The unveiling ceremony of the statute was attended by Heads of State and Government attending the 32nd Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union.
The commemorative statue is in recognition of the Emperor’s contribution to Africa’s liberation and unity leading up to the founding of the Organization of African Unity OUA) in 1963.
The OAU, which latter transformed itself to African Union (AU) was established in 1963. A few years ago the AU has also recognized Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana’s by building his statue with in the African Union headquarter compound in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
It is a well-known fact that prior to the establishment of the OAU/AU, a major rift existed between African nations on how the concept of African Unity should be implemented. This divide resulted in the establishment of two main separate factions: The Monrovia and Casablanca groups. These two groups had opposing philosophical beliefs regarding the implementation of African Unity.
The Monrovia and Casablanca groups also differed in opinion on the autonomy or scope of authority that should be warranted to an organizing body tasked with the responsibility of making the vision of African Unity come to fruition. As the philosophical differences between these two groups in the late 50s and early 60s continued to grow, the prospects of achieving African Unity appeared bleak.
It was not until after the relentless diplomatic efforts of the then Foreign Minister of Ethiopia Ketema Yifru, and under the visionary leadership of Emperor Haile Selassie, that the Monrovia and Casablanca groups reconciled their differences in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia culminating in the establishment of the OAU/AU on May 25, 1963. History can neither forget nor deny the riveting and compelling speech made by the “Father of
Africa,” Emperor Haile Selassie, who, in uniting the two splinter groups by hosting the First Conference of African Heads of State, also declared in his address:
This Conference cannot close without adopting a single charter. We cannot leave here without having created a single African organization possessed of the attributes We have described. If We fail in this, we will have shirked our responsibility to Africa and to the people we lead. If we succeed, then, and only then, will we have justified our presence here.
It was this call of duty Emperor Haile Selassie bestowed upon African Heads of State, many of whom were assembled out of the great admiration and respect they had for him and the gallant history of Ethiopia, that a single unifying charter was drafted and ratified enabling the vision of African Unity to become a reality.