Adwa AU’s big task ahead to relight forebears’ spirits
The African Union
(AU) has the responsibility of taking a measure to uphold and hand down the
spirits of the victory of Adwa, says pan-African experts and scholars alike as
Ethiopia is set to mark the 124th Victory of Adwa on Monday.
The victory that is a
landslide black people’s achievement had sent an enduring message to all the
oppressed on the fact that the myth of European superiority was able to
defeated; hence, the experts and scholars say the continental organization
should no longer ignore this remarkable heritage. Ayele Bekerie is an Associate Professor and Coordinator of a Ph.D. Program in Heritage Studies at Mekelle University. He argues that the Victory of Adwa goes way beyond Ethiopia.
“The victory is not limited to an outcome of a battle between two warring countries. The central message of the victory at the Battle of Adwa is that colonialism was wrong, and under any circumstance, it cannot be acceptable.”
The victory at Adwa provided the spark for fellow African brothers and sisters to determinedly fight against colonial subjugation, he says.
“It is true that the end of colonialism was in Africa and the historic contribution of Ethiopia had been marked by establishing the headquarters of the African Union in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. While the gesture was significant, I would argue that AU should take another critical step by declaring Yekatit 23rd as African day.”
The continental bloc looks like to turn its heads to glorify the history of the continent, particularly in recent years.
The Union has put up the statues of the founding fathers—of the precursor of AU, the Organization of African Unity (OAU). The Ghanaian independent leader Kwame Nkrumah and Ethiopia’s last Emperor Haile Selassie’s statues have now been gracing the AU Headquarters in Addis Ababa. There is also Julius Nyerere Peace and Security Building which was funded by the government of the Federal Republic of Germany on the premises of AU.
But the victory of Adwa which is said to have inspired the founding fathers themselves, and an event that dismantled the myth of African inferiority for good, has not got its deserved place at the continental bloc.MORE ON https://www.press.et/english/?p=19543#