The inauguration of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) on September 9, 2025, marks more than a feat of engineering—it signals a bold assertion of Ethiopia’s sovereignty and a rejection of the lingering colonial injustices that have long constrained African nations, particularly those in the Nile Basin. For Ethiopia, a country that contributes nearly 85 percent of the Nile’s waters yet historically had no recognized rights over them, the GERD is both an act of survival and a symbol of dignity.
Egypt continues to rely on colonial-era treaties established during the British Empire—agreements that ignored upstream nations and favored Egypt over Ethiopia. The 1929 Anglo-Egyptian Treaty and its 1959 amendment with Sudan cemented Egypt’s dominance over the Nile while excluding Ethiopia, the source of most of its waters. Egypt’s insistence on the validity of these arrangements is both legally indefensible and morally unjustifiable. To other Nile Basin nations, Egypt’s persistent claim to colonial-era “rights” is nothing more than a justification of historic injustices.
Ethiopia’s decision to construct the GERD was not an act of aggression but an assertion of its sovereign right to harness its own resources for the benefit of its people. For decades, millions of Ethiopians lived in darkness and poverty, dependent on unreliable grids or expensive fuel, while the Nile, their natural inheritance, flowed beyond their reach. With the GERD, Ethiopia will generate over 5,000 megawatts of electricity—transforming lives, powering industries, and fostering regional energy integration. The dam is expected to generate at least $1 billion annually, creating opportunities that extend far beyond Ethiopia’s borders.
With a population of over 135 million today—projected to exceed 230 million by 2050—Ethiopia faces an urgent need for energy access. Access to modern electricity is a necessity, not a luxury. However, Ethiopia’s longstanding efforts to harness the waters of the Nile have been repeatedly blocked by Egypt through diplomatic pressure.
Despite these realities, Egypt portrays the GERD as an existential threat, claiming it will reduce its share of water. Yet independent studies and hydrological models show the GERD can stabilize seasonal fluctuations, reduce evaporation, and could potentially benefit Egypt during droughts. This evidence undermines Cairo’s fear narrative and exposes its arguments as rooted in geopolitical hype rather than scientific fact.
Egypt’s need for Nile waters is genuine, and its concerns over water security are reasonable. However, no nation can rely on colonial-era agreements to deny upstream countries like Ethiopia the right to responsibly utilize their share of the river’s resources.
The treaties Egypt invokes were never about fairness; they were designed to serve Britain’s cotton industry. Ethiopia and other upstream countries were deliberately excluded and silenced by the geopolitics of the British Empire. To claim that 21st-century Africans must remain shackled by the dictates of colonial wrongs is to perpetuate historical injustice. No nation should be forced to sacrifice its future and development at the expense of agreements it never consented to. Ironically, while Egypt decries Ethiopia’s GERD, it has constructed massive projects—including the Aswan High Dam—without consulting upstream nations. This double standard underscores Cairo’s unwillingness to recognize that equitable water sharing must replace outdated hegemony.
Instead of embracing cooperation, Egypt has sought to internationalize the dispute, mobilize Sudan, and court regional proxies such as Somalia and Eritrea to advance its anti-GERD strategy. These are strategic miscalculations. Military threats, covert maneuvers, or diplomatic pressure cannot erase the fact that Ethiopia has already completed the GERD. Attempts to obstruct it now risk isolating Egypt further on the African continent, where colonial-era arguments find little sympathy.
In his remarks to attendees and dignitaries at the site of the GERD opening ceremony on Tuesday, Ethiopian Prime Minister Dr. Abiy Ahmed directly appealed to Egypt and Sudan, saying, “To our (Sudanese and Egyptian) brothers, Ethiopia built the dam to prosper, to electrify the entire region, and to change the history of Black people. It is absolutely not to harm its brothers”, Abiy said.
GERD represents an opportunity for regional progress; Egypt should not treat the dam as a threat to its water needs. By integrating power grids, promoting regional trade, and ensuring sustainable water management, the dam can anchor a cooperative framework for all Nile Basin nations. This requires Egypt to abandon its obsession with the notion of “historic rights” and embrace dialogue based on equity and mutual respect. The future of the Nile must not be dictated by the ghosts of empire but shaped by the aspirations of the millions who depend on its waters today. The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam stands as a monument not just of concrete and steel but of Ethiopia’s resilience and defiance against the legacy of injustice. Egypt’s reliance on colonial-era mandates is both untenable and morally bankrupt. For lasting peace and prosperity in the region, Cairo must acknowledge that the era of exclusionary control over the Nile is over. The dam’s inauguration is Ethiopia’s answer to a twisted history. It is a reminder that no nation should be denied its rightful share of resources because of outdated agreements written in the interests of empire. If Egypt chooses cooperation over confrontation, the Nile can become a river of shared prosperity. Egypt risks being on the wrong side of history if it continues to uphold colonial-era injustices while Ethiopia and its neighbors forge a path toward a just and modern future. Today, Ethiopia has reclaimed the Nile. The colonial chains have been broken, the empire has fallen, and the dam has risen. This is a victory over colonial-era injustice, marking an Ethiopian economic and geopolitical revolution that echoes across Africa and stands justified locally, regionally, and internationally.
The writer, Duop Chak Wuol, is an analyst, critical writer, and former editor-in-chief of the South Sudan News Agency. He is a graduate of the University of Colorado and focuses on geopolitics, security, and social issues in South Sudan and the broader East African region. His work has appeared in the leading regional and international outlets, including AllAfrica, Radio Tamazuj, The Independent (Uganda), The Arab Weekly, The Standard (Kenya), The Chronicle (Ghana), Sudan Tribune, and Addis Standard (Ethiopia). In 2017, the Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation highlighted his article on Prime Minister Meles Zenawi’s role in Ethiopia’s economic transformation. He currently focuses on emerging security trends, including tensions over the Nile waters, and foreign involvement in conflicts in South Sudan and Sudan. He can be reached at duop282@gmail.com.
The views expressed in ‘opinion’ articles published by Radio Tamazuj are solely those of the writer. The veracity of any claims made is the responsibility of the author, not Radio Tamazuj.