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The African history is written with blood, it is a history of defeats and victories. Whenever a people found themselves defeated they had but one option: to rise up and regain their freedom by all means. However, the African history is not just a history about people who want to rise again for freedom, it is a history about people who struggle first for their return to the state of human being. That is the result of more than 400 years of dehumanization, alienation, slavery, denial of self-identification and self-knowledge that Africans went through. Africa has always been and still is a land potentially rich in water, oxygen, forests, oil and other precious minerals essential for sustainable development of the human society. Despite all the richness of Africa many young Africans hardly find pleasure in living in Africa, simply because of joblessness, poverty, hunger, insecurity and political crisis that impedes any progress. As a result, many young Africans have dreams located overseas where they hope to find a future for themselves, which mostly turns into nightmares, and for those who are willing to stay in Africa many find themselves living in exile on their own land. In the end, whatever happens to Africa in this twenty-first century will depend solely on the choices Africans make and the price they are willing to pay for their choices. © African Voice #Africa

178 years ago in the town of Angolalla in Northern Shewa, a son was born to Abeto Beshah Wered (later Negus Haile Melekot) and Woizero Idjigayehu Lemma. The child would be baptized as Sahle Dengel, but his grandfather Negus Sahle Selassie, king of Shewa, renamed him Menelik. The baby born on August 17, 1844 would eventually mount the Imperial throne as Emperor Menelik II of Ethiopia. He would successfully consolidate the authority of the central government over peripheral areas, and restored the sovereignty of the Ethiopian Crown over the various vassal kingdoms and sultanates who had functioned with autonomy since the Zemene Mesafint (“Era of the Princes”, a time of strife and disorder) or the earlier Gragn Wars. He would successfully defend his realm against Italian colonialism, decisively defeating the largest European army assembled in Africa until that time at the Battle of Adwa in 1896. He started his country on the road to modernity, setting up the foundations for development. Menelik II was the type of leader who suspended the collection of taxes when a rinderpest outbreak killed off most cattle including ploughing oxen, leading to a devastating famine. He led by example going out to personally break the earth with a hoe, to encourage cattle-less farmers to do the same, stressing that there was no dishonor in working with one’s hands. Easily moved by the plight of others, compassionate and merciful, he earned the nickname Imiye Menelik እምዬ ምኒልክ (Mother Menelik) because he was seen to be more like an indigent and affectionate mother figure, than the typical stern father figure image of traditional Emperors. Tolerant in matters of religion, firmly believing that everyone had the right to practice their religion unmolested, he nevertheless was personally a devout member of the Orthodox Church and devoted to the Virgin Mary. He had the ability to turn enemies into friends, but was firm when firmness was needed. May the memory of Menelik II, King of Kings of Ethiopia, be eternal. #AdwaVictory