhaps, in this country.

 A few years ago, the Revolutionary Democrats camped out in Adama (Nazareth) to train their senior and middle rank cadres in leadership. Their chief priest was the lead trainer, via video conferencing.

 It had been realised that ensuring quality leadership among senior leaders suspected of corruption was impossible. That had led to a series of self expositions and criticisms among the leaders of the four parties in the ruling coalition. The process was described as the “mother of all criticisms and self-criticisms.”

 Hopes among the rank and file were high that heads would roll, and the party was serious about cleansing itself of corruption.

 To the frustration of many, it did not happen.

 Ironically, a few weeks ago, senior party leaders were dispatched to rural Ethiopia with the assignment to train midlevel party leaders on how to provide leadership in order to realise the ambitions incorporated in the GTP. The top leadership feels that these leaders are yet to be fired up.

 The chief priest had instructed the leaders of each party to retreat to their respective capitals to nip corruption in the bud, when the EPRDF’s executive organ met in Addis two weeks ago, gossip claimed.

 However, at the camp they found themselves back at square one, according to gossip. A rather fed up rank and file was blunt in asserting its views that the party’s top leadership should steer clear of corruption, according to gossip.

 Not surprisingly, the tryout of sorts began with the Oromia Peoples Democratic Organisation (OPDO), whose leaders are considered to respect the issue more than others in the coalition.

 The leaders had planned to meet for three days, claimed gossip. Well, a very sceptical cadre held them for 10 days. Chaired by Alemayehu Atomsa, chairman of the OPDO and credited for being clean, and Kuma Demeksa, mayor of Addis Abeba, with whose reputation the cadres are happy, these meetings often extended well past midnight, gossip disclosed.

 The result was the dismissal of almost half of the cabinet members of the regional administration, the swapping of the administration’s deputy presidents, and the arrests of several wereda administrators, particularly in Sebeta Town, located 24km west of Addis.

 The target of the fierce criticism was Abadula Gemeda, now speaker of Parliament, and, once upon a time, a high ranking military general before he became chairman of the OPDO and president of the largest and richest regional state in the republic, gossip revealed.

 Although he took part in the rather tense meeting of the OPDO’s politburo, he failed to appear before the 450 mid-level cadres camped out in Adama, and many of them had insisted that he attend.

 During a visit to Bangkok for health related reasons (viewed by many as an excuse not to face the crowd), his absence did little to stop the cadres from slinging mud at him, claimed gossip.

 Abadula was blamed for listing a modern upscale residential house estimated to cost over eight million Birr, located in Bole, in his disclosure of assets to the Federal Ethics and Anti-corruption Commission (FEAC).

 This is the same house he vowed to surrender to the OPDO when he was questioned during the “mother of all self-criticisms” about how he came to posses such an expensive house, gossip claimed.

 The manner in which some of his former bodyguards came to be rich businessmen was also raised during the meeting, while the granting of several plots to developers in a direct order from him, as chief of the regional administration, were hot issues raised during the meeting, gossip claimed.

 Abadula returned to town late last week, after the OPDO wrapped up its self-flagellation. Others in the coalition began theirs last week.

 Many in the leadership vowed that this time is different; the party is serious about dealing with issues of morality and integrity, according to gossip.

 Yet, there are many among the EPRDFites who find this hard to believe. The aphorism, “The best predictor of human behaviour is past behaviour,” resonates louder than the leaders’ declaration of faith in their determination to stamp corruption out of the system, claimed gossip.