Complex emergencies in the 21st century

The AU System does not shy away from its inglorious past that characterised the OAU from its inception in 1963 until the start of its transformation during the early 1990s. Coming of age at the height of the Cold War, the OAU was politically torn between competing East-West political ideologies that instilled fear among and between the newly independent African states. African leaders of that era, who were also founding fathers of the continental Organisation, were driven by an inordinate desire for power for safeguarding national independence and sovereignty. By extension, this resulted in many of them remaining in office for far longer than was necessary. Convinced of their mandate to safeguard Africa{u2019}s sovereignty, they sought to claim that they were the only ones bequeathed with love of country, sufficient wisdom and commitment to safeguard national independence.