The Lusaka summit of the Organization of African Union held last week was the organization’s last. A new pan-African body, the African Union, will replace OAU, which was founded in 1963, with the support of the 50 countries of the continent.
The founding principles of the new union was issued in the Togo summit of OAU in July, 2000 as decided by an extraordinary OAU meeting at the Libyan city of Syrte in September, 1999.
The 37-year-old OAU played a vital role in winning freedom for most of the countries in the continent. It also paved the way for cooperation and unity among various African nationalities in addition to providing a stage for joint work and better relations with the outside world.
There are observers who view the AU, the brainchild of Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi, as a mechanism to meet the challenges of globalization. The Third World countries, particularly the poor African nations, have been an easy prey to the economic exploitation which the emerging global economic system has led to.
According to Qaddafi, the union is the need of the hour. While the OAU was primarily concerned with the independence from the colonial powers, the AU will lay accent on the overall economic advancement and welfare of the African people.
The current challenges from the external world, particularly in areas of economy and politics, demand the African nations function as a single bloc even if it is on a small scale. This is especially important as smaller nations and entities are being sidelined and ignored by the large regional and economic blocs which are capable of controlling resources and potentials internationally. The large blocs refuse to recognize the interests and rights of smaller entities.
The birth of the union, undoubtedly, is a strong message to the outside world that it is time for others to stop dictating terms to Africa with scant regard for the continent’s needs.
The objectives of AU can be summed up as follows:
1- Political objectives which consist mainly of integration between the African nations in political, economic and social spheres with the aim of achieving greater solidarity and unity among the nations on the one side and among people on the other.
2- Mutual assistance in order to preserve each member nation’s sovereignty, integrity and independence. This would also mean strengthening peace, security and stability in the continent in addition to strengthening the democratic principles and political stability.
3- External objectives such as encouraging international cooperation, adoption of uniform strategies in international matters and playing an appropriate role in the international market place for the benefit of Africa.
In order to achieve these ambitious goals, all the member nations will have to strive hard with total commitment and dedication. It will not, however, be an easy task. The union will have to strive hard to overcome the endless border disputes, traditional tribal feuds, ethnic and religious divisions which were kept alive by the colonial powers.
In order to make the new union a success the union will have to take special care in improving the internal situation of each nation with additional emphasis on economy. It should also have a body to serve as the spokesman of the whole continent on all issues.
