The 50^th anniversary celebration of the African Union is not only a momentous milestone in the history of the continental organization, but also a culmination of the long and arduous journey for unity and integration.

The quest for African unity started with the realization that there was a need for people of African descent in the Continent and in the Diaspora to stand together and fight the tyranny of slavery and colonialism they were subjected to. Later on, in the first decades of the 20th century, the active involvement of the African intelligentsia gained momentum and gave the struggle an organized form and intellectual substance. The Pan Africanist movement was born out of this process and aggressively promoted Africa’s emancipation agenda during that period. It also accentuated the need to establish an African continental organization with a view to achieving economic and social progress.

The late 1950’s and the early 1960’s marked the beginning of the end of a dark chapter in the history of Africa as colonialism began to fall apart and ushered in Africa’s liberation. Subsequently, in May 1963, the leaders of thirty two independent African states gathered in Addis Ababa and established the Organization of African Unity.

The OAU was replaced by the African Union in 2002 after accomplishing its main objectives of eradicating the remaining vestiges of colonization and Apartheid from the Continent, promote unity and solidarity among African States and lay down the foundations of unity and integration.

In the past 11 years, the AU has been pursuing an agenda that can take Africa in the direction of reinventing itself and principles of governance. The transformation of the OAU to the African Union, the establishment of the Pan African Parliament, the strengthening of regional economic communities, the increasing role the African Union is playing in conflict resolution and peacekeeping the creation of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) and the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) have been strong indicators of the renewed determination of African leaders to embrace and actively promote the ideals of African Renaissance.

The hopes and aspirations of the peoples of Africa for freedom, democracy and development are no longer a distant dream. More Africans now live under democratic rule than ever before. The fight against poverty and diseases as well as, the effort to ensure food security has started to bear fruit. African countries are counted among some of the fastest growing economies in the world today. As a result, Africa is slowly but surely, becoming a preferred destination of foreign investment.

The enthusiasm generated by the celebration of the Golden Jubilee provides additional impetus for charting a collective path and tackle the political, economic and social, problems Africa is still facing. There are tough challenges lying ahead and a lot more needs to be done to ensure the successful realization of the ideals of Pan-Africanism and Africa’s renaissance. However, what has been achieved so far gives rise to the optimism that Africa’s future is bright.

Source:- ministry of foreign affairs