African leaders on Saturday opened extravagant celebrations for the 50th anniversary of the African Union, with the continent’s myriad problems set aside for a day to mark the progress that has been made.
African Union Chairman and Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn told leaders as he opened the celebrations they should seek to “create a continent free from poverty and conflict, and an Africa whose citizens enjoy a middle income status.”
Today’s 54-member AU is the successor of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), established in 1963 in the heady days when independence from colonial rule was sweeping the continent.
“While our founders met for the formation of the OAU at the dawn of the independence period 50 years ago, it is fitting that we are meeting here today at a time when Africa is rising,” Hailemariam added, speaking in the AU’s modern, Chinese-built headquarters in the Ethiopian capital.
leaders said the celebrations would boost support for pan-Africanism, nodding their heads as the classic reggae hit “you’re an African” by late Jamaican singer Peter Tosh played in the crowded hall.