Richly blindfolded to poverty

Strictly speaking, a nation is an aggregation of people or peoples of one or more cultures, races, religions and other attributes, organized into a single state. However, a nation is more than just an accumulation of a homogenous people or a diverse collection of inhabitants. In addition to the definition mentioned, a nation is most of all a people or peoples sharing a past history, a mutual present and an anticipated common future in a defined and defining, national space. Therefore, a nation requires - people (s), shared values and a specific land area on which to relate these with.
With that established, next on the list of importance would be the extent to which a nation so constituted has developed a valid appreciation of its human and physical resources. By that measure of nationhood then, where do we stand as Ethiopians about Ethiopia? This question is most relevant in an era when other countries, many not even remotely as well endowed with an abundance of wealth as Ethiopia, actively promote in their societies, a strong awareness of their national assets.
Egypt for instance, has for many decades instituted a robust, constantly updated curriculum which instills knowledge of and love for the Nile River. The Nile motif is every where, as is a television channel dedicated to the river and related issues.
In contrast, how many of us have been taught or if we had, still remember how long the Blue Nile is? (for that matter any of our many rivers), or how high Ras Dashen rises and how many endemic species our beautiful land possesses, etc...?
The bottom line is, it appears we may be richly blindfolded to endure generational poverty. For millennia, our rivers - life givers for over 120 million humans living beyond our borders - flow unhindered as our complacent society remained satisfied simply by their very existence, reflecting at most on Ethiopia's inexhaustible bounty by singing songs on empty stomachs.
As for our enviably rich and vast land resource, our compatriots are self-condemned to starve in so called 'green deserts', which in truth are among the most fertile soils in the world.
The 21st century has emerged as probably the most challenging epoch in the history of humanity. An increasingly globalized world, hungry for natural resources, is greedily eyeing countries such as ours which have historically for one reason or another, failed to develop their abundant resources.
True, lacking proven hydrocarbon deposits and virtually non-existent ferrous commodities, Ethiopia does not and has not drawn as much interest as have nouveau up-coming rich countries such as Angola, Sudan and Equatorial Guinea.
However, one must make the best of what is at hand. To quote from the Amharic - ‘Sew
Balew New Yemiwabew’ - literally, a person can only dress up with what clothes they have.
What Ethiopia richly owns are its loamy soil, the gushing rivers and the plentiful, potentially dynamic human resource. With these three trump cards in our collective deck, there seems to be no reason why we should not pull ourselves out of ingrained poverty in this land of plenty.
Creating the national will across all divides for this matter of supreme urgency is probably the greatest challenge ever to be faced by Ethiopia. In this regard, there is no substitute to the implementation and expansion of an educational system instilling permanent awareness and a deserved appreciation of our untapped wealth.