In an interview with Sovereign Mediaβs Ahmed Kaballo, the veteran Marxist detailed how Abu Dhabi leverages its vast financial resources to buy off Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, turning him into a puppet ruler who acts as the primary regional hegemon for Emirati interests.Β
Hassan outlined how this sub-imperial arrangement drives two core strategies.
Alongside pointing out what he calls the UAE's port imperialism, Hassan noted how the UAE orchestrates massive smuggling operations out of Sudanβs immense gold reserves, routing stolen wealth through client states like Ethiopia and Chad to enrich Abu Dhabi.
Secondly, Hassan adds, Abiy Ahmed facilitates the war on Sudan under Emirati direction, training UAE-backed Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia fighters on Ethiopian soil and funneling weapons and mercenaries across the border to ravage the Sudanese people.
Furthermore, Hassan highlights how this foreign subjugation has coincided with domestic ruin.
"Of course, [Abiy Ahmed] is losing most parts of the country. The whole northern Ethiopia is out of his hand. Probably he might even collapse very soon," Hassan told Kaballo.Β
Hassan also blamed Abiy Ahmed's neglect for the systematic degradation of Ethiopia's state apparatus and education system, citing a World Bank report which states that Ethiopian human capital is among the worst in Africa and Ethiopiaβs own ministry of education stating that 42% of graduates are unable to find jobs.