Ghana launches activities to mark AU anniversary

Ghana has outlined a series of activities to commemorate Africa Union (AU) day. The AU, estabolished on May 25, 2001 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and launched on July 9, 2002 in South Africa, with the aim of replacing the Organisation for African Unity (OAU), is a union of all 55 countries on the African continent.

This year’s AU Day, which falls on May 25, will be observed on the theme: “Harnessing the Demographic Dividend through Investments in the Youth.”

Speaking to media personnel in Accra yesterday, a Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Alhaji Mohammad Habibu Tijani, said the activities included a health walk, a ‘What Do You Know’ quiz contest and a number of media engagements through radio talk shows from May 22 to 24, 2017.

According to the deputy minister, the event would culminate in a flag raising ceremony at the forecourt of the State House on May 25, 2017 to be hosted by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, with members of the diplomatic corps in attendance.

The day would be crowned with a cocktail reception at the Accra International Conference Centre where members of the diplomatic corps from Africa would be expected to come along with traditional dishes of their respective countries to share with others.

Formation of AU

Recalling what informed the formation of the then OAU, Alhaji Tijani said the formation of the continental union body was the result of the collective quest by African leaders at the time to work together in seeking the political emancipation of the continent from the shackles of colonialism and the ills of imperialism.

He described the OAU as a bold and successful initiative in response to the aspirations of the African people to achieve their quests for self-determination and liberation from colonialism.

Alhaji Tijani indicated that the body had to grapple with various obstacles and challenges since its inception, but expressed optimism that the far reaching aspirations of the OAU/AU, as captured by the Agenda 2062, could only be realised when African governments garnered the necessary political will to integrate the goals into development plans.

“Ghana is, therefore, in concert with the rest of the member states of the AU in taking measures to celebrate the 54th anniversary of the body,” Alhaji Tijani added.

The Chief Director at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Mr Albert Francis Yankey, underscored the need for Ghanaians to be part of the celebration as a demonstration of Africa’s collective commitment to advance the cause of the AU.