Africa was once considered the Dark Continent for those who did not have any familiarity with the continent while some said it was because the people who inhabited it were of the black race. In any case, during the so called Scramble for Africa it was partitioned among the then European giants such as England, France, Germany and others and it was baptized as ‘Anglophone’, ‘Francophone’ etc depending on the influential working language used.
Colonialism of course had little regard for the cultures and languages of the native indigenous populations and little was done to respect their dignity. The main concern of European powers was then how to exploit best the human working force there and how to plunder the resources so that their industries benefited from the raw materials as well as the agricultural products made available practically without any cost.
In the meantime, to quell any form of protest or resistance the colonizers were apt to engage the natives with missionary work such as preaching the word of God and proselytization. It was once said that as the locals were focused on Heaven in the skies the colonizer was focused on the land and its benefits. For decades this process continued and little was done to resist the dominion of these people who came for afar and became patrons of the resources of the continent.
Any potential resistance or objection was treated ruthlessly with severe punishments including killings and hence it was nipped in the bud. Another system the colonialists used was the principle of ‘divide and rule’ and they meticulously studied the various rivalries of the indigenous population and intentionally disseminated suspicion and hate among the various ethnic groups as they did in Rwanda and Burundi just as an example.
This deviated the real issue from the attention of the oppressed population and those who collaborated with the enemy were awarded privileges that brought them to another level in the hierarchy of the community. Missing the bigger picture that would show the level of exploitation and suffering of the native people by these colonizers, the collaborators sided with their advantages they received which were in fact crumbs. The dignity of the African person was lost or undermined and the colonizers had it very easy for years.
It was in this context that the successful resistance of Ethiopians took place in 1896 when Italy tried to use the pretext of not respecting the terms of a bilateral treaty. Hence it had the excuse to attack Ethiopia. It was of course an attempt to colonize Ethiopia using the back door. However, the history of colonialism and the dominion of Europeans over the black people of the world in general was to change radically when the aggressors were soundly beaten.
The year was 1896 and the day was March 2. The place was Adwa in northern Ethiopia. The news of the defeat of a European army by an African troop was too much to bear or understand. The successful campaign became a watershed in the history of the black people and Adwa became a symbol of freedom and resistance against oppression and injustice. Ethiopia secured its independence and introduced itself to the international community after which many began to send delegations to institute their consulates and missions.
This news was spread throughout the world and it reached inevitably the ears of the black community in the US, in Europe across the Caribbean and subsequently in Africa as well. Blacks began to believe that it was possible to defy invading forces albeit at a high cost but freedom was not something that one would deserve without fighting for it. It had to be earned and Ethiopia did earn and deserve its territorial integrity and sovereignty.
This idea was soon to be converted into a movement that was then called the Pan African movement. It was to involve all people of black origin and a call was made to unity and sense of identity and resistance to any form of foreign dominion.. Decades of struggle and decades of sacrifice were needed to push back or uproot the European masters from the African continent. Notably in the year 1960 several African countries managed to free themselves from their colonizers.
In any case, it was after years of sacrifice and bitter fights that finally Africa managed to liberate itself and for that to happen there was the contribution of the Ethiopian experience and the Ethiopian example. Soon Ethiopia was to be an inspiration among African people and the national flag of Ethiopia composed of the colours green, yellow and red were adopted in some form in many of the newly independent countries and when later on African leaders conceived the idea of forming an organisation that could serve as a platform for Africans to talk loudly and be listened to by the international community, the then Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie was destined to play a major role along with other leaders.
When so many African countries got liberated an idea was conceived to put all these African countries, some of which were too small to survive alone let alone have any influence in world affairs. If their voices were to be heard in the international arena and their economy could survive the challenges they may have to cope with, the only chance they had was to group together and create some form of integration.
This idea of creating an organisation was mainly promoted by Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia whose position as leader of a country that was an inspiration for African independence and who actively supported many of the liberation movements in Africa and opposed vehemently the apartheid system in South Africa, immediately gained the support and collaboration of many leaders. A series of discussions and negotiations were carried out before a charter was devised and finally signed herein Addis in May 1963.
The road to the foundation of the OAU was not easy and simple. It needed a lot of diplomacy because Africa was divided in many ways as were the main leaders. The influence of colonialism was not easy to do away with. The kind of cultural exposure of each leader was as varied as was the background of each country’s leader. Lots of ideas were brought to the table of discussions and negotiations but the resolve of Africa to stand up as one voice, one power was greater than the various minor disputes and controversies that were bound to arise. Everyone was convinced of the bigger picture which aimed to first of all completely liberate every inch of African soil and every African citizen from being a second class person in his or her own land and set them free.
Hence the liberation movements were to be sustained more than ever and there were still countries which were not freed by the time the OAU was founded. Leaders such as Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana, Ahmed Benbella of Algeria Jomo Kenyatta of Kenya and Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt were among those who contributed a lot to the idea of forming this big organisation. Discussions were tabled to unite the two initial groups named Monrovia and Casablanca and with the efforts of Emperor Haile Selassie who put all of his prestige and grace behind it, success was not far.
Emperor Haile Selassie was willing to host the first and founding conference and it happened on May 25 1963 in Addis. This year’s summit is special for two principal reasons from the point of view of Ethiopia. One is that it is a summit of African heads of state after the peace deal between Ethiopia and Eritrea and secondly, it is going to be the summit which will formally give due credit to one of its chief founders, Emperor Haile Selassie.
This is a day that is going to do justice not only to the Emperor whose name is always associated with the AU but also the people of Ethiopia who have hosted the headquarters of the Union and facilitated that every extraordinary meeting of heads of state be carried out here. It has always been an active militant of African affairs even when there were regime changes. Ethiopians of the current generation may have mixed and scant information on the history of the Emperor also because the regimes that came after his demise were engaged in sustained not gracious stories about him.
But history will always judge this monarch not only for the mistakes or bad deeds he may have been involved in, but also for the series of reforms he introduced to the country which was inconceivable in those days. Under the leadership of Emperor Haile Selassie Ethiopia was definitely a respected country by all powers and the emperor was one of the promoters of the nonaligned movement along with Yugoslavia’s Marshall Tito and India’s Prime Minister Jawarahal Nehru which did not take sides in the Cold War between USA and USSR.
It had excellent relations with both the West as well as the East and was invited in every important world event. The erection of the statue of Emperor Haile Selassie I is not important only for the family of the emperor but also for all those who have known what the emperor tried to do for his countrymen and above all for all people of African origin.
The Ethiopian Herald, February 10/2019
BY FISTUM GETACHEW
