Africa Day, May 25, Marking the birth of the OAU

On May 25, 1963, thirty-two independent African states, who had genuine hopes and visions for the African continent, came together in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to create the Organization of African Unity (OAU). This is the reason why May 25 is known as Africa Day and why the Ethiopian capital became the site of the OAU headquarters.

In order to strengthen the continent of Africa and to make it less vulnerable to outside influence, President Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana strongly believed that the continent should be united. Thus, in the late 1950s, Dr. Nkrumah started a movement, which stressed the immediate unity of the African continent.
When Dr. Nkrumah introduced the concept of African unity to the continent, a division, which was based on the implementation of this new concept, was created at the onset. On one hand there were those countries which believed in the immediate unity of Africa. These countries were originally Ghana, Guinea, and Mali. Later on Egypt, the Transitional Government of Algeria and Morocco joined the Ghana-Guinea-Mali Union to form the Casablanca Group. On the other hand, the twenty-four member Monrovia Group, otherwise known as the Conservatives, which included Nigeria, Liberia, Senegal, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Togo and many others believed in a much more gradual approach to the question of African unity. Many believed that the rift between the two groups would become permanent and thus ending the hopes and dreams of African unity.
Yet, in May 1963, these two opposing groups were able to come together to form the Organization of African Unity. After some discussion and deliberations, thirty-two African Heads of States signed the OAU charter in Addis Ababa, on May 25, 1963.
Many had speculated as to how such opposing groups would merge to form the OAU. Some have suggested that all the independent states that came together in Addis Ababa did so because of the great respect they had for Emperor Haile Selassie.
Many of the participants of the Addis Ababa summit had their own beliefs at to which capital should house the headquarters of the OAU. Among them, the Ethiopian Foreign Minister, who had worked ever so hard to bridge the gap between the Monrovia and the Casablanca blocks, strongly believed that his capital should be crowned to seat the OAU headquarters.
In a meeting with Emperor Haile Selassie and Prime Minister Aklilu Habtewold, the Foreign Minister was able to disclose his thoughts regarding the OAU headquarters. Ketema Yifru explained that their struggle would be in vain if the OAU headquarters did not end up being in the Ethiopian capital. Both the Emperor and the Prime Minister would find out that the young Foreign Minister had already come up with a plan. He explained that three delegations should be created for the purpose of travelling around the continent to thank the various governments for graciously accepting the May invitation and for being instrumental in making the summit a success. Most importantly, the delegations would lobby to have as many African nations support the idea of having the OAU headquarters in Addis Ababa. Eventually Addis Ababa became the headquarters for OAU.
The creation of the Organization of African Unity was indeed a significant historic moment for the continent of Africa, especially in an era where a number of African countries were still under colonial rule. Once the OAU was set up, Africans were able to come together under the umbrella of their newly formed organization. With a concerted voice, the African continent was now able to fight the evil forces of colonialism. Through the OAU's liberation committee and the United Nations, Africans were able to work collectively to bring about an end to colonialism. The plight of the African people that was once dismissed by many was now heard by the entire world. Indeed, Pan-Africanism, which was the driving force of the continent in the 1960s, had proved the point that every obstacle that Africa was faced with could be solved through the unity of its people.
In the early years of its creation, the OAU was able to conduct its own successful brand of conflict resolution. The Ethio-Somalia conflicts, the Kenya-Somalia conflict and the Algeria-Morocco conflict are examples of how the OAU was able to divert potential wars by peaceful means. At that time, it seemed that Africans had come to a point where they had mastered the art of solving their own problems with their own brand of solutions. A conflict in the continent, wherever its location may be, was never left untouched. The Panafricanist atmosphere of the 1960s had brought with it an understanding that any conflict in Africa, regardless of its geographical location, was an African problem. It was with this positive outlook that African leaders were able to successfully solve conflicts, which now seem to be unsolvable.

Compiled by: Express Team
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