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SOME OBSERVATION ON THE ESTABLISHMENT OF ADWA PAN-AFRICAN UNIVERSITY
By Aseffa Abreha 06-08-16
At long last, something of great importance is in the works to honour the victory of the Battle of Adwa. The need for the establishment of an Adwa Pan-African University was announced during the 120thcommemoration of this epic event; subsequently, a provisional committee organized a forum on 13 May 2016, at the Ghion Hotel in Addis Ababa, where a concept note was discussed.1 It is gratifying to learn that some concerned young people have risen to the task of getting this noble idea to the attention of the authorities and helped make it a reality. Even though 120 years have passed since this historic event, up until the present, no effort was ever made by successive governments to put up even a small token at the Battle site in honour of those who fell to bring about this victory. The only notable exception in reference to the Victory of Adwa is, deservedly, the statue of the then leader Emperor Menelik II in Addis Ababa.
There were, however, private attempts to do something in Adwa at the foot of Mount Soloda. Such attempts were made by organizations like Birhan Ethiopia Cultural Centre. Noteworthy efforts such as these were unfortunately hampered by seemingly insurmountable bureaucratic challenges. It would have been appropriate if the Forum had recognized those efforts.
That said, it must be noted that the Forum was well organized, participative and inclusive, as it seemed a cross section of the society was represented. However, it is the author’s belief that it would have benefited even more had it included representatives of farmers, pastoralists and workers. Perhaps, it might consider doing just that in its future discussions.
One of the conclusions that came out from the Forum was that the decision to house the Adwa Pan African University at the very site of the Victory was appropriate. It indeed is; because where else could a university commemorating the victory of the Battle of Adwa be located, but at Adwa.2
Participants also emphasized the paucity of fully and objectively written Ethiopian history. Consequently, the whole unbiased story of the Battle of Adwa is not fully known to the Ethiopian people. In fact, as expressed by Minister Aisha Mohammed at the Forum, “we should replace our distorted and false history by writing the true story and preserve and pass it on to future generations”. One of the undertakings of the University will hopefully be historical research that would bring to light aspects of our history that had been sidelined by many so called historians for various reasons.
Consensus was also reached that since the Concept Note was presented to serve as a starting point to generate debate, the Forum didn’t go into details about the formation and framework of the institution. However, what it considered important to discuss at this stage was finding an appropriate name for the institution. I would like to submit that the name ought, to the extent possible, to reflect what the Victory of the Battle of Adwa meant or signified, first, to the Ethiopian people and then to the colonized peoples in Africa and beyond. In my opinion the event served as: 1) an initial anchor of Ethiopian unity; 2) a harbinger for African independence and thus Pan Africanism3 and 3) an inspiration to those in the Diaspora struggling to free themselves from slavery and all peoples in the world fighting for their freedom. Similar points were raised as well at the Forum itself.
The Victory of the Battle of Adwa has been achieved by the incredible sacrifices made by people from all corners of Ethiopia. However, as briefly mentioned above, since the story so far has been myopically written from the perspective of the hitherto rulers and by their acolytes to glorify them by robbing the population and other sidelined leaders of their roles and heroic sacrifices, the Ethiopian people are still not fully aware of the whole history of the Battle of Adwa in particular and even their nation’s history in general. Hopefully, scholars and researchers at this future University will have a chance to come up with a long awaited correction of true history.
Notes: 1 We would like to express our appreciation to Aiga Forum for posting the reportage of the Forum on Adwa Pan African University, held on 13 May, 2016, at the Ghion Hotel, Addis Ababa.
2 During the 100th anniversary of the Victory of the Battle of Adwa, an organizing committee of which I as a member was formed under the direction of the then Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Tamrat Laine. The Committee chair was Professor Andreas Eshete. When we were organizing the celebrations, there were demands both from within and without the country that the celebrations should not be held in Adwa but Addis Ababa. It was evident that the Battle took place in Adwa and Victory was achieved there, thus, the Government decided that the main celebrations ought to be there. Other Celebrations were also held in Addis Ababa. However, that did not save Professor Andreas from being hounded left and right both within and outside Ethiopia: Aseffa Abreha, “The Battle of Adwa: Victory and its Outcomes”, in Adwa Victory Centenary Conference, 26 February-2 March, 1996, edited by Abdulssamad Ahmad and Richard Pankhurst, pp.129-181, Addis Ababa Institute of Ethiopian Studies, Addis Ababa University, 1998.
3 A leading colonial newspaper of the time, the London Times, stated that “….The defeat of the Italians by Menelik would be remembered in history forever. His [Menelik’s] victory is the victory of all Africa. This kind of commentary is going to be strongly evident in the future. Since it travels fast with the wing of air across the desert, the news is known now from end to end in those [African] countries. In the future too, since it is known that Africa defeated Europe, it will create a sense of defence and raise the level of consciousness of millions of Africans. Hence, as the issue is dangerous, it is not comfortable to be happy with the defeat of the Italians. This defeat is ours and that of others. Neither is it the defeat of civilization. It is a defeat of colonial Europe, and tomorrow’s Europe too”. 4 4 My rendition of the Amharic version from Tekle Tsadiq Mecuria (1987) E.C., Atse Menelik Ena Ye Itiopia Andnet, Kuraz Publishing Enterprise, Addis Ababa. Ibid.
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