BY ADDISALEM MULAT
The Victory of Adwa certainly made the people of the continent of Africa and the entire black people residing all over the world to be united and stand together in the fight against colonial powers and set free themselves from the yoke of coercion.
The aftermath of Ethiopia’s triumph over the Italian troops armed to the teeth with modern weapons at the battle of Adwa inspired the black community to fight for their independence. It is common knowledge that the victory of Adwa has helped the people of the continent of Africa to fight together against their common adversaries sparing no effort to scramble Africa.
As the continent is inundated with quite a lot of natural resources, the colonial powers spared no effort to exploit its resources. As a matter of fact, following Ethiopia’s victory, the people of the continent left no stone unturned to drive out the invading forces from their respective territories and ensure freedom and independence.
At that specific point in time, the Italian troops’ humiliating defeat was a bitter pill to swallow for the colonial powers on the grounds that the victory dragged their reputation through the mud and inspired the entire black community to stand up for their rights.
The victory of Adwa that put the match the entire black community to stand up for their freedom across the globe broke the hearts of many colonial powers.
Other than that Ethiopia’s success stories over Italian invaders have inspired the entire black community to come together and set free themselves from the yoke of oppression and subjugation. In a similar vein, the victory which is an emblem of liberation, valor, and freedom made colonial powers revise their attitude toward Africa.
As the colonial powers belittled the continent of Africa and its people, they did not imagine they would lose the fight. Albeit a lot of efforts have been made by colonial powers to pull to pieces the continent of Africa utilizing their evil deeds, they failed to achieve their targets. In the same way, the victory of Adwa triggered black people residing all over the world under the yoke of the colonial powers to fight for their freedom by driving out the invading troops from the continent of Africa and beyond.
In point of fact, the victory has continued serving as a sign of the Pan-African movement across the continent of Africa in bringing the people of Africa together. Apart from serving as a triumph for the entire black people, Adwa serves as an impetus to the beleaguered people of the continent of Africa.
In addition to igniting the entire Africa to fight for independence, the victory of Adwa gave a lesson to the global community about the fact that Africans have the capability to defend their territorial integrity from colonial powers and other entities making an effort to invade the continent’s respective nations. What is more, the victory makes conversant the global community with the fact that if Africans are united they can accomplish everything under the sun.
It is public knowledge that the victory of Adwa which is the foundation of stimulus for independence played a paramount role in the fight against colonialism.
Similarly, aside from serving as a source of pride and indomitability for the entire black community in the world, Ethiopia’s victory has oiled the wheels of Africa’s liberty and struggle for freedom.
In the same way, apart from inspiring the people of the continent to fight for their independence, Ethiopia played a huge role in driving out the colonial powers from every corner of the country with zeal and determination.
In addition to this, Adwa has inspired the people of the continent of Africa to stand together for liberating the continent of Africa from colonial powers. As a matter of fact, the victory smoothed the path of liberation and freedom in the continent of Africa besides signifying the significance of unity and solidarity by making the impossible possible.
As Ethiopians and black communities around the globe commemorated the 127th anniversary of the victory, various diplomats have sent their congratulatory message.
The victory of Adwa is an event of utter importance in the memory of both Ethiopia and all of Africa, so remarked Russian Ambassador to Ethiopia. In a congratulatory message sent to The Ethiopian Herald, Amb. Evgeny Terekhin said the victory is more than a military triumph. “It is a demonstration of the great strength of mind, national freedom loving character, will and what a people can achieve, standing united.”
He further noted that The Battle of Adwa is an outstanding example of the bravery, courage, strength, and unity of the Ethiopian people, which cast doubt on the invincibility of European armies. “It has served as a source of encouragement and a lodestar for all African peoples in the struggle for their independence from the yoke of colonialism.” The Battle of Adwa may justly be called one of the milestones in the history of Russian-Ethiopian relations, Ambassador Terekhin said adding the army of Menelik II included a group of Russian volunteers led by the Ethiopian Emperor’s counselor Nikolai Leontiev.
He further recalled that a supply of Russian weapons was organized to help the Ethiopian army and a Russian Red Cross mission also arrived in the country helping thousands of Ethiopian war heroes wounded in the battle. In 1898, two years later, diplomatic relations were established between Russia and Ethiopia. The Embassy has commemorated the 125th anniversary of the diplomatic ties between the two countries last week.
The Battle of Adwa which ended with the ever-shining victory of Ethiopians in 1896 symbolizes African unity and Pan-Africanism, according to military attachés residing in Addis Ababa.
The Ethiopian army did the unthinkable by defeating the invading Italian force and successfully defended its independence.
Meanwhile, the Adwa victory cast motivation for Africans to stand united and struggle for freedom and liberation from the colonialists.
In an exclusive interview with ENA, Nigerian Defense Attaché Colonel Rufai Umar Mairiga said that the victory regained by the united Ethiopians at the Battle of Adwa is the symbol of African unity.
“Ethiopia is the symbol of African unity and that is the depiction of the Adwa victory. So all African countries will continue to look at Ethiopia as the symbol of African unity and we hope with the commemoration of the Adwa victory Africans will continue to unite against all forms of colonization. Africans should look the Adwa victory as a symbol of unity and freedom,” Colonel Mairiga stressed.
Let Africans have confidence on themselves for they have everything it requires, he said, and added “if we unite and look inwards we can solve our own problem.”
South African Defense Attaché, Colonel Goodman Hokwana said on his part that the Battle of Adwa happened immediately after Berlin Conference, which was referred to as the scramble of Africa.
Italians attempted to colonize Ethiopia, he said, and stressed that Ethiopian made a firm stand and said ‘we are not to be colonized’ and defeated the invading Italian forces.
The victory of Adwa became a motivation for Africans to stand against colonizers in unison with the spirit of Pan-Africanism.
“And that (victory of Adwa) became very much a motivation for the Africans that ‘we can do it’. It became a motivation and then there was a struggle by Africans throughout the African continent for liberation from the colonizers. Africans realized that becoming united was key to the agenda of Africans. Hence, becoming the theory of Pan-Africanist to say that we Africans can stand together and liberate ourselves from the colonizers,” Colonel Hokwana noted.
The victory of Adwa is a manifestation of bravery and unity that can be taken as a good example for the whole Africa, Angola’s Military Attaché Colonel Jose Fonseca told local media.
He said that Ethiopia was never colonized due to the bravery of its people. The Victory of Adwa has sown a seed of unity and the capability to fight for freedom and promote unity in the continent, the attaché said, adding that this unity is freedom and freedom is development.
“If we come together as one under the spirit of Pan-Africanism, the development of Africa will be a reality and this free trade agreement is a consequence of all the processes we started with our forefathers.”
Colonel Fonseca pointed out that “we (Africans) aspire now for a more integrated Africa which is moving toward development, and we consider the base for the whole process leading to full integration of Africa in terms of economy and others.”
According to him, Africans must celebrate this victory as it affects the desire of all Africans to live in freedom.
The continent should celebrate the day, the attaché stated, adding that “for that to happen I think Ethiopia should advertise it more, make it more known because most of the African people don’t know much about this
The Ethiopian Herald 5 March 2023
