How the Organization for African Unity ended up in Addis Ababa

[Gabbal]

In the late 1950s, Kwame Nkrumah started a movement that stressed- the-immediate unity of the African continent. Nkrumah's Ghana was supported by Guinea, Mali and later on by Egypt, Algeria and Morocco. Together, they formed the Casablanca Group. Nkrumah's radical notion was opposed by many nations including Nigeria, Liberia, Senegal, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, and Togo. This

 

group, which would number 24 nations, came to be known as the Monrovia Group. They believed in a more gradual approach to African unity.

 

At that time, many believed that the rift between the two groups would end the hopes and dreams of African unity.

 

Ketema Yifru, Ethiopia's foreign minister, and an avowed pan-africanist was the one most responsible for the setting up of the Organization of African Unity. Yifru successfully convinced Emperor Haïlé Selasié that Ethiopia's national interests were better served if it aligned itself with the rest of the continent. Yifru's diplomatic skills resulted in Ethiopia being positioned as a neutral party between the Casablanca Group and the Monrovia Group. A conference of the Monrovia Group, which was set for Addis Ababa in May 1963, evolved into a Summit Conference of all the independent African States. Guinea, a member of the Casablanca Group was instrumental in bridging the gap between both groups. On May 25, 1963, 32 African Heads of State signed the OAU charter in Addis Ababa.

 

The choices for headquarters for the OAU were Dakar in Senegal, Lagos in Nigeria, Kinshasa in Congo and Addis Ababa in Ethiopia. Ketema Yifru struck a deal with Guinea. If Guinea would support Ethiopia, then Ketema Yifru would do all in his power to ensure that Guinea's Diallo Telli was elected as OAU Secretary General. Ketema Yifru's diplomatic skills were so good that even Abdillahi Isa, the foreign minister of Somalia flouted a direct order from his government to vote against Addis Ababa.

 

Out of 32 available votes, 28 nations supported -Ethiopia. Nigeria and Senegal refused to vote.

[mojam]

interesting.

[phillip morris]

You can bring a baby to this world, but you cant bring peace to this world. Nice topic, nowadays, there is no freedom of speech, hail to president bush ey,lol, Unity should be comprised among us muslim brothers and sisters,who made that treaty, or who involved ethopia in that african unity, all i know is, kufar is kufar, promise breakers, forever and more,i suggest we waite, let faith take it course, and inshallah, and inshallah, we will see the truth, we already know the trut. Baghdad will be burned to the ground, and the road to Damuscus is through Syria, lets focuse on whats happening know.

 

log out,lol, to the real world

[Gabbal]

the road to Damuscus is through Syria

Bush didn't waste time did he?

[Liqaye]

Bump!

 

This is really ironic because the deciding vote to make addis the seat of the african union was cast by none other than somalia.

They thought that this act of goodwill would change or alter the ethiopian position on somalia Galbeed, unfortunatley this has ensured that any hopes somalis had for in the first instance a robust African reconsideration of somalias borders, and in the second instance a robust African response to somalia's implosion was to be frustrated at every turn by the Ethiopian goverment.